Gunnar Nordahl
Nordahl playing for IFK Norrköping in 1948 | |||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Full name | Nils Gunnar Nordahl | ||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 19 October 1921 | ||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Hörnefors, Sweden | ||||||||||||||
Date of death | 15 September 1995 73) | (aged||||||||||||||
Place of death | Alghero, Italy | ||||||||||||||
Playing position | 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 | Milan | 257 | (210) | ||||||||||||
1956–1958 | Roma | 34 | (15) | ||||||||||||
Total | 504 | (442) | |||||||||||||
National team | |||||||||||||||
1942–1948 | Sweden | 33 | (43) | ||||||||||||
Teams managed | |||||||||||||||
1958–1959 | AS Roma (player-manager) | ||||||||||||||
1959–1961 | Karlstads 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 | ||||||||||||||
Honours
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Nils Gunnar Nordahl (19 October 1921 – 15 September 1995)[1] was a Swedish football player. A highly prolific, powerful, and physically strong striker, with an eye for goal, he is best known for his spell at A.C. 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. 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 on January 2012.[2] Nordahl is considered to be one of the greatest Swedish football players of all-time, and regarded as one of the best strikers in football history.[3] He is the father of Thomas Nordahl.[4][5]
Club career
Sweden
Nordahl started out at Hörnefors IF in Sweden before moving to first Degerfors IF and then IFK Norrköping. He won four Swedish championships with Norrköping and once scored seven goals in one game. During his time in Swedish clubs, Nordahl scored 149 goals in 172 matches.[6]
Italy
Nordahl transferred to A.C. 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).[3][7] Nordahl is also Milan's all-time top-scorer, with 210 league goals.[8] Nordahl held the second-highest Serie A goalscorer of all time, with 225 goals in 291 matches.[6][7][8][9] Only Silvio Piola have scored more goals in that division,[3] until Francesco Totti surpassed him on March 2013.[9] That makes Nordahl the top goalscorer among non-Italian players,[7] and he is also the most efficient goalscorer goals in Serie A ever with 0.77 goals/match.[3][7]
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.[10][11] 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
Nordahl was first called up to the Swedish national team in 1945. In 1948, he helped Sweden to win the Olympic football tournament, becoming the tournament's top scorer on the way. 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.[3]
Domestic League statistics
Club | Season | League | |
---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | ||
Hörnefors | 1937–38 | 14 | 20 |
1938–39 | 14 | 25 | |
1939–40 | 13 | 23 | |
Degerfors | 1940–41 | 17 | 15 |
1941–42 | 21 | 13 | |
1942–43 | 20 | 14 | |
1943–44 | 19 | 14 | |
Norrköping | 1944–45 | 22 | 27 |
1945–46 | 21 | 25 | |
1946–47 | 20 | 17 | |
1947–48 | 22 | 18 | |
1948–49 | 10 | 6 | |
Milan | 1948–49 | 15 | 16 |
1949–50 | 37 | 35 | |
1950–51 | 37 | 34 | |
1951–52 | 38 | 26 | |
1952–53 | 32 | 26 | |
1953–54 | 33 | 23 | |
1954–55 | 33 | 27 | |
1955–56 | 32 | 23 | |
Roma | 1956–57 | 30 | 13 |
1957–58 | 4 | 2 | |
Total for Milan | 257 | 210 | |
Career totals | 504 | 422 |
Honours
Club
- IFK Norrköping[3]
- Allsvenskan (4): 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948
- Swedish Cup (1): 1945
- Italian Serie A (2): 1950–51, 1954–55
- Latin Cup (2): 1950–51, 1955–56
International
- Sweden[3]
- Olympic Gold Medal (1): 1948
Individual
- Swedish Footballer of the Year (1): 1947[4]
- Allsvenskan Top scorer (4): 1943, 1945, 1946, 1948[3]
- Olympic Games Top Scorer (1): 1948
- Italian Serie A Top Scorer (5): 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955[3][5]
- A.C. Milan Hall of Fame[5]
References
- 1 2 Gunnar Nordahl. sports-reference.com
- ↑ "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.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Serial-scoring Swede who lit up Milan". Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) - FIFA.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- 1 2 Gunnar Nordahl. Swedish Olympic Committee
- 1 2 3 4 "A.C. Milan Hall of Fame: Gunnar Nordahl". acmilan.com. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- 1 2 "The top scorers in European league history". Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) - UEFA.com. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "Top 10 Serie A goalscorers - 2. Gunnar Nordahl - 225 goals". Goal.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- 1 2 "AC Milan All-Time Best XI". Goal.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- 1 2 "From Bernardini to El Shaarawy: 13 players who scored on their debut". asroma.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- ↑ "Higuain: 'I am so happy!'". Football Italia. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ↑ Chris Davie (14 May 2016). "Higuain makes Serie A history by breaking 66-year-old goalscoring record". goal.com. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gunnar Nordahl. |
- Gunnar Nordahl – Classic Player profile – [FIFA.com]
- List of Swedish Players and Coaches in Italy since 1945 – RSSSF
- Detail of international appearances and goals – by Roberto Mamrud, RSSSF
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Omero Tognon |
Milan captain 1954–1956 |
Succeeded by Nils Liedholm |