36: Olof Mellberg, Aston Villa, Merlin’s F.A. Premier League Official Sticker Collection 2006/07

There has always been a close relationship between football and music which isn’t a massive surprise when you consider the huge impact both have had on popular culture around the world. Sometimes that relationship has blossomed with football-based songs like ‘World In Motion’ and ‘Three Lions’ demonstrating clear understanding and appreciation of the beautiful game and the ingredients for a pop classic. The fact that so few songs have featured John Barnes is a genuine travesty and I’ve already spoken here about the dreadful decision by Fabio Capello to ditch official World Cup songs for the England team (although Tom Huddlestone is probably very grateful for this). That being said the world is probably a better place for the fact that Glenn (Hoddle) and Chris (Waddle) only followed up their no.12 hit ‘Diamond Lights’ with the aptly named ‘It’s Goodbye’.

Where am I going with this you might wonder? Well long before Jurgen Klopp was promising Liverpool fans “heavy metal football” a classy Swedish centre-half was bringing just that to the Aston Villa training ground. While supporting Slayer during their tour of the UK in 2006 Swedish metal giants In Flames contacted Olof Mellberg to arrange a visit. Mellberg duly obliged and the quintet repaid their compatriot’s chat, tea and biscuits with signed copies of their back catalogue and tickets to their show in Birmingham. Mellberg admitted that he would normally “listen more to a lighter type of rock normally” but that, when in the mood, he had time for his fellow Swedes’ brand of alternative metal. He refrained from “banging (his) head and jumping up and down” at the NEC ahead of the Villans clash with Blackburn Rovers but a typically steely performance at the back helped his side to a 2-0 win.

Such performances made Olof Mellberg a fan’s favourite at Villa Park. He joined the club in 2001 and almost instantly helped the club win the Intertoto Cup alongside Dion Dublin and Mustapha Hadji. He quickly established himself as a first-team regular, playing every game of the club’s disappointing 2002/03 campaign, and was handed the captaincy by incoming manager David O’Leary at the start of the 2003/04 season. Under Mellberg’s leadership the Villans finished sixth in the Premier League, just missing out on European football for the following year on goal difference, and reached the semi-finals of the League Cup. Although the team’s fortunes fluctuated Mellberg remained a constant in the heart of the defence and, despite a lack of pace, was admired throughout the Premier League for his aerial ability, positional play and commitment to the cause. He handed the captaincy on to Gareth Barry at the start of the 2006/07 season, another campaign where he was an ever-present, and, despite a shift to right-back, helped the club to an impressive sixth placed finish in the 2007/08 edition of the Premier League.

Following these consistently impressive performances Mellberg announced that he had signed a pre-contract agreement with Italian giants Juventus in January 2008. His last home game for Villa, a 2-0 loss to Wigan Athletic, was turned into ‘Olof Mellberg Day’ to allow fans to pay their respects to the big man. In response to this Mellberg arranged for every travelling supporter to receive a home or away shirt emblazoned with ‘Thanks 4 Your Support’ as part of their matchday package for his last game for the club at West Ham United. Although he missed an opportunity to showcase his softer rock credentials by having the shirts say “Thnks 4 Th Mmrs” this was undeniably a lovely gesture and a good demonstration of the mutual affection between the player and the fans.

On the international stage Mellberg earned a staggering 117 caps for Sweden, playing at three European Championships and two World Cups and serving as captain in the 2006 tournament in Germany. His time representing his nation featured some notable clashes with Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg which ensured the two enjoyed a frosty relationship off the pitch. Ljungberg reacted badly to a robust challenge in an open training session in 2002 and made the mistake of squaring up to the centre-half. Four years later the two had a heated exchange following a disappointing draw with Trinidad and Tobago. Without knowing anything about what was said I’ve decided it was probably Ljungberg’s fault. In his last major tournament Mellberg recovered from the sight of Andy Carroll scoring the greatest headed goal of all time to net a goal of his own and give Sweden the lead in a thrilling group-stage game against England. Although England eventually ran out 3-2 winners, Mellberg was named as man of the match.

Metal is often derided as a genre of posing frontmen, shrieking vocals and wild guitar solos but the true beauty of the music comes from the relentless power and precision of its rhythm section. At club and international level Mellberg provided commitment, focus and professionalism of the highest level. Don’t get me wrong it helped that he was Scandinavian, had an excellent beard and was mates with In Flames but if ever there was a footballer who clicked with the genre it was Olof Mellberg – even if he did prefer “a lighter type of rock normally”.