Gunnar Nordahl
Swedish footballer (1925–1995)
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Key Takeaways
- Nils Gunnar Nordahl ( Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɡɵ̌nːar ˈnûːɖɑːl] ; 19 October 1921 – 15 September 1995) was a Swedish professional footballer.
- He still holds the record for goals per appearance in Italy.
- He was also known as Il Pompiere ("The Fireman") and Il Bisonte ("The Bison'").
- 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.
- In 2017, he was included in FourFourTwo magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of all time, at the 54th position.
Nils Gunnar Nordahl (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɡɵ̌nːar ˈnûːɖɑːl]; 19 October 1921 – 15 September 1995) 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.
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. 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 and one of the best strikers of all-time. In 2017, he was included in FourFourTwo magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of all time, at the 54th position.
He is the father of former footballer Thomas Nordahl.
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