Gunnar Nordahl

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Gunnar Nordahl
Nordahl with AC Milan in the 1950s
Personal information
Full name Nils Gunnar Nordahl
Date of birth (1921-10-19)19 October 1921
Place of birth Hörnefors, Sweden
Date of death 15 September 1995(1995-09-15) (aged 73)
Place of death Alghero, Italy
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1937–1940 Hörnefors IF 41 (68)
1940–1944 Degerfors IF 77 (56)
1944–1949 IFK Norrköping 95 (93)
1949–1956 AC Milan 257 (210)
1956–1958 Roma 34 (15)
1959–1960 Karlstad BIK 24 (11)
Total 528 (453)
International career
1942–1948 Sweden 33 (43)
Managerial career
1958–1959 AS Roma (player-manager)
1959–1961 Karlstad BIK
1961–1964 Degerfors IF
1967–1970 IFK Norrköping
1971–1973 IF Saab
1974 IK Sleipner
1975–1976 Östers IF
1977–1978 AIK Fotboll
1979–1980 IFK Norrköping
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing  Sweden
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1948 London Team Competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nils Gunnar Nordahl (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɡɵ̌nːar ˈnûːɖɑːl]; 19 October 1921 – 15 September 1995)[1] was a Swedish professional footballer. A highly prolific, powerful, and physically strong striker, with an eye for goal, he is best known for his spell at AC Milan from 1949 to 1956, in which he won the scudetto twice, and also the title of pluricapocannoniere, with an unprecedented five top scorer (capocannonieri) awards, more than any other player in the history of the Italian championship.[2]

Nordahl is Milan’s all-time record goalscorer, and he long held the record for most goals for a single club in the history of Italian league, before being surpassed by Francesco Totti in January 2012.[3] He still holds the record for goals per appearance in Italy. He had several nicknames in Italy, whereof the most famous was Il Cannoniere ("The Prime Gunner"). He was also known as Il Pompiere ("The Fireman") and Il Bisonte ("The Bison'").

A full international between 1942 and 1948, he won 33 caps and scored 43 goals for the Sweden national team. He represented his country at the 1948 Summer Olympics, where he was the joint top scorer alongside Denmark's John Hansen as Sweden won gold.

Nordahl is considered to be one of the greatest Swedish players[4][5] and one of the best strikers of all-time.[6][7] In 2017, he was included in FourFourTwo magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of all time, at the 54th position.[8]

He is the father of former footballer Thomas Nordahl.[9][10]

Club career[edit]

Sweden[edit]

Nordahl playing for IFK Norrköping in 1948

Nordahl started out at Hörnefors IF in Sweden before moving to first Degerfors IF and then IFK Norrköping. He won four Swedish championships with IFK Norrköping and once scored seven goals in one game. During his time in Swedish clubs, Nordahl scored 149 goals in 172 matches.[11]

Italy[edit]

Nordahl transferred to AC Milan on 22 January 1949. Later, he would team up with his national team strike partners, Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm to form the renowned Gre-No-Li trio. Playing eight seasons with Milan, he is Serie A's multi-top-scorer a record five times (1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54 and 1954–55).[6][12] Nordahl is also Milan's all-time top-scorer, with 210 league goals.[13]

Nordahl is the third-highest Serie A goalscorer of all time, with 225 goals in 291 matches,[11][12][13][14] only behind Silvio Piola[6] and Francesco Totti.[14] That makes Nordahl the top goalscorer among non-Italian players,[12] and he is also the most efficient goalscorer goals in Serie A ever with 0.77 goals/match.[6][12] He was nicknamed Il Pompiere ("The Fireman"), because of his former job while he played in Sweden.[5]

From left to right: Juventus' Parola and AC Milan's Nordahl prior a friendly match at San Siro in 1950

After leaving Milan, Nordahl played for Roma for two seasons. Nordahl's record for most goals scored in Serie A (not including Divisione Nazionale, before Serie A was installed) of 35 in 1949–50 in a season was broken by Gonzalo Higuaín in the 2015–16 season who scored 36.[15][16] Nordahl, together with the mentioned Gre-No-Li is today legendary in Milan. When Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko scored his 100 goal in Serie A for Milan, it is said that some old Milanese supporters commented: "Well he can double that number, and then add another 26, then, and just then, he has passed Il Cannoniere."

International career[edit]

Nordahl was first called up to the Swedish national team in 1942. In 1948, he helped Sweden to win the Olympic football tournament, becoming the tournament's top scorer on the way.[17] The Swedish team also included his brothers Bertil and Knut Nordahl.[1] Nordahl's transfer to Milan forced him to retire from the national team, as the rules at the time prevented professionals from the Swedish national team, being not called to 1950 FIFA World Cup along his fellows Gren and Liedholm. In his 33 matches in the national team, he scored a total of 43 goals.[6] However, both Nordahl and many other Swedish professionals appeared relatively frequently in the so-called Sveriges proffslandslag ("Swedish professional national team") during the 1950s.[18] The latter was discontinued in 1958, when Sweden, like most other countries, lifted the professional ban for its regular national team.

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hörnefors IF 1937–38 Division 3 Nedre Norrländskan 14 20 — — 14 20
1938–39 Division 3 Nedre Norrländskan 14 25 — — 14 25
1939–40 Division 3 Nedre Norrländskan 13 23 — — 13 23
Total 41 68 — — 41 68
Degerfors 1940–41 Allsvenskan 17 15 — — 17 15
1941–42 Allsvenskan 21 13 — — 21 13
1942–43 Allsvenskan 20 14 — — 20 14
1943–44 Allsvenskan 19 14 — — 19 14
Total 77 56 — — 77 56
Norrköping 1944–45 Allsvenskan 22 27 — — 22 27
1945–46 Allsvenskan 21 25 — — 21 25
1946–47 Allsvenskan 20 17 — — 20 17
1947–48 Allsvenskan 22 18 — — 22 18
1948–49 Allsvenskan 10 6 — — 10 6
Total 95 93 — — 95 93
AC Milan 1948–49 Serie A 15 16 — — 15 16
1949–50 Serie A 37 35 — — 37 35
1950–51 Serie A 37 34 — 2[a] 4 39 38
1951–52 Serie A 38 26 — — 38 26
1952–53 Serie A 32 26 — 2[b] 2 34 28
1953–54 Serie A 33 23 — — 33 23
1954–55 Serie A 33 27 — 2[c] 1 35 28
1955–56 Serie A 32 23 — 5[d] 4 37 27
Total 257 210 — 5 4 268 221
Roma 1956–57 Serie A 30 13 — — 30 14
1957–58 Serie A 4 2 — — 4 2
Total 34 15 — — 34 15
Karlstad BIK 1959 Division 2 Svealand — —
1960 Division 2 Svealand — —
Total 24 11 — — 24 11
Career total 538 453 — 5 4 543 457
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in Latin Cup
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in Latin Cup
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in Latin Cup
  4. ^ Appearance(s) in European Cup

International[edit]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 1942 4 2
1943 5 5
1944 0 0
1945 5 7
1946 3 2
1947 7 15
1948 9 12
Total 33 43
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nordahl goal.
List of international goals scored by Gunnar Nordahl
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 28 June 1942 Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark  Denmark 2–0 3–0 Friendly [19]
2 4 October 1942 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Denmark 2–0 2–1 Friendly [20]
3 20 June 1943 Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark  Denmark 2–2 2–3 Friendly [21]
4 12 September 1943 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Hungary 1–0 2–3 Friendly [22]
5 2–1
6 7 November 1943 Üllői úti stadion, Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 4–2 7–2 Friendly [23]
7 5–2
8 24 June 1945 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Denmark 1–1 2–1 Friendly [24]
9 1 July 1945 Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark  Denmark 2–1 4–3 Friendly [25]
10 30 September 1945 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Denmark 1–1 4–1 Friendly [26]
11 21 October 1945 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Norway 2–0 10–0 Friendly [27]
12 3–0
13 8–0
14 10–0
15 7 July 1946 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden   Switzerland 7–2 7–2 Friendly [28]
16 6 October 1946 Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden  Denmark 3–2 3–3 Friendly [29]
17 15 June 1947 Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark  Denmark 1–0 4–1 1937–47 Nordic Football Championship [30]
18 2–0
19 26 June 1947 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Denmark 4–0 6–1 Friendly [31]
20 28 June 1947 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland  Norway 1–1 5–1 Friendly [32]
21 2–1
22 3–1
23 4–1
24 24 August 1947 Ryavallen, Örebro, Sweden  Finland 2–0 7–0 1937–47 Nordic Football Championship [33]
25 4–0
26 5–0
27 14 September 1947 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Poland 1–1 5–4 Friendly [34]
28 4–2
29 5 October 1947 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Norway 2–0 4–1 1937–47 Nordic Football Championship [35]
30 3–1
31 19 November 1947 Highbury, London, England  England 1–2 2–4 Friendly [36]
32 2 August 1948 White Hart Lane, London, England  Austria 1–0 3–0 1948 Summer Olympics [37]
33 2–0
34 5 August 1948 Selhurst Park, London, England  South Korea 2–0 12–0 1948 Summer Olympics [38]
35 4–0
36 9–0
37 10–0
38 13 August 1948 Wembley Stadium, London, England  Yugoslavia 2–1 3–1 1948 Summer Olympics [39]
39 19 September 1948 Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo, Norway  Norway 1–1 5–3 1948–51 Nordic Football Championship [40]
40 2–2
41 3–2
42 4–2
43 5–2

Honours[edit]

IFK Norrköping[6]

AC Milan[6][10]

Sweden[6]

Individual

Records

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Gunnar Nordahl". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  2. ^ Roberto Di Maggio; Igor Kramarsic; Alberto Novello (8 June 2017). "Italy - Serie A Top Scorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Roma's Francesco Totti breaks Gunnar Nordahl's all-time record of 210 league goals with a single Italian club". Goal.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  4. ^ "10 Best Swedish Soccer Players of All Time". Soccer Mavericks. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b Chiesa, Carlo F. (22 August 1999). "We are the champions - I 150 fuoriclasse che hanno fatto la storia del calcio" [The 150 champions that made football's history]. Calcio 2000 (in Italian). Action Group S.r.l. p. 123.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Serial-scoring Swede who lit up Milan". Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Ranking the Top 60 Strikers of All Time".
  8. ^ Yorkhin, Michael (25 July 2017). "FourFourTwo's 100 Greatest Footballers EVER: 60 to 51". FourFourtwo. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  9. ^ a b Gunnar Nordahl. Swedish Olympic Committee
  10. ^ a b c d "A.C. Milan Hall of Fame: Gunnar Nordahl". acmilan.com. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  11. ^ a b "The top scorers in European league history". Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) - UEFA.com. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  12. ^ a b c d "Top 10 Serie A goalscorers - 2. Gunnar Nordahl - 225 goals". Goal.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  13. ^ a b "AC Milan All-Time Best XI". Goal.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  14. ^ a b "From Bernardini to El Shaarawy: 13 players who scored on their debut". asroma.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Higuain: 'I am so happy!'". Football Italia. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  16. ^ Chris Davie (14 May 2016). "Higuain makes Serie A history by breaking 66-year-old goalscoring record". goal.com. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  17. ^ "Gunnar Nordahl". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  18. ^ [1] Det svenska proffslandslaget (English: The Swedish professional national team).
  19. ^ "Danmark - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  20. ^ "Sverige - Danmark - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  21. ^ "Danmark - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  22. ^ "Sverige - Ungern - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  23. ^ "Ungern - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  24. ^ "Sverige - Danmark - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  25. ^ "Danmark - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Sverige - Danmark - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Sverige - Norge - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Sverige - Schweiz - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  29. ^ "Sverige - Danmark - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  30. ^ "Danmark - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  31. ^ "Sverige - Danmark - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  32. ^ "Norway vs Sweden, 28 June 1947". eu-football.info. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  33. ^ "Sverige - Finland - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  34. ^ "Sverige - Polen - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  35. ^ "Sweden vs Norway, 5 October 1947". eu-football.info. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  36. ^ "England - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  37. ^ "Sverige - Österrike - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  38. ^ "Sverige - Korea - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  39. ^ "Sverige - Jugoslavien - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  40. ^ "Norge - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  41. ^ "The Best of The Best" Archived 26 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 17 November 2015

External links[edit]

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