Gunnar Nordahl

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Gunnar Nordahl
Personal information
Full name Gunnar Nordahl
Date of birth October 19, 1921
Place of birth    Hornefors, Sweden
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current club retired
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1940-1944
1944-1949
1949-1956
1956-1958
Degerfors
IFK Norrköping
AC Milan
Roma
77 (56)
95 (93)
257 (210)
34 (15)[dubious ]   
National team2
1942-1948 Sweden 33 (43)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of June 4, 2006.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of June 4, 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

Olympic medal record
Competitor for Flag of Sweden Sweden
Men's Football
Gold 1948 London Team Competition

Gunnar Nordahl (October 19, 1921 - September 15, 1995) was a Swedish football player, best known for his play in AC Milan 1949-1956.

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

Nordahl transferred to AC Milan on January 22, 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. In his eight seasons with AC Milan, he was Serie A's top-scorer five times. Nordahl is AC Milan's all-time top-scorer, with 210 league goals. He is still the second-highest Serie A goalscorer of all time, with 225 goals in 291 matches. Only Silvio Piola has scored more goals in that division, making Nordahl the top goalscorer among non-Italian players. After leaving Milan, Nordahl played for Roma for two seasons. Nordahl still holds the record for the most goals in a season in Italy, with 35 goals 1949-1950.

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. 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. In his 30 matches in the national team, he scored a total of 44 goals, or about 1.5 goals per game.

Thomas Nordahl, who is Gunnar's son, was a member of Sweden's 1970 FIFA World Cup squad.

[edit] Honours

  • 2 x Italian Title
  • 4 x Swedish Title
  • 1 x Swedish Cup
  • 2 x Coppa Latina
  • 1 x Olympic Gold Medal
  • 1 x Olympic Games Top Scorer
  • 5 x Italian League Top Scorer
  • 4 x Swedish League Top Scorer

[edit] External links