Karl Johan Siward Mjällby (; born 9 February 1971) is a Swedish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former professional player who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He represented AIK,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, and Levante during a career that spanned between 1989 and 2006. A full international between 1997 and 2004, he won 49

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

and scored 4 goals for the Sweden national team. Mjällby was the team captain during the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, and also took part in

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. He has been assistant manager of

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

and

, working alongside former

team-mate and manager

Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He currently manages Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. During his playing career he represe ...

Playing career

Early career

Early on in Mjällby's sporting career he played both football and tennis and had the choice to turn professional in either. He made the decision to prioritise football and was signed by AIK in 1984 from IK Bele.

AIK

Mjällby spent the next fourteen years in AIK and established himself in the side with solid performances as a no-nonsense tackling midfield player. His performances at club level were noticed and he soon broke through to the Sweden national team. Although he was a squad member in 1992 when AIK won the league, he refused to accept the gold medal, stating that he felt he had not contributed enough. Therefore, it was a great day when lifelong AIK supporter Mjällby got his silverware in 1998 when he guided the club to a new league victory.

Celtic

His solid performances for club and country caught the eye of

Jozef Venglos Jozef ( Creole, Dutch, Breton, and Slovak) or Józef ( Polish) are variants of the masculine given name Joseph in several European languages. A selection of people with that name follows. For a comprehensive list, see and . * Józef Beck (1894� ...

, coach at

. In November 1998 Mjällby signed for

for a fee of around £1,200,000 and was given 35 as his squad number, which he retained throughout his time at Celtic. Mjällby arrived at the club one year after compatriot and international team mate

Henrik Larsson Edward Henrik Larsson (; born 20 September 1971) is a Swedish professional association football, football coach and former player who played many times for the Sweden men's national football team, Swedish national team. A Striker (association f ...

and they departed the club the same year in 2004. He made his debut for the Scottish side in the famous 5–1 victory over archrivals Rangers in the role of central defence. The rest of season 1998–99 saw Mjällby play increasingly in the role of central defence, a role in which he grew to prominence. The 1999–2000 season saw Venglos move into the role of a scout with

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. Often considered one of the greatest England players of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, Barnes currently works as an ...

coming in as head coach and

Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liv ...

as director of football. Mjällby again took up his midfield role in Barnes' ill-fated 4–2–2–2 formation. He returned to his by now accustomed defensive role under Dalglish following the departure of Barnes in January 2000. It was under Dalglish that Mjällby won his first honour at Celtic in the League Cup win over

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. Season 2000–01 saw

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...

replace interim manager

. Mjällby found himself a mainstay on the left hand side of O'Neill's three-man defence alongside Joos Valgaeren, Tom Boyd and/or Bobo Baldé. He was to pick up a further three medals as Celtic won the Domestic Treble of the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

, League Cup, and

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Champions League football in matches against

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

and Rosenborg. Another Scottish Premier League title was added to his growing medal haul. 2002–03 saw Celtic, with Mjällby as prominent figure reach the final of the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. They lost out to FC Porto 3–2 aet. Celtic also went on to lose the Scottish Premier League and League Cup to Rangers. Season 2003–04 was Mjällby's last at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

. After struggling with injury throughout most of the season, he decided to turn down Celtic's offer of a one-year deal. Throughout his six years at Celtic Park he picked up 3 Scottish Premier League Winner's medals, 2 League Cup Winner's medals, 2 Scottish Cup Winner's medals, 2 Scottish Cup Runners Up medals, 1 League Cup Runners Up medal and 1 UEFA Cup Runners Up medal as well as featuring in the Champions League Competition of seasons, 2001–02 and 2002–03. During his time at Celtic, Mjällby captained the team on several occasions. Mjällby enjoyed a good relationship with the Celtic support in his time at the club and was often referred to as "Dolph" or "Big Dolph" given his perceived resemblance to his countryman, actor

Dolph Lundgren Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957) is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. Lundgren made his acting debut in 1985 with a cameo in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film ''A View to a Kill''. Also that year, he h ...

Levante

Mjällby was signed by newly promoted Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side Levante, signing a two-year contract. However, he did not enjoy the same level of success as he had in Scotland and was forced to retire, having failed to recover from two operations on his knee.

Return to AIK and retirement

Following his retirement Mjällby returned home to Sweden. After almost a year out of the game he made comeback and signed once again for his boyhood favourites AIK. However, on 16 May 2006 he was forced to retire from professional football due to his injury.

International career

Early career

Mjällby made seven appearances for the Sweden U21 team before making his senior debut for

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

on 12 March 1997 in a

friendly game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. He made his competitive debut for Sweden in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, in which he also scored his first international goal.

UEFA Euro 2000

, Mjällby scored for

in the opening match against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, taking the ball after an error by Belgian goalkeeper Filip De Wilde. Although reducing Belgium's 2–0 lead from Bart Goor and Emile Mpenza to 2–1,

failed to score an equalising goal and lost the game.

2002 FIFA World Cup

Mjällby captained Sweden at the

after fellow defender

Patrik Andersson Patrik Jonas Andersson (; born 18 August 1971) is a Swedish former professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. Starting off his career with Malmö FF in the late 1980s, he went on to ...

had to withdraw because of injury. Mjällby formed a solid partnership with Andreas Jakobsson when Sweden won

Group F Group F may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...

ahead of England,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, before being eliminated by

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

UEFA Euro 2004 and retirement

Two years later Mjällby was in the squad for

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

but did not make any appearances. He made his last international appearance on 9 October 2004 in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. In total Mjällby won a total of 49

, scoring 4 goals.

Coaching career

On 25 March 2010, it was announced that Mjällby would assume the role of assistant manager at

Celtic Football Club The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a professional Association football, football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football league system, Scottish ...

, alongside temporary boss, and former team-mate,

. The appointment of Lennon and Mjällby was made after the sacking of

Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...

as Celtic manager after a poor 2009–10 season for the club, culminating in a 4–0 defeat against St Mirren. When asked about the appointment by reporters, Mjällby stated, "Neil is like myself. He has a will-to-win and that is what we are both looking to instill in the current Celtic team. We want our players to go out on the park, and on the training pitch, and to wear that Celtic jersey with pride." On 1 July 2010, Mjällby was confirmed as Neil Lennon's assistant manager at Celtic. On 22 April 2014, it was announced that Mjällby would leave Celtic at the end of the season to look for new challenges in football. On 12 October 2014, he was appointed as the Assistant Manager at

linking up again with his former Celtic colleagues Neil Lennon and Garry Parker. In September 2015, he stepped down from his role at Bolton citing personal reasons and was replaced by Steve Walford. In February 2016, Mjällby became head coach of Swedish Division 1 team Västerås SK.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mjällby goal.''

Honours

AIK *

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Svenska Cupen Svenska cupen (, ), also known as the Swedish Cup in English, is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. ''Svenska cupen'' usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also ...

: 1995–96, 1996–97 Celtic *

: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 1999–2000, 2000–01 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2000–01, 2003–04 *

runner-up: 2002–03

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mjallby, Johan 1971 births Living people Footballers from Stockholm Men's association football defenders Swedish men's footballers Sweden men's international footballers Celtic F.C. players AIK Fotboll players Levante UD footballers Scottish Premier League players Allsvenskan players La Liga players UEFA Euro 2000 players 2002 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Swedish expatriate sportspeople in England Swedish expatriate men's footballers Celtic F.C. non-playing staff Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate association football managers Swedish football managers Gefle IF managers Västerås SK Fotboll managers