Gunnar Nordahl

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Personal information
Gunnar Nordahl
Full name	Gunnar Nordahl
Date of birth	October 19, 1921(1921-10-19)
Place of birth	Hörnefors, Sweden
Date of death	September 15, 1995 (aged 73)
Place of death	Alghero, Italy
Height	1.85 m
Playing position	Forward
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1937-1940 1940-1944 1944-1949 1949-1956 1956-1958	Hörnefors Degerfors IFK Norrköping AC Milan AS Roma	041 0(68) 077 0(56) 095 0(93) 257 (210) 034 0(15)^{[dubious – discuss]}
National team²
1942-1948	Sweden	033 0(43)
Teams managed
1958-1959	AS Roma (player-manager)
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)

Competitor for Sweden
Olympic medal record
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 Norrköping 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.

Nordahl, together with the mentioned Gre-No-Li is today legendary in Milan, when ex-Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko scored his 100 goal in Serie A for Milan it is said that the old Milanese supporters said: "Well he can double that number, and then add another 26, then, and just then, he has passed Il Canoniere."

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

[edit] External links

List of Swedish Players and Coaches in Italy since 1945 - RSSSF
Detail of international appearances and goals - by Roberto Mamrud, RSSSF

Sporting positions
Preceded by Sven Jacobsson	Allsvenskan top scorer 1943	Succeeded by Leif Larsson
Preceded by Leif Larsson	Allsvenskan top scorer 1945, 1946	Succeeded by Gunnar Gren
Preceded by Gunnar Gren	Allsvenskan top scorer 1948	Succeeded by Karl-Johan Franck
Preceded by Gunnar Gren	Swedish Football player of the year 1947	Succeeded by Bertil Nordahl
Preceded by Stefano Nyers	Serie A Top Scorer 1949-50 & 1950-51	Succeeded by John Hansen
Preceded by John Hansen	Serie A Top Scorer 1952-53, 1953-54 & 1954-55	Succeeded by Gino Pivatelli