Ode to Jonas Olsson: Parting such Swede sorrow
If football is a battle punctuated with moments of artistry, you need your warriors as much as your painters.
For nearly nine seasons, Jonas Olsson has been Albion’s very own long-haired Viking, an indomitable character at the centre of defence hewn out of strong Swedish oak.
Rarely has anyone shown so much passion wearing the blue and white stripes, and few in Albion’s history have put their head where it hurts more often.
His performances may have tailed off recently as age begins to catch up with him and Albion move on, but do not let a few games cloud the years of service.
At his towering best, Olsson was a colossus at the back. He made more than 250 appearances for the club and more than 200 of those came in the Premier League.
Make no mistake, he was the rock at the heart of the back four that helped established this club in the top tier.
Few could have predicted the lasting impact he would have when he joined from Dutch side NEC in the summer of 2008 for just £800,000. What a bargain he turned out to be. It was a career full of plenty memorable moments. There was the header at Villa Park in a 2-1 win, the volley against Wolves in the 5-1 victory at Molineux, and another goal against Birmingham City in a 3-1 win at The Hawthorns.
Olsson played with the passion of a supporter, so perhaps it’s unsurprising he always delivered in derbies. But the fans loved him for more than just his goals or his tackles or his clearances. Jonas was a fighter.
Whether he was pulling Andy Carroll’s ponytail, squaring up to Jack Wilshere, or smashing a picture frame in the tunnel at Stoke, what always shone through was just how much he cared.
If he was a gladiator on the pitch, he was a gentleman off it.
An intelligent and engaging interviewee, Olsson never shirked any questions and always gave a response from the heart.
Last summer he asked to go to India in order to see what club charity The Albion Foundation are doing in the schools of Delhi. It was the decision of a man who has always be acutely aware of his privileged position.
And that’s probably why he gave everything in every game, he knew that was the least he could do to those fans who relied on him. Olsson plans to return to The Hawthorns for a proper send-off at some point, and thanks goodness, because if anyone deserves it, it’s him.
He was more than just a player, he was a Baggie.
