A Swedish footballer Erik Olof Mellberg acts as a central defender for Villarreal CF. Olof was born on 3 September 1977 in Amnehärad, Gullspång.
Mellberg went from the youth ranks of Gullspång IF. In 1996, after finishing his formation, the young defender signed for Degerfors IF and the new stage of his career began. In a year, when the club lost its place in the first division, Olof opted to join AIK. In 1998, the player became the Swedish champion and was bought out by the Spanish club Racing Santander. Mellberg spent three seasons with the Spanish side, displaying a solid performance. The spell was lined with 98 appearances made.
Very soon the footballer caught attention of such clubs as Barcelona and Valencia. Nevertheless, Olof preferred to join Aston Villa. The move turned to be a very right decision. The defender spent seven seasons of his career at the club scoring eight goals in 232 matches.
In 2008, Mellberg moved to Italy, where he joined Juventus. The player made his debut for the team in the summer 2008. In a year, the defender was scouted by Olympiacos. A three-year contract was penned for a fee of €2.5 million. In 2012, he formed the squad that brought the first place in the Greek Cup. The spell was also lined with the second place being taken twice in the Super league Greece (in the 2010/2011 and the 2011/2012 seasons). In the season 2012/2013 Mellberg helped his new team Villarreal to make it back to the top flight of Spanish football and left for Denmark where he joined Copenhagen.
Olof Mellberg represented the Sweden U-21 team from 1996 to 1999. Altogether, he racked up three goals in 26 games. In 2000, the defender debuted for the Sweden full side. He participated in the 2002 World Cup and the 2006 World Cup. In 2002, Olof captained the squad. One unpleasant accident took place during Mellberg’s international career. He sparked an on-pitch melee with his teammate Fredrik Ljungberg. It happened before the 2002 World Cup. In 2006, Olof and two other players broke a team curfew and were sent home. Nevertheless, in a month, Mellberg returned to the national squad.
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