Jon Olav Hjelde

Football player infobox
playername = Jon Olav Hjelde


fullname =
height = 6'2" (188cm)
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1972|7|30
cityofbirth = Levanger
countryofbirth = Norway
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = -1993
1994-1997
1997-2004
2004
2004-2005
2005-2007
clubs = Vuku
Rosenborg
Nottingham Forest
Busan I'Park
Nottingham Forest
Mansfield Town
caps(goals) =
027 (1)
157 (4)
016 (0)
014 (0)
059 (2)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate =

Jon Olav Hjelde (born 30 July 1972 in Verdal) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a central defender.

Hjelde began his career at his local team Vuku, which competed in the Norwegian Third Division. He joined Rosenborg in 1994, where he became backup to the team's regular central defenders Erik Hoftun and Bjørn Otto Bragstad. Despite not being a regular in the Rosenborg side, Hjelde was signed by Nottingham Forest in 1997. He soon became a regular in Forest's first-team and popular with the fans, due to his consistent, solid performances.

Despite playing well for Forest, Hjelde was overlooked by the Norwegian national side, and has never represented Norway at any level. After seven seasons at Forest, Hjelde surprisingly moved to South Korea in 2003, and joined the Busan I'Cons. He rejoined Forest after one year in Korea, but played only sporadically and was released at the end of the 2004-05 season.

At this point, Hjelde was considering moving back to Norway, but instead signed a one-year deal with Forest's lower-league neighbours Mansfield in the summer of 2005. He has played regularly for the Stags, forming a fine defensive team alongside the highly-rated Alex Baptiste. Hjelde indicated that he would move back to Norway at the end of the 2005-06 season, but later changed his mind, and signed a new one-year contract with the Stags. In May 2007, he retired from football.

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References