John Tolkin

Last updated

John "JMi" Tolkin
John Tolkin meets with the media.jpg
Tolkin in 2024
Personal information
Full name John Michael Tolkin [1]
Date of birth (2002-07-31) July 31, 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Chatham, New Jersey, United States
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) [2]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Holstein Kiel
Number 47
Youth career
2015–2019 New York Red Bulls
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2019–2021 New York Red Bulls II 26 (0)
2020–2024 New York Red Bulls 114 (7)
2025– Holstein Kiel 3 (0)
International career‡
2018–2019 United States U17 8 (0)
2023–2024 United States U23 11 (0)
2023– United States 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of February 10, 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of August 2, 2024

John Michael Tolkin (born July 31, 2002), nicknamed "JMi", is an American professional soccer player who plays as a left-back for Bundesliga club Holstein Kiel and the United States national team.

Contents

Club career

Youth and early career (including New York Red Bulls II)

Tolkin was raised in Chatham Borough, New Jersey, [3] where he attended Chatham High School. [4] Tolkin joined the New York Red Bulls Academy in 2015. [5] During the 2019 USL Championship season he appeared for New York Red Bulls II. [6] He made his professional debut on July 10, 2019, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 4–3 victory over Bethlehem Steel. During the match, he recorded his first professional assist on Tom Barlow's equalizer in the 82nd minute. [7]

New York Red Bulls

After appearing for New York Red Bulls II in 2019, Tolkin moved up to the club's MLS roster on January 14, 2020. [8] Tolkin made his MLS debut on May 8, 2021, appearing as a substitute against Toronto FC in a 2–0 victory. [9] On May 29, 2021, Tolkin made his first start for the club in a 2–1 victory over Orlando City SC, earning praise for his play during the match. [10] Tolkin scored his first professional goal on August 18, 2021, in a 1–0 win against the Columbus Crew. [11]

On May 10, 2022, Tolkin scored his first goal of the season for New York in a 3–0 victory over DC United, helping his club advance to the round of 16 in the 2022 U.S. Open Cup. [12] On August 18, 2022, Tolkin helped New York to a 2–1 victory over Atlanta United scoring the deciding goal. [13] On October 5, 2022, Tolkin signed a new contract with New York tying him to the club until 2027, with an option for 2028 [14] On November 18, 2022, Tolkin was named New York Red Bulls Defender of the Year for the 2022 season. [15]

Tolkin (in black) playing in the 2023 MLS All-Star Game against Arsenal in 2023 2023 MLS All Star Game 2023-07-19 Fabio Vieira John Tolkin.jpg
Tolkin (in black) playing in the 2023 MLS All-Star Game against Arsenal in 2023

On August 20, 2023, Tolkin scored his first goal of the season for New York, an 88th-minute free kick, to help his club to a 1–0 victory over rival DC United. [16] On October 21, 2023, Tolkin scored from the penalty spot in stoppage time to lead New York to a 1–0 victory over Nashville SC. With this win the club qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs for a record 14 straight seasons. [17] On October 25, 2023, Tolkin scored on a freekick and assisted on two other goals for New York in a 5–2 victory over Charlotte FC, helping his club advance to the first round of the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. [18]

On 1 June 2024, Tolkin made his 100th league appearance for New York, a match in which he scored on a free kick in a 1–0 victory over Orlando City SC. [19] On 30 November 2024, Tolkin assisted Andrés Reyes on his headed set piece goal against Orlando City SC, sending the Red Bulls to MLS Cup 2024 in a 1–0 victory, [20] where they went on to lose 2-1 to the LA Galaxy.

Holstein Kiel

On January 16, 2025, Tolkin transferred to Bundesliga club Holstein Kiel for a transfer fee of $3 million including a sell on fee. [21] A day after the signing due to outcry from some fans, the club released a statement in which Tolkin distanced oneself again from his controversial social media likes. [22] Tolkin had previously liked on social media posts critical of the LGBTQ community, the COVID-19 pandemic, flat Earth, the existence of gravity and the January 6 United States Capitol attack. [23] [24] Tolkin had also previously apologized for the behavior in a CBS Golazo interview during the 2024 Olympic games. [25]

Tolkin made his debut for the club when he came on in the 79th-minute for Dominik Javorček in a 2–2 draw with VfL Wolfsburg on January 24. [26] [27]

Personal life

Tolkin's uncle gave him the nickname "JMi" when he was young, and his teammates and family refer to him as "JMi". [28] He says he does not answer to "John". [29]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played February 10, 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
New York Red Bulls II
2019 USL 130———130
2020 120———120
2021 10———10
Total260———260
New York Red Bulls 2020 MLS —————
2021 281——1 [a] 0291
2022 31151—1 [a] 0372
2023 273204 [b] 03 [a] 1364
2024 282——5 [a] 0332
Total114771401011359
Holstein Kiel 2024–25 Bundesliga 30———30
Career total143771401011649
  1. 1 2 3 4 Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
  2. ↑ Appearances in Leagues Cup

International

As of match played January 20, 2024 [30]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
United States 202330
202410
Total40

Honors

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "National team roster – 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals: USA" (PDF). CONCACAF. May 19, 2023. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  2. ↑ "John Tolkin". New York Red Bulls. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  3. ↑ Havsy, Jane. "Chatham teen to represent U.S. in CONCACAF U-17 championship", Daily Record (Morristown) , April 22, 2019. Accessed October 1, 2019. "John Tolkin of Chatham has been called in to the U.S. Soccer under-17 national team ahead of the CONCACAF U-17 Championship at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida."
  4. ↑ John Tolkin, TopDrawerSoccer.com. Accessed October 1, 2019. "High School: Chatham"
  5. ↑ "New York Red Bulls". nyrb.ussoccerda.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  6. ↑ "John Tolkin - uslchampionship.com". www.uslchampionship.com.
  7. ↑ "Match Recap: NYRB II Complete Three-Goal Comeback at Bethlehem". newyorkredbulls.com.
  8. ↑ "NYRB sign academy product John Tolkin". www.newyorkredbulls.com.
  9. ↑ "Red Bulls earn second shutout". www.newyorkredbulls.com.
  10. ↑ "Recap: New York Red Bulls 2, Orlando City SC 1". www.mlssoccer.com.
  11. ↑ "Recap: New York Red Bulls 1, Columbus Crew 0". www.mlssoccer.com.
  12. ↑ "Red Bulls Roll to 3–0 Victory, Advance to Open Cup Round of 16". www.newyorkredbulls.com.
  13. ↑ "TOLKIN SCORES LIFT RED BULLS PAST ATLANTA UNITED 2–1". www.foxsports.com.
  14. ↑ "New York Red Bulls Sign Chatham, N.J. Native John Tolkin to a New MLS Contract".
  15. ↑ "New York Red Bulls Announce 2022 Team Awards". newyorkredbulls.com. November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  16. ↑ "JMi's Free Kick Goal Secures Win vs. D.C." newyorkredbulls.com. August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  17. ↑ "'New Finish Line': Red Bulls Win When It Means The Most, Look To Start 'Real Season'". newyorkredbulls.com. October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  18. ↑ "New York Red Bulls make statement in Wild Card rout: "Not too bad, huh?"". mlssoccer.com. October 26, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Tolkin Free Kick Powers Red Bulls to Three Points". newyorkredbulls.com. June 1, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Red Bulls Win, Advance to MLS Cup". New York Red Bulls.
  21. ↑ "Rekordtransfer perfekt: Kiel holt Tolkin aus den USA" [Record transfer perfect: Kiel sign Tolkin from the USA]. Kicker (in German). January 16, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  22. ↑ "KSV-Stellungnahme zu Kritik an John Tolkin". Holstein Kiel (in German). January 17, 2025. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  23. ↑ Vertelney, Seth (January 17, 2025). "Tolkin regrets social media activity amid outcry from Holstein Kiel fans". Pro Soccer Wire. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  24. ↑ "US national team player John Tolkin says he has regrets over past social media activity". Associated Press . January 17, 2025. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  25. ↑ @CBSSportsGolazo (July 26, 2024). "NY Red Bulls and USYNT defender John Tolkin addresses the controversial social media posts he interacted with recently" (Tweet). Retrieved January 19, 2025– via Twitter.
  26. ↑ "Wolfsburg vs. Holstein Kiel". Soccerway. January 24, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Holsten Kiel strikes late to grab point at Wolfsburg and end road losing streak". Associated Press . January 24, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  28. ↑ "New York Red Bulls - John Tolkin". Red Bull. February 28, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024. New York Red Bulls defender John Tolkin—known professionally as JMi—has always wanted more from life.
  29. ↑ Davis, Noah (May 24, 2023). "John Tolkin's hair, impressive play are impossible to ignore". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  30. ↑ John Tolkin at National-Football-Teams.com
  31. ↑ "2023 MLS All-Star Team Roster". Major League Soccer. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
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