Bror Mellberg
Bror Lars Astley Mellberg (born December 9, 1923 in Ambjörby , † September 8, 2004 ) was a Swedish football player . The striker - at the time of the World Cup system , he played either as a center or half- forward - was one of many Swedish international professionals in the 1950s. His career in the Swedish national team , which he began in 1949, was interrupted during his time abroad , so that he can only show a total of six international appearances.He was part of the squad in both the 1950 World Cup and the 1958 World Cup tournament and came third in two tournament games . to the Vice World Championship.
Career
Career start and breakthrough in Sweden
As a teenager, Mellberg turned to two sports: on the one hand, he was a successful cross-country skier , as evidenced by a youth district champion title over the 10-kilometer distance, on the other hand, he played football at Ambjörby IK in his hometown near the border with Norway. He later focused on playing football and in 1941 joined the IK Viking from Hagfors , who had been promoted to third division in the summer of that year. Behind Storfors FF and a year later behind Arvika BK , the club missed the march into the second division as second in the table. In the following years, the club placed primarily in the area of promotion places. In the meantime, his talent had also been discovered in a higher class, in 1947 the second division club Karlstads BIK signed him . At his new club, too, he was about to be promoted, this time to the Allsvenskan .
In 1946 Mellberg was called to an international match for the Swedish national B team, and contact was established with Rudolf Kock . As a member of the board of the multiple Swedish champions AIK, he was also part of the Uttagningskommittén , the selection committee for the national soccer team. As a result, he joined the first division club in the summer of 1949, for whom he made his debut in August in the Allsvenskan. He crowned his first game for the new club in the 2-0 away win at IS Halmia with a goal. Also regularly successful as a goalscorer in the following games, he played for the national team, for which he made his debut in October. Here, too, he was successful in his first appearance, in the 2: 3 defeat against Denmark he signed on with Hasse Jeppson on the side of Sweden in the scorers list. At first this was his only international match, but in the summer of the following year he was part of the Swedish squad for the World Cup finals in Brazil. The appointment should have been favored by his 15 goals this season in 21 league games in his first first division season.
At the World Cup tournament, Mellberg was initially only second choice. The attacking trio "Pal-Jep-Sko", consisting of Karl-Erik Palmér , Hasse Jeppson and "Nacka" Skoglund led the Swedish selection at the tournament into the final round. After a 1: 7 opening defeat there against Brazil, he moved into the first team for the second final match against Uruguay , in the final group match against Spain he was one of the goalscorers. The 3: 1 success meant reaching third place.
Seven years in Italy and France
In 1950 Mellberg, like many of his compatriots after the successful World Cup, went to Italy and ran for the CFC Genoa in the following two years . Since the Svenska Fotbollförbundet rejected the profit, this meant after three internationals and two international goals the provisional end of career in the national team.
From 1952 Mellberg played in France for five years. First he signed with FC Toulouse , where he was top scorer of the second division in his only season there . He then went to Toulouse's league rivals Red Star Paris . In the season 1956/57 he ran for FC Sochaux .
Return to Sweden and time after retirement
In 1957 Mellberg returned to Sweden and joined the AIK. In the meantime, the association had revised its critical stance towards professional football, particularly because of the upcoming World Cup in its own country, so that it was able to play reamateurised in the Allsvenskan. Without any further use in the run-up, he was an experienced player in the final tournament and was placed in the second group game, a 3-0 win against Mexico . In the 2-1 win against the reigning vice-world champions Hungary he was also part of the team, in the subsequent final round matches he was only a spectator, as did the team around Nils Liedholm , Kurt Hamrin , Gunnar Gren and Kalle Svensson in the final in Brazil. After the tournament he was no longer included in the national team.
Until 1961 Mellberg ran for AIK in the Allsvenskan. Including his first year for the club, AIK had 33 goals in 83 Allsvenskan games at the end of his career. In 1965 he rose to the club's board of directors, and from 1969 until his departure in 1979 he served as deputy chairman. His main job was the petrol station and workshop business. Later he switched to the construction industry and worked u. a. helped build the Solna Centrum shopping center , where he was still running his business when he was over 75 years old.
successes
- Vice World Champion: 1958
- World Championship third: 1950
- Division 2 top scorer: 1953
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b hd.se: “Bror Mellberg har avlidit” ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on December 4, 2012)
- ↑ fotbollslandslaget.com: "Landskamper 1949" ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on December 3, 2012)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mellberg, Bror |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mellberg, Bror Lars Astley |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swedish soccer player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 9, 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ambjörby |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 8, 2004 |