Mellberg wins Swedish honour
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Article summary
Aston Villa FC and Sweden central defender Olof Mellberg has been voted Swedish footballer of the year.
Article body
Inspirational performances
As well as being named defender of the year, Mellberg received the overall prize as a reward for his leadership abilities on and off the pitch for his club, and for captaining Sweden to the finals of UEFA EURO 2004™ with a series of inspirational performances.
Lukic and Åkeby gong
Djurgårdens IF's Swedish international Andreas Isaksson was voted goalkeeper of the year, while Arsenal FC's Fredrik Ljungberg won the midfield award. Celtic FC's Henrik Larsson, who is now retired from international football, was named striker of the year, while Djurgården duo Zoran Lukic and Sören Åkeby shared the coach of the year prize ahead of Sweden co-coaches Lars Lagerbäck and Tommy Söderberg.
Svensson joy
Finally, Victoria Svensson was handed the Diamantbollen award for the best female player of the year - just reward for a season which saw her included in the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup all-star team.
