Gunnar Nordahl

Nils Gunnar Nordahl ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 19 October 1921 – 15 September 1995)<ref name=sr/> 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.<ref name="capocannoniere-rsssf">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Chiesa">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and one of the best strikers of all-time.<ref name="FIFA" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2017, he was included in FourFourTwo magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of all time, at the 54th position.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He is the father of former footballer Thomas Nordahl.<ref name=sok>Gunnar Nordahl. Swedish Olympic Committee</ref><ref name=r1/>

Club career

Sweden

File:Gunnar Nordahl.jpg

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.<ref name=UEFA>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Italy

Nordahl transferred to AC Milan on 22 January 1949. This made him the first Swedish player to play in a foreign league.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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).<ref name=FIFA/><ref name=top10/> Nordahl is also Milan's all-time top-scorer, with 210 league goals.<ref name=XI>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Nordahl is the third-highest Serie A goalscorer of all time, with 225 goals in 291 matches,<ref name=UEFA/><ref name=top10/><ref name=XI/><ref name=AS/> only behind Silvio Piola<ref name=FIFA/> and Francesco Totti.<ref name=AS>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> That makes Nordahl the top goalscorer among non-Italian players,<ref name=top10>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and he is also the most efficient goalscorer goals in Serie A ever with 0.77 goals/match.<ref name=FIFA>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=top10/> He was nicknamed Il Pompiere ("The Fireman"), because of his former job while he played in Sweden.<ref name="Chiesa" />

File:AC Milan v Juventus (friendly match) - San Siro, 1950 - Carlo Parola and Gunnar Nordahl.jpg

From left to right: Juventus' Parola and AC Milan's Nordahl prior to 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 Sweden national team in 1942. In 1948, he helped Sweden to win the Olympic football tournament, achieving top tournament scoring status.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Swedish team also included his brothers Bertil and Knut Nordahl.<ref name=sr>Template:Cite Sports-Reference</ref> Nordahl's transfer to Milan forced him to retire from the national team, as the rules at the time prevented professionals from serving on the Sweden national team and unavailable to the 1950 FIFA World Cup as were Gren and Liedholm. His 33 matches in the national team resulted in scoring 43 goals.<ref name=FIFA/> However, both Nordahl and other Swedish professionals appeared in the euphemistic Sveriges proffslandslag ("Swedish professional national team") during the 1950s.<ref>[1] Det svenska proffslandslaget (English: The Swedish professional national team).</ref> The latter was discontinued in 1958, when Sweden, like many other nations, lifted the professional ban for respective national team consideration.

Career statistics

Club

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	—		2Template:Efn	4	39	38
	1951–52	Serie A	38	26	—		—		38	26
	1952–53	Serie A	32	26	—		2Template:Efn	2	34	28
	1953–54	Serie A	33	23	—		—		33	23
	1954–55	Serie A	33	27	—		2Template:Efn	1	35	28
	1955–56	Serie A	32	23	—		5Template:Efn	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

International

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

Template:Abbr	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	28 June 1942	Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Template:Fb	2–0	3–0	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2	4 October 1942	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Template:Fb	2–0	2–1	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
3	20 June 1943	Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Template:Fb	2–2	2–3	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
4	12 September 1943	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Template:Fb	1–0	2–3	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
5				2–1
6	7 November 1943	Üllői úti stadion, Budapest, Hungary	Template:Fb	4–2	7–2	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
7				5–2
8	24 June 1945	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Template:Fb	1–1	2–1	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
9	1 July 1945	Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Template:Fb	2–1	4–3	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
10	30 September 1945	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Template:Fb	1–1	4–1	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
11	21 October 1945	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Template:Fb	2–0	10–0	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
12				3–0
13				8–0
14				10–0
15	7 July 1946	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Template:Fb	7–2	7–2	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
16	6 October 1946	Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Template:Fb	3–2	3–3	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
17	15 June 1947	Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Template:Fb	1–0	4–1	1937–47 Nordic Football Championship	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
18				2–0
19	26 June 1947	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Template:Fb	4–0	6–1	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
20	28 June 1947	Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	Template:Fb	1–1	5–1	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
21				2–1
22				3–1
23				4–1
24	24 August 1947	Ryavallen, Örebro, Sweden	Template:Fb	2–0	7–0	1937–47 Nordic Football Championship	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
25				4–0
26				5–0
27	14 September 1947	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Template:Fb	1–1	5–4	Friendly	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
28				4–2
29	5 October 1947	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Template:Fb	2–0	4–1	1937–47 Nordic Football Championship	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
30				3–1
31	19 November 1947	Highbury, London, England	Template:Fb	1–2	2–4	Friendly	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
32	2 August 1948	White Hart Lane, London, England	Template:Fb	1–0	3–0	1948 Summer Olympics	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
33				2–0
34	5 August 1948	Selhurst Park, London, England	Template:Fb	2–0	12–0	1948 Summer Olympics	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
35				4–0
36				9–0
37				10–0
38	13 August 1948	Wembley Stadium, London, England	Template:Fb	2–1	3–1	1948 Summer Olympics	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
39	19 September 1948	Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo, Norway	Template:Fb	1–1	5–3	1948–51 Nordic Football Championship	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
40				2–2
41				3–2
42				4–2
43				5–2

Honours

IFK Norrköping<ref name=FIFA/>

• Allsvenskan: 1944–45, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48
• Svenska Cupen: 1945

AC Milan<ref name=FIFA/><ref name=r1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Serie A: 1950–51, 1954–55
• Latin Cup: 1951, 1956

Sweden<ref name=FIFA/>

• Olympic Gold Medal: 1948
• Nordic Football Championship: 1937–1947

Individual

• Allsvenskan top scorer: 1942–43, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1947–48<ref name=FIFA/>
• Swedish Footballer of the Year: 1947<ref name=sok/>
• Olympic Games Top Scorer: 1948
• Serie A Top Scorer: 1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55<ref name=FIFA/><ref name=r1/>
• Serie A Team of The Year: 1951,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> 1955<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• AC Milan Hall of Fame<ref name=r1/>
• Venerdì's 100 Magnifici<ref>"The Best of The Best" Template:Webarchive Retrieved on 17 November 2015</ref>
• Nordic Football Championship top scorer: 1937–1947
• Allsvenskan Player of the Century: 1924–2024<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Records

• Most goals scored for AC Milan: 221
• Most Serie A Top Scorer titles: 5
• Most consecutive Serie A Top Scorer titles: 3 (record shared with Michel Platini)
• Most braces scored in Serie A: 49 (record shared with Silvio Piola)
• Most hat-tricks scored in Serie A: 17 (all with AC Milan)

See also

• List of men's footballers with 500 or more goals
• List of footballers who achieved hat-trick records

External links

• 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
• Profile at magliarossonera.it Template:In lang
• Biography at Storie di Calcio Template:In lang
• Obituary in la Repubblica
• Template:Olympedia
• Template:Olympics.com
• Template:SOK