var teamInfo={"74FE18305967F9EEF754F746994F5747":"Olof Mellberg","DCFA0F6214DA56A59A53EA5778815305":"0","067D9F87C96BD4F249D3C1F12990710D":"Th\u1ee5y \u0110i\u1ec3n","F74E7C85C8A39E327FD63A530C142E68":"The reigning Swedish Footballer of the Year, Olof Mellberg is a solid and intelligent player who wisely tries to find the easy route out of difficult situations.

National team

Mellberg made his international debut against Italy in February 2000 in the lead-up to that summer's UEFA European Championship, where he played all three matches. Often deployed at right-back rather than in his favoured central berth, he was also ever-present at the 2002 FIFA World Cup before the Swedes were eliminated by Senegal.

UEFA EURO 2004? qualifying

The only Swede to play every minute of the qualifying campaign, he captained the side to Group 4 victory and a place in Portugal with a series of inspirational displays. For good measure, Mellberg scored his first international goal in the 2-0 win in Poland.

Club

Having given up a promising tennis career to sign terms with his hometown club, Gullsp?ngs IF, Mellberg moved on to Degerfors IF then AIK Solna, where he formed part of a frugal defence which conceded just 15 goals in 26 games en route to the 1998 Allsvenskan title.

1998: After one successful campaign at the R?sunda, Mellberg departed for Real Racing Club Santander. Far from being one of Spain's glamour clubs, Santander none the less gave the Swede an excellent grounding in the rigours of a major European league.

2001: Santander's relegation from the Primera División in 2001 failed to taint Mellberg's reputation and Aston Villa FC paid €8m for a player chairman Doug Ellis rated as "one of the best young centre-halves in the world". Mellberg excelled in the Premiership from the off and was ever-present in 2002\/03.

Did you know?

His first goal for Villa was a memorable one: the opener in a 1-1 draw at Manchester United FC in October 2002.","E630D11720E4B295":"1","A16C626949206183":"1492","AE2B2F8C9400B906850411C05E782DDE":"","23F2951B3C27EA49CDF6AA0A6796350C":"83kg","851CA221B2A80A2C":"Bromma","04E1633E3F850098":"1","CBD48FB3F5827AF43E9C8C56852359EE":"","51CF9836C3B39401FB9D324DD09EF7B5":"6,820","A21C4DD268581BBF0660FF9748A6F07A":"Helsingborgs IF,Fremad Amager,Brommapojkarna","B257AE15DD6F840EA20A04DC3E827A7A":"Brommapojkarna","A0203E0DC6D21570517EAC290512B5EC":"45","D773F765997BBEBAE9AA75AB73C9E355":"Box 5001 16105 BROMMA","F7B425C4468C1ACD":"","C684723272214583":"Brommapojkarna","C48FA7B3E3429BEB3EC5EFF66D53871B":"Grimsta IP","96C6B43226915F23":"1292","C1F9C3B7B448DF0BD36DA3E25FEAF02B":"","B446C83F31D1C22BBE8CF5648F34268B":"Helsingborgs IF","42F828598EA77F1B092594606465EA0D":"1977-9-3","0D38FD3F79E8DA6B":"25.00","A48D894461F59B01457E8930FCD4EF09":"Th\u1ee5y \u0110i\u1ec3n","DB8BFDDC9C8E07942DF1262A4753E432":"2023-1-1","49B34DA36FF964E0":"kansli@brommapojkarna.se","8B339FAF24182859":"http:\/\/bpfotboll.se\/","0FA2227E78AF1E09":"Brommapojkarna","7BFCAC81BA3A2F91509A9E9BA49BB793CC283EF5765EDF97":"1942-4-13","1D05D5348F89D6017995671358C45119":"187cm","43FF655336FDA42E":"","DCFA0F6214DA56A5BD4BD4CF76FDDC2937B8E6BEADCA6D4E":"1","9A8C394B65E99026":"Olof Mellberg","e_index":0};