Jon Olav Hjelde

Jon Olav Hjelde

Personal information
Date of birth	(1972-04-30) 30 April 1972
Place of birth	Levanger, Norway
Height
Position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
-1993	Vuku
1994-1997	Rosenborg	27	(1)
1997-2003	Nottingham Forest	157	(4)
2003	Busan I'Cons	16	(0)
2004-2005	Nottingham Forest	14	(0)
2005-2007	Mansfield Town	59	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jon Olav Hjelde (born 30 April 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.

After seven seasons at Forest, Hjelde 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 Town in the summer of 2005. He played regularly for the Stags, forming a defensive team alongside 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.

External links

• Jon Olav Hjelde – K League stats at kleague.com