Melker Hallberg

Last updated
Melker Hallberg
MelkerHallberg.jpg
Personal information
Full name Charles Melker Otto Hallberg
Date of birth (1995-10-20) 20 October 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth Ljungbyholm, Sweden
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Kalmar FF
Number 5
Youth career
Möre BK
2010–2011 Kalmar FF
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2012–2014 Kalmar FF 54 (6)
2014–2018 Udinese 4 (0)
2015Vålerenga (loan) 10 (2)
2016Hammarby IF (loan) 12 (1)
2016Ascoli (loan) 7 (1)
2017–2018Kalmar FF (loan) 40 (2)
2018–2019 Vejle BK 25 (1)
2019–2022 Hibernian 45 (1)
2022–2023 St Johnstone 44 (2)
2023– Kalmar FF 12 (1)
International career
2010–2012 Sweden U17 19 (0)
2012–2014 Sweden U19 9 (1)
2013–2017 Sweden U21 23 (3)
2016–2019 Sweden 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 November 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 January 2019

Melker Hallberg (born 20 October 1995) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Kalmar FF. [1]

Contents

Hallberg began his senior career at Kalmar FF, then in 2014, he signed for Italian club Udinese, and during his time there went on loan to Vålerenga, Hammarby IF, Ascoli and Kalmar FF. He signed for Vejle BK in 2018, where he spent one season. Hallberg then played in three seasons for Scottish club Hibernian. He made his full international debut for the Sweden national team in 2016, and has won a total of three caps and scored one goal.

Career

Early career

Hallberg grew up in the small town of Ljungbyholm, shortly to the south of Kalmar. There he started with the local club Möre BK where he played for the first team in the seventh tier of Swedish football at age thirteen. [2]

In 2010 Hallberg was brought into the Kalmar FF youth section. Two years later he became the youngest-ever first-team player for the club when he made his Allsvenskan debut at the age of sixteen. [3] On July 15, 2012, Hallberg became the fourth-youngest Allsvenskan goalscorer of all time when he scored the game-winning 2–1 goal against IF Elfsborg. [4] In December 2012 he signed a new four-year contract extension. [3] After his second season in Allsvenskan as a seventeen-year-old, Hallberg was ranked as the 14th-best player in the league by newspaper Expressen . [5]

Udinese

In August 2014, Hallberg signed for Italian club Udinese. He made his debut in January 2015.

In 2015, he was loaned out to Norwegian club Vålerenga Fotball, and in 2016 he was loaned out to Hammarby Fotboll in his native Sweden.

Vejle BK

Hallberg joined Danish club Vejle Boldklub in the summer 2018. He left the club at the end of the 2018–19 season. [6]

Hibernian

Hallberg signed a three-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Hibernian in August 2019. [7] He scored his first goal for the club in a Scottish League Cup tie against Celtic on 2 November 2019. [8] He was released from his contract with Hibernian in January 2022. [9]

St Johnstone

Following his release by Hibernian, Hallberg signed an 18-month contract with St Johnstone in January 2022. [10] After prolonged renegotiations, Hallberg left The Saints in July 2023. [11]

Return to Kalmar

In August 2023, Hallberg returned to his first club Kalmar FF on a contract until the end of the season. [12]

International career

Hallberg has featured regularly at all age levels of Swedish youth national teams. In August 2013 he got selected for the first time ever to the Swedish U21 squad in a friendly against Norway. [13] He was selected for Sweden squads in January 2016 [14] and January 2019. [15]

Career statistics

As of 6 May 2023 [16] [17]
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kalmar FF 2012 Allsvenskan 1111 [lower-alpha 1] 03 [lower-alpha 2] 0151
2013 Allsvenskan2942 [lower-alpha 1] 0314
2014 Allsvenskan14100141
Total546300030606
Udinese 2014–15 Serie A 40100050
2015–16 Serie A00000000
2016–17 Serie A00000000
2017–18 Serie A00000000
Total4010000050
Vålerenga (loan) 2015 Tippeligaen 10200102
Hammarby IF (loan) 2016 Allsvenskan1214 [lower-alpha 3] 1162
Ascoli (loan) 2016–17 Serie B 711081
Kalmar FF (loan) 2017 Allsvenskan2723 [lower-alpha 4] 0302
2018 Allsvenskan1303 [lower-alpha 5] 0160
Total402600000462
Vejle BK 2018–19 Danish Superliga 251002 [lower-alpha 6] 0271
Hibernian 2019–20 Scottish Premiership 2013021252
2020–21 Scottish Premiership2504061351
2021–22 Scottish Premiership0010000010
Total451808200613
St Johnstone 2021–22 Scottish Premiership140000000140
2022–23 Scottish Premiership3021041353
Total442104100493
Career total241162411235028320
  1. 1 2 Appearances in the 2012–13 Svenska Cupen
  2. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearances in the 2015–16 Svenska Cupen
  4. Appearances in the 2016–17 Svenska Cupen
  5. Appearances in the 2017–18 Svenska Cupen
  6. Appearances in the Danish Superliga Relegation round

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year [18]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden 201621
201700
201800
201910
Total31
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hallberg goal.
List of international goals scored by Melker Hallberg
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
110 January 2016Armed Forces Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesFlag of Finland.svg  Finland 2–03–0 Friendly [19]

Honours

Individual

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References

  1. "Melker Hallberg" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  2. "Stortalangens första mål sänkte Elfsborg" (in Swedish). Expressen. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Fyraårskontrakt för Melker Hallberg" (in Swedish). Kalmar FF. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  4. "Tuffare Hallberg ska slå sig in på mitten" (in Swedish). Östran. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  5. "Här är allsvenskans 50 bästa spelare - år 2013" (in Swedish). Expressen. 6 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  6. Vejle siger farvel til svensk midt, bold.dk, 24 June 2019
  7. "Melker Hallberg: Hibernian sign Swedish midfielder from Udinese". BBC Sport. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. "Hibernian 2-5 Celtic". BBC Sport. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  9. "Runar Hauge: Hibernian close to securing 20-year-old Bodo/Glimt winger". BBC Sport. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  10. "Melker Hallberg: St Johnstone sign midfielder from Hibs on 18-month deal". BBC Sport. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  11. Hamilton, Sean (2023-07-05). "St Johnstone pull Melker Hallberg deal off table as Steven MacLean reveals half-time warning v Dunfermline". The Courier. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  12. "MELKER HALLBERG KLAR FÖR KALMAR FF" [MELKER HALLBERG READY FOR KALMAR FF]. kalmarff.se (in Swedish). 11 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  13. "Hallberg tar nu plats i U21-landslagstruppen" (in Swedish). Expressen. Archived from the original on 9 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  14. "Hallberg ersätter Olsson i Abu Dahbi". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). 15 December 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  15. "Sweden vs. Iceland". ESPN. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  16. "Eliteprospects.com - Melker Hallberg". Eliteprospects. 20 August 2014. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  17. Melker Hallberg at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  18. "Melker Hallberg - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  19. "Sverige - Finland - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-06-03.