Mario Melchiot
Mario Melchiot in 2007
Personal information
Full name Mario Dino Patrick Melchiot[1]
Date of birth (1976-11-04) 4 November 1976[2]
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s) Right-back[4]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1999 Ajax 73 (1)
1999–2004 Chelsea 130 (4)
2004–2006 Birmingham City 57 (2)
2006–2007 Rennes 30 (2)
2007–2010 Wigan Athletic 97 (0)
2010–2011 Umm Salal 20 (0)
Total 407 (9)
International career
1994–1995 Netherlands U19 11 (1)
1996–1998 Netherlands U21 13 (0)
2000–2008 Netherlands 22 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mario Dino Patrick Melchiot (born 4 November 1976) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played both as a right-back and as a centre-back, and also occasionally played in midfield.[5]

Early life

Melchiot was born and raised in Amsterdam, living with his two brothers and two sisters. He enjoyed a close relationship with his eldest brother, Winston, who acted as Mario's mentor after their parents split up. When Winston died of a heart attack at the age of 25 in 1996, Melchiot considered giving up football.[6]

Club career

Ajax

Melchiot started his career in the youth system at Ajax, and made his debut in the 1996–97 season. He scored his first goal for the club in the semi-final of the Champions League in a 4–1 defeat against Juventus.[7] Melchiot spent three seasons at the club, winning the Eredivisie in 1998 and the KNVB Cup in 1998 and 1999. In the summer of 1999, he signed a three-year contract with Chelsea under the Bosman ruling.[8]

Chelsea

For most of his first season at the club, Melchiot did not feature in the first team due to injuries. However, on 22 April 2000, following an injury to Albert Ferrer, he finally made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Middlesbrough. A month later he played in the 2000 FA Cup Final against Aston Villa where he played a major role in helping Chelsea win the match.

At the start of the 2000–01 season, Melchiot scored his first goal for Chelsea in a 2–0 win against Manchester United in the 2000 FA Charity Shield.[9] His second goal was also against Manchester United, as he helped his team to a memorable 3–0 win at Old Trafford in the 2001–02 season.[10] Under the management of Claudio Ranieri, He quickly established himself as the club's first-choice right-back, and was soon rewarded with a contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2004.[11]

Birmingham City

Melchiot signed for Birmingham City on a three-year contract in July 2004,[12] and made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Portsmouth.[13] In his second season, Birmingham found themselves in a relegation battle. He soon became a scapegoat for the club's poor performances, and was booed by his own supporters in a match against Tottenham Hotspur.[14] Birmingham were finally relegated in April 2006 after a 0–0 draw with Newcastle United. He played his last game for Birmingham in their 1–0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers on 7 May 2006. He scored two league goals during his spell at Birmingham, against Charlton Athletic[15] and Wigan Athletic.[16]

Rennes

In August 2006, Melchiot joined French outfit Rennes on a one-year contract. He scored his first goal for the club in a Coupe de la Ligue Round of 16 tie against Ligue 2 club Libourne-Saint-Seurin. He endeared himself to the Rennes faithful when he scored his first league goal for the club in a 2–0 win over fierce rivals Nantes. Melchiot's contract with Rennes lasted until the summer of 2007.

Wigan Athletic

Melchiot joined Wigan Athletic on a free transfer on 15 June 2007.[17] On 24 July 2007, he was given the Wigan captaincy,[18] following the departure of his compatriot Arjan de Zeeuw. He became a fan-favourite at the JJB Stadium, and made Latics history when he became the first Wigan player to play in a major international tournament by coming on for the Netherlands against Romania at the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. He made 101 appearances for Wigan during his three years at the club.

Umm Salal

In June 2010, Melchiot turned down a new contract from Wigan and agreed to join Umm-Salal Sports Club on a free transfer after his existing contract expired at the end of the month.[19] He was signed by Umm Salal manager, Henk ten Cate, as he was reportedly interested in an experienced defender after signing Spanish midfielder Gabri.[20] He made his debut in a 2–2 draw against Al-Arabi. At the end of the 2010–11 Qatar Stars League Season, he left Umm-Salal as they opted not to give him a new one-year contract.

International career

Melchiot was capped 22 times for the Netherlands since making his international debut on 11 October 2000 in a 2–0 World Cup qualifier defeat against Portugal. His last international appearance was in the final group match of UEFA Euro 2008 against Romania on 17 June 2008.

Outside football

In 1998, Melchiot and Ajax teammates Benni McCarthy and Dean Gorre, calling themselves BMD, released a rap/R & B track called "Midas Touch".[21][22] He has also campaigned for the British Heart Foundation[23] and has appeared on the quiz show A Question of Sport.[24]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ajax[25] 1996–97 Eredivisie 23010—9[lower-alpha 3]11[lower-alpha 4]0341
1997–98 Eredivisie 26030—4[lower-alpha 5]0330
1998–99 Eredivisie 24141—1[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0302
Total 73181—14120973
Chelsea[26] 1999–2000 Premier League 50100000—60
2000–01 Premier League 31010101[lower-alpha 5]01[lower-alpha 6]1351
2001–02 Premier League 37260403[lower-alpha 5]0—502
2002–03 Premier League 340502000—410
2003–04 Premier League 23230205[lower-alpha 3]0—332
Total 13041609090111655
Birmingham City[26] 2004–05 Premier League 3412020——381
2005–06 Premier League 2315010——291
Total 5727030——672
Rennes[27] 2006–07 Ligue 1 3021031——343
Wigan Athletic[26] 2007–08 Premier League 3101010——330
2008–09 Premier League 3400010——350
2009–10 Premier League 3201000——330
Total 9702020——1010
Career total 38793411712313146413

Honours

Ajax

Ajax talent of the year 1997

Chelsea

References

  1. ↑ "Arbitration CAS 2013/A/3436 UMM Salal Sport Club v. Mario Melchiot, award of 23 December 2014" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. p. 2. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  2. ↑ "Mario Melchiot". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "Mario Melchiot: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  4. ↑ "Mario Melchiot: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "Chelsea who's who". BBC Sport. 30 April 2002. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  6. ↑ Scott, Danny (6 June 2004). "Best of Times, Worst of Times: Mario Melchiot". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  7. ↑ "Dortmund, Juventus Through To Cup Final". The Age. Melbourne. 24 April 1997. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  8. ↑ "CHELSEA WIN THE BATTLE OF THE BLUES; Rangers pipped in race for super Mario". Daily Mirror. London. 14 June 1999. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  9. ↑ "Keane sees red as Chelsea triumph". BBC Sport. 13 August 2000. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  10. ↑ "United they fall". The Daily Telegraph. London. 1 December 2001. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  11. ↑ Daley, Kieran (21 February 2001). "Sheringham will seek two-year United deal". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  12. ↑ "Melchiot joins Birmingham". BBC Sport. 9 July 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  13. ↑ "Portsmouth 1–1 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  14. ↑ "Melchiot scapegoat as relegation fears put St Andrew's crowd in nasty mood". Birmingham Post. 20 March 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  15. ↑ "Charlton 3–1 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 15 January 2005. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  16. ↑ "Birmingham 2–0 Wigan". BBC Sport. 2 January 2006. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  17. ↑ "Wigan capture defender Melchiot". BBC Sport. 15 June 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
  18. ↑ "Captain Mario". Wigan Athletic F.C. 24 July 2007. Archived from the original on 4 November 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  19. ↑ "Melchiot signs with Qatari club Umm Salal". Sportsnet.ca. Associated Press. 8 June 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  20. ↑ "Melchiot makes Qatar switch". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  21. ↑ "BMD: Zingen is leuk, maar voetbal gaat voor" (in Dutch). AFC Ajax. 1 January 1999. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  22. ↑ Dart, James; Bandini, Paolo (8 August 2007). "Which footballers have released a record?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  23. ↑ "Mario Melchiot interview". British Heart Foundation. 2005. Archived from the original on 26 October 2005.
  24. ↑ "Mario Melchiot". Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  25. ↑ "Voetbal International – Ajax" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  26. 1 2 3 "Mario Melchiot". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises (Association of Football Statisticians). Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  27. ↑ "Mario Melchiot" (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  28. ↑ "Chelsea claim FA Cup glory". BBC News. 20 May 2000. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  29. ↑ "Arsenal lift FA Cup". BBC Sport. 4 May 2002. Archived from the original on 16 December 2002.
  30. ↑ "Charity Shield clockwatch". BBC Sport. 13 August 2000. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
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