Jon Olav Hjelde

Who is Jon Olav Hjelde?

Jon Olav Hjelde 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 has 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.