Olof Mellberg

Olof Mellberg

Personal information
Full name	Erik Olof Mellberg
Date of birth	September 3, 1977 (1977-09-03)
Place of birth	Gullspång, Sweden
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Olympiacos
Number	4
Youth career
1994–1996	Gullspång
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1996–1997	Degerfors	47	(0)
1997–1998	AIK	17	(0)
1998–2001	Racing Santander	98	(1)
2001–2008	Aston Villa	232	(7)
2008–2009	Juventus	27	(2)
2009–	Olympiacos	61	(8)
National team‡
2000–	Sweden	109	(7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 October 2011

Erik Olof Mellberg (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈuːˌlɔf ˈmɛlˌbærj]) (born September 3, 1977 in Amnehärad, Gullspång) is a Swedish international footballer currently playing for Olympiacos in the Greek Superleague. He generally plays as a central defender or right-back.

Early years

Erik Olof Mellberg was born in Gullspång, Sweden on September 3, 1977 to parents Berit and Erik. Mellberg's mother Berit was a physical education teacher who passed on her love of sport to her son. As a youth, Mellberg enjoyed playing tennis and dreamed of Wimbledon rather than the World Cup. Mellberg was something of a tennis prodigy and it was not until he was 14 that Mellberg began to focus on football. It was in high school that Mellberg decided to forego a career in tennis and concentrate on football.

Club career

Early career

Mellberg played for local side Gullspång before being picked up by then Swedish Premiership side Degerfors IF. After being relegated he joined capital club AIK, where he made an instant impression, became Swedish champion 1998 and was sold after just 10 months. Spanish side Racing Santander moved to secure the promising Swedish centre half, and although having a difficult time adjusting to Spanish football he soon claimed a starting berth and impressed in his first season. Continuing to play well, Mellberg was said to be on his way to several big Spanish sides, including Barcelona and Valencia.

Aston Villa

Playing for Aston Villa.

However, Aston Villa managed to secure his signature and he became a consistent and vital part of the team. Mellberg was left out of boss David O'Leary's first side for a game against Portsmouth, but was soon made the captain of the club for the rest of his reign. Mellberg was a vital part of the team that finished 6th in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the League Cup in O'Leary's first season. Mellberg is known for his dislike of Aston Villa's arch rivals Birmingham City, stating before a local derby game "I could never think about playing for Birmingham City. That’s not an option, i dont like Birmingham City at all"Mellberg resigned as captain following the 2006 World Cup—he was replaced by Gareth Barry. In 2007 the new manager of Aston Villa, Martin O'Neill, continued to consider Mellberg as the first choice centre back. On the opening day of the 2006–07 Premiership season Mellberg became the first person to score in a competitive game at Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium. During the 2007–08 season, he played at the right back position following the purchase of Zat Knight, who played alongside Martin Laursen at centre back. Mellberg was sent off against Portsmouth on 15 March 2008 for two bookable offences.

In January 2008 it was announced that Mellberg had signed a pre-contract agreement with Juventus. His final home game for Aston Villa was against Wigan Athletic on 3 May. The game was designated as "Olof Mellberg" day in appreciation of his service to the club. On his final game for Aston Villa away at West Ham United, as a leaving gift, Mellberg gave every single Villa fan at Upton Park either a home or an away shirt with his name and number on the back and the message Thanks 4 Your Support – being the number 4 of Aston Villa. He also said he would frame the kit which he used on his last ever Aston Villa game – the game against West Ham. To this day Mellberg is very highly thought of and respected by Aston Villa supporters and one of their greatest ever players.

Juventus

Mellberg, right, with Rio Ferdinand in a 0-0 draw between Juventus and Manchester United

In January 2008 it was confirmed that Mellberg had signed a pre-contract agreement with Italian giants Juventus, allowing him a Bosman move to Serie A on a three-year contract for the start of the 2008–09 season. He made his Juventus debut on July 16, 2008 in a friendly match versus Serie B outfit, Piacenza. Juventus surprisingly lost the match 1–0. On 18 January 2009, Mellberg scored his first goal for Juventus against Lazio in the 30th minute.

Olympiacos

On 23 June 2009, it was confirmed that Mellberg agreed with Olympiacos to sign a three-year contract with the club. Olympiacos paid Juventus 2.5 million euros. Despite the rotation of several managers in the club while there, he has always been the main choice for the central defence and his consistensy and experience proved to be invaluable for Olympiakos. Thanks to his passionate play and high professionalism, he has become a fan favourite - to the point that when Olympiakos had a streak of bad games, Mellberg was always the only player who was spared from criticism - and one of the most highly respected players in Greece.

International career

Mellberg was a member of the Sweden national football team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup, as well as the Euro 2000, Euro 2004 and Euro 2008. He has scored 7 goals in 107 caps, as of August 2011.

Mellberg training with Sweden

During an open team practice before the 2002 World Cup, Mellberg broke into a fight with his teammate former Arsenal winger Fredrik Ljungberg after a robust tackle from Mellberg. The two of them were quickly separated by team-mates. Since then, the two of them have been known for not being the best of friends, and in the World Cup 2006, Mellberg and Ljungberg, according to leak from inside the team, had a very fiery argument, after Sweden's draw with Trinidad and Tobago. In 2003, he was selected as the best Swedish player of the year, winning the Guldbollen.

After the World Cup in Germany, Mellberg relinquished his captaincy and Ljungberg took his place as Sweden captain.

On September 4, 2006, Mellberg, along with Sweden teammates Zlatan Ibrahimović and Christian Wilhelmsson, was sent home from the national squad for breaking an 11 pm team curfew ahead of a European Championships qualifier against Liechtenstein. On October 7, 2006, Mellberg returned to Sweden's lineup for their European Championships qualifier against Spain, which they won 2–0.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	10 September 2003	Silesian Stadium, Chorzów	Poland	0–2	0–2	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
2.	3 September 2005	Råsunda Stadium, Solna	Bulgaria	2–0	3–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	6 June 2007	Råsunda Stadium, Solna	Iceland	3–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
4.	17 October 2007	Råsunda Stadium, Solna	Northern Ireland	1–0	1–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
5.	5 September 2009	Ferenc Puskás Stadium, Budapest	Hungary	0–1	1–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.	14 October 2009	Råsunda Stadium, Solna	Albania	1–0	4–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.	14 October 2009	Råsunda Stadium, Solna	Albania	3–0	4–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Personal life

Mellberg has two children with long term partner Carolina Kihl. Daughter Saga was born in December 2002 and son John was born in July 2006.

According to Mellberg's mother, he is considering attending university after his retirement.

Career statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sweden			League		Svenska Cupen		League Cup		Europe		Total
1996	Degerfors	Allsvenskan	22	0			-		-
1997	AIK	Allsvenskan	22	0			-		-
1998			21	0			-		-
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Copa de la Liga		Europe		Total
1998–99	Racing Santander	La Liga	25	0			-		-
1999-00			38	0			-		-
2000–01			34	1			-		-
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2001–02	Aston Villa	Premier League	32	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	36	0
2002–03			38	1	1	0	2	0	3	0	44	1
2003–04			33	1	1	0	5	0	-		39	1
2004–05			30	3	1	0	2	0	-		33	3
2005–06			27	0	4	0	2	0	-		33	0
2006–07			38	1	0	0	1	0	-		39	1
2007–08			33	1	1	0	2	0	-		36	1
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		League Cup		Europe		Total
2008–09	Juventus	Serie A	23	2			–
Greece			League		Greek Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2009–10	Olympiacos	Super League	20	2	0	0	–		5	0	25	2
2010–11			25	3	0	0	–		-	0	25	3
Total	Sweden		65	0			-		-
	Spain		97	1			-		-
	England		231	7	9	0	15	0	5	0	260	7
	Italy		23	2	0	0	–		0	0	0	0
	Greece		45	5	0	0	–		5	0	50	5
Career total			461	15			15	0	10	0

Honours

AIK

• Allsvenskan: 1998

Aston Villa

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2001

Juventus

• Serie A Runner-up 2008-09

Olympiacos F.C.

• Superleague Greece: 2010-2011

Individual

• Guldbollen: 2003
• UEFA Euro All-Star Team: 2004

References

Preceded by Patrik Andersson	Sweden Captain 2003–2006	Succeeded by Fredrik Ljungberg
Preceded by Steve Staunton	Aston Villa Captain 2003–2006	Succeeded by Gareth Barry

External links

• Olof Mellberg on Playerhistory.com
• Olof Mellberg at the Internet Movie Database
• Olof Mellberg career stats at Soccerbase
• Olof Mellberg goals