Carl Starfelt reckons the influence of legendary Swedish defender Olof Mellberg is helping him succeed at Celtic.
The Hoops star has formed a solid defensive partnership with Cameron Carter-Vickers since arriving from Rubin Kazan 18 months ago. The 27-year-old has fought off competition to become a first pick for Ange Postecoglou’s Premiership champions. And Starfelt believes his performances all stem from working with Mellberg at the start of his career. He worked under the ex-Aston Villa and Juventus stopper when he broke through at Swedish side IF Brommapojkarna, better known as BP.
Mellberg led the club two straight promotions eight years ago – taking them into Sweden’s top flight – with Starfelt in the side. Mellberg won 117 caps for his country in a stellar career and is now back at BP as boss. Starfelt will never forget the impact Mellberg had on him. He said: “Olof was really important for my development and career. He was a great player but also really good as a coach. For a young centre-back, he was the perfect guy to learn from. He came into my career in a tough moment as the club had just gone down to the Swedish third division.
“Olof came in and we won two promotions in two years. We had a really good connection. He taught me a lot and I am really grateful for the way he helped my career. He helped me off the pitch but it was mostly on the pitch, where we worked on my positioning and other aspects of defending.
“As a young player it was so important to be able to learn off a guy like him. Some of the things he told me I still use at Celtic.”
Incredibly, had Starfelt made a different decision on his career path as a teenager he might not even be a professional player in Europe. He rejected the chance to go to University in America, defying his dad’s advice, and took a risk by joining Brommapojkarna.
The Swede said: “I had an offer from the University of North Carolina when I was about 18. My dad was keen for me to go to college in the United States. I also had an offer to become a full-time player for BP and we spoke about my future. I thought about it for a while but I chose football over college. I have no regrets over my decision. It was pretty clear in my mind that I wanted to give football my full focus.”
Postecoglou and Celtic’s fans are delighted with Starfelt’s contribution. The only negative was an injury at the start of this season which opened the door for on-loan Moritz Jenz to play alongside Carter-Vickers.
But Starfelt’s determination – which included working with fitness coach Sean O’Shea during a Dubai holiday – ensured he got back to his best and displaced Jenz. Now the Hoops ace
hopes to be selected for Sweden again for their upcoming games against Belgium and Azerbaijan next month.
He said: “I hadn’t played a lot of football in the autumn so it was important to work on my fitness and stay sharp. During the World Cup break I went to Dubai when we had some time off and made sure I came back in good shape. Sometimes you have to sacrifice parts of your holiday to train. I hope to be part of the Sweden squad in March. I just need to play well for Celtic and hopefully the manager will see that.”
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