| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonas Olsson | ||
| Date of birth | 10 March 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Landskrona, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) [1] | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | West Bromwich Albion | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2005 | Landskrona BoIS | 56 | (1) |
| 2005–2008 | N.E.C. | 93 | (5) |
| 2008– | West Bromwich Albion | 104 | (8) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2003–2005 | Sweden U21 | 19 | (1) |
| 2010– | Sweden | 5 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Jonas Olsson (born 10 March 1983) is a Swedish footballer who plays for West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League and for the Sweden national football team as a centre-back.
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Olsson was born in Landskrona and made his debut in professional football in 2003 as part of the Landskrona BoIS squad. Olsson is considered to be a very tough defender, playing as a centreback or leftback. He considers fellow Swedish defender Olof Mellberg to be an inspiration. [2]
Two years later he was sold for €750,000 to Dutch side N.E.C. Nijmegen.[3] While playing in Sweden Olsson was known for his physical play and in 2004 he was the player who picked up the most cautions that year. Playing for NEC Nijmegen evolved his game and the cautions became a thing of the past. Olsson himself says that the Dutch man-man marking approach to defense has improved his game.[4][5]
He was linked with a move to the Premiership several times with Bolton Wanderers, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United and Everton.[6][7][8][9][10][11] Olsson scored three goals in the Eredivisie in 2007–08.
On 22 August 2008, Olsson was linked with a move to West Bromwich Albion.[12] On 29 August 2008 West Bromwich Albion confirmed his signing subject to a medical for an initial fee of £800,000 with a possible £360,000 of performance related add ons.[13]
Olsson made his first appearance, starting against West Ham United on 13 September 2008. He scored his first goal for West Brom, in a 1–0 win away to Middlesbrough.[14] Olsson went on to score two more goals in the 2008/09 season. The first coming in the FA Cup against Peterborough,[15] and the second was the first goal in West Brom's 3–0 win over Sunderland on 25 April 2009.[16]
In a match against Doncaster Rovers on September 15, 2009, Olsson headed two goals. Thirteen days later, he signed a new four-year deal which is set to keep him at the club until 2013. On 23 October 2010, Olsson picked up an achilles injury during the win over Fulham and was ruled out for up to six weeks. He then made his return to the starting line-up against Blackburn on 23 January 2011, completing the full 90 minutes, partnering Gabriel Tamas in defence in a 2-0 defeat at Ewood Park.
Olsson was a regular for the Swedish under 21-squad. He was capped 19 times, scoring one goal.
Olsson was included in new coach Erik Hamrén's squad for the friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Belarus in 2010. He never came off the bench in the match against Bosnia and Hercegovina.[17][18] The next match against Belarus saw Olsson play from start.[19] Today he is a regular with coach Hamrén's squad, but spends most of his time on the bench.
When Swedish cable network Viasat acquired the broadcasting rights for the Premier League 2010–11 season, the network hired several new television presenters and journalists. Olsson has signed up with Viasat and will appear via satellite link and telephone to provide a players perspective on the matches and the Premiership. He added that this will give him a chance to promote West Brom in Sweden.[20]
When not playing football, Olsson enjoys playing the guitar. He lists Bob Dylan, Nirvana, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, Babyshambles and The Who as some of his favourite artists.[21]
Olsson has stated that once he is done with his professional football career, he wants to qualify as a lawyer and work within the sphere of human rights. He has already taken introduction classes on the subject in Sweden. [22] [23]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Romano Denneboom |
N.E.C. Man of the Year 2006–2007 |
Succeeded by Youssef El-Akchaoui |
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