Mellberg In Teary Villa Farewell

Mellberg In Teary Villa Farewell

Aston Villa's Olof Mellberg that he was moved to tears by the show of warmth he received from the fans as he said his farewells on the Villa Park pitch.

Mellberg was the centre of attention on Saturday as Villa supporters opted to use the final home game of the campaign as a tribute to the departing defender, who will be leaving for Juventus at season's end.

Swedish shirts, flags and even Viking helmets were everywhere to be seen at Villa Park, though the party atmosphere was dampened somewhat by the shock defeat to Wigan.

"It was obviously mixed emotions for me because it was a poor result but it was fantastic seeing all the yellow shirts and flags and my name was all around the park which was special," said Mellberg, who has been such a valiant servant for his club over the past seven years.

"There was a banner saying "Thanks for the memories" in Swedish which was fantastic," he added.

"It is unusual for both players and fans to be able to thank each other in a way like that knowing you are not going to be at the club after the summer.

"Most things happen in the summer and people don't get to say goodbye or thank you but this is something to be grateful for because I wanted to thank the fans.

"They have been great today and throughout all the years I have been at Villa."

"We (he and his family) were all crying at the end. There were a lot of emotions - the disappointment of not winning but I will probably look back at this game many times."

The Swedish internationa, who secured a pre-contract agreement with Juventus several months ago, concluded by insisting that the future looks bright for his soon to be former side

"It was important for my career coming here and I think the team's future looks bright. Villa have a young squad and talented key players but it is hard work in the Premier League now because a lot of teams are spending money and looking at those positions just behind the big four.

"We are not the only team with ambitions but it looks good because we have had a lot of changes."

Mellberg joined Aston Villa from Racing Santander in 2001 and has since gone on to make more than 200 appearances for the club.

Derek Wanner, Goal.com

Welcome Olof!!!!