Johan Mjällby

Early career

Early on in Johan'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.

Making a name

Johan 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 Swedish 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 hadn't 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.

Life at Celtic

His solid performances for club and country caught the eye of Jozef Venglos, coach at Celtic. In November 1998 Johan Mjällby signed for Celtic for a fee of around £1,200,000 and was given 35 as his squad number, which he retained throughout his time at Celtic. 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 Johan 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 coming in as head coach and Kenny Dalglish as director of football. Johan 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.

Season 2000/01 saw Martin O'Neill replace interim manager Kenny Dalglish. Mjällby found himself a mainstay on the left hand side of O'Neill's 3-man defence alongside Joos Valgaeren, Tom Boyd and/or Bobo Balde. He was to pick up a further three medals as Celtic won the Domestic Treble of the Scottish Premier League, League Cup, and Scottish Cup.

It was in 2001/02 that Johan experienced his first taste of Champions League football in matches against FC Porto, Juventus and Rosenborg. Another Scottish Premier League title was added to his growing medal haul.

2002/03 saw Celtic, with Johan as prominent figure reach the final of the UEFA Cup. 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 Johan's last at Celtic Park. 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.

Life in Spain

Mjällby went on to try his hand in Spain's La Liga with newly promoted side Levante UD. However he did not enjoy the same level of success as he had in Scotland and was forced to retire as he eventually succumbed to his long standing injuries picked up throughout his Scottish career.

Return to Sweden

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. But on 16 May 2006 he was forced to retire from professional football due to his injury.

International career

In Euro 2000, he scored the first goal of his country for Sweden in the opening match against Belgium, 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, Sweden failed to score an equalising goal and lost the game.

He captained Sweden in the World Cup 2002 since fellow defender Patrik Andersson had to withdrew because of injury. Mjällby formed a solid partnership with Andreas Jakobsson when Sweden almost reached the quarterfinals.

Two years later Mjällby was in the squad for Euro 2004 but did not make an appearances.

Coaching

On 25 March 2010, it was announced that Mjällby would assume the role of assistant manager at Celtic Football Club, alongside temporary boss, and former team-mate, Neil Lennon. The appointment of Lennon and Mjällby was made after the sacking of Tony Mowbray 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, Mjallby 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 Bolton Wanderers 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.

On February 2016, Mjällby became head coach of Swedish Division 1 team Västerås SK.

Club

Media work

Mjällby worked as a prominent football pundit on Swedish TV channel TV3.