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==Early Years==
==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.<ref name="aftonbladet.se">http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/article175580.ab</ref> As a youth, Mellberg enjoyed playing [[tennis]] and dreamed of [[Wimbledon]] rather than the [[World Cup]]. Mellberg was something of a tennis prodigy<ref>{{cite news |first= Phil |last= Shaw|authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Faces you may recognise in Japan and South Korea The World Cup will feature 68 players - not including the England and Republic of Ireland squads - who earn their living in Britain. |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1681049.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=2002-06-27 |accessdate=2009-11-04}}</ref> but it wasn't until he was 14 that Mellberg began to focus on football.<ref name="aftonbladet.se"/> It was in high school that Mellberg decided to forego a career in tennis and concentrate on football.
vincent parasnis was born in [[Gullspång]], Sweden on September 3, 1907 (somgillar bajs) to parents Berit and Erik. Mellberg's mother Berit was a [[physical education]] teacher who passed on her love of sport to her son.<ref name="aftonbladet.se">http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/article175580.ab</ref> As a youth, Mellberg enjoyed playing [[tennis]] and dreamed of [[Wimbledon]] rather than the [[World Cup]]. Mellberg was something of a tennis prodigy<ref>{{cite news |first= Phil |last= Shaw|authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Faces you may recognise in Japan and South Korea The World Cup will feature 68 players - not including the England and Republic of Ireland squads - who earn their living in Britain. |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1681049.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=2002-06-27 |accessdate=2009-11-04}}</ref> but it wasn't until he was 14 that Mellberg began to focus on football.<ref name="aftonbladet.se"/> It was in high school that Mellberg decided to forego a career in tennis and concentrate on football.


==Club career==
==Club career==

Revision as of 07:03, 6 May 2010

Olof Mellberg
Personal information
Full name Erik Olof Mellberg
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 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 27 (3)
International career‡
2000–present Sweden 100 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 October 2009
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 March 2010

Erik Olof Mellberg (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈuːˌlɔf ˈmɛlˌbærj]) (born September 3, 1977 in Amnehärad, Gullspång) is a Swedish international footballer. He recently signed for Olympiacos in Greek Superleague. He generally plays as a central defender or right-back. Mellberg is known for his strength and aerial capability. He is nicknamed The Rock and The Red Hulk by the Greek fans.

Early Years

vincent parasnis was born in Gullspång, Sweden on September 3, 1907 (somgillar bajs) to parents Berit and Erik. Mellberg's mother Berit was a physical education teacher who passed on her love of sport to her son.[1] As a youth, Mellberg enjoyed playing tennis and dreamed of Wimbledon rather than the World Cup. Mellberg was something of a tennis prodigy[2] but it wasn't until he was 14 that Mellberg began to focus on football.[1] 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 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.[3] 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 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.[4] He also said he would frame the kit which he used on his last ever Aston Villa game - the game against West Ham.[4]

Juventus

Mellberg, right, with Rio Ferdinand in a game against 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.[5] Mellberg has become a fan favourite, for his passionate play and professionalism.

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 4 goals in 86 caps, as of October 2008.

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.[6] 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.[7] In 2003, he was selected as the best Swedish player of the year, winning the Guldbollen.[8]

After the World Cup in Germany, Mellberg relinquished his captaincy and Ljungberg, ironically, 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.[9] On October 7, 2006, Mellberg returned to Sweden's lineup for their European Championships qualifier against Spain, which they won 2-0.[10]

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. September 10, 2003 Stadion Śląski, Chorzów  Poland 0-2 0-2 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
2. September 3, 2005 Råsunda, Stockholm  Bulgaria 2-0 3-0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. June 6, 2007 Råsunda, Stockholm  Iceland 3-0 5-0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
4. October 17, 2007 Råsunda, Stockholm  Northern Ireland 1-0 1-1 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
5. September 5, 2009 Stadium Puskás Ferenc, Budapest  Hungary 0-1 1-2 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
6. October 14, 2009 Råsunda, Stockholm  Albania 1-0 4-1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
7. October 14, 2009 Råsunda, Stockholm  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.[11]

Career statistics

Template:Football player statistics 1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1996||Degerfors||Allsvenskan||22||0||||||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-|||| |- |1997||rowspan="2"|AIK||rowspan="2"|Allsvenskan||22||0||||||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-|||| |- |1998||21||0||||||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-|||| Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1998-99||rowspan="3"|Racing Santander||rowspan="3"|La Liga||25||0||||||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-|||| |- |1999-00||38||0||||||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-|||| |- |2000-01||34||1||||||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-|||| Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |2001-02||rowspan="7"|Aston Villa||rowspan="7"|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||colspan="2"|-||39||1 |- |2004-05||30||3||1||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||33||3 |- |2005-06||27||0||4||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||33||0 |- |2006-07||38||1||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||39||1 |- |2007-08||33||1||1||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||36||1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |2008-09||Juventus||Serie A|||23||2|| || ||colspan=2|–||||||| |- Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |2009–10||Olympiacos||Super League|||20||2||0||0||colspan=2|–||5||0||25||2 |- Template:Football player statistics 365||0||||||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-|||| Template:Football player statistics 497||1||||||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-|||| Template:Football player statistics 4231||7||9||0||15||0||5||0||260||7 Template:Football player statistics 423||2||0||0||colspan=2|–||0||0||0||0 Template:Football player statistics 40||0||0||0||colspan=2|–||0||0||0||0 Template:Football player statistics 5415||9||||||15||0||5||0|||| |}

Honours

AIK

Aston Villa

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/article175580.ab
  2. ^ Shaw, Phil (2002-06-27). "Faces you may recognise in Japan and South Korea The World Cup will feature 68 players - not including the England and Republic of Ireland squads - who earn their living in Britain". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-11-04. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ "Mellberg joins Villa". BBC Sport. 2001-07-18. Retrieved 2001-07-18. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ a b "Mellberg happy to spend big on Villa fans". tribalfootball.com. 2008-05-18. Retrieved 2008-05-19. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "Mellberg transferred to Olympiacos. Goodbye Olof". juventus.com. 2009-06-23. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  6. ^ Carroll, Jack (2002-05-24). "Swedish coach sends Mellberg home". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved 2002-05-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ "Swedish duo in dressing-room spat". BBC Sport. 2006-06-12. Retrieved 2006-06-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ "Guldbollen". Aftonbladet. Retrieved January 13, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help) Template:Swe icon
  9. ^ "Swedish coach sends Mellberg home". BBC Sport. 2006-09-04. Retrieved 2006-09-04. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ "Swedes blank Spain 2-0 in Euro qualifier". FoxSports. Retrieved February 1, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  11. ^ http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotbollsbladet/landslagsfotboll/vm2006/article380721.ab
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