John Hartson (born 5 April 1975 in Swansea, Wales) is a professional footballer, currently signed to Glasgow Celtic, having previously played at Wimbledon and Coventry City. As of 2004, he has made 44 appearances for Wales in international football, having scored 7 goals.
He was raised in Trallwn, near the Llansamlet area of Swansea, son of Cyril Hartson, who played for Llanelli F.C. during the 1970s. He is bilingual, a speaker of the Welsh language, having attended Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr (at the time, and until 2003, the only Welsh-medium school in the area). His career began in 1992 as a trainee at Luton Town F.C., and he has since played for Arsenal, West Ham United and Coventry City before a £6million transfer to Celtic allowed him to develop his full potential, becoming one of the most feared strikers in British football today.
In March 2004, he dropped out for the remainder of the football season for surgery to his back; however, he is now back in action in time for the qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup, to be held in Germany.
He currently lives in Glasgow, with wife Lowri (also from Swansea) and two children. He is regularly sighted returning to his roots in Swansea, occasionally taking a break to the Gower in Summer.
