Gunnar Andersson (footballer)

For the Swedish trade union organizer, see Gunnar Andersson (trade unionist).

Gunnar Andersson

Personal information
Full name	Karl Gunnar Andersson
Date of birth	(1928-08-14)14 August 1928
Place of birth	Arvika, Sweden
Date of death
Place of death	Marseille, France
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	IFK Arvika
	IFK Åmål
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1949–1950	IFK Göteborg
1950	Kjøbenhavns Boldklub
1950–1958	Marseille	220	(169)
1958	SO Montpellier
1958–1960	Bordeaux
1960–1961	AS Aix	28	(10)
1961–1962	CALO Oran
1962–1963	AS Gignac
1964	IFK Arvika
International career
	France (B team)	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gunnar Andersson (14 August 1928 – 1 October 1969) was a football player from Sweden. He is widely considered as one of Olympique de Marseille's best strikers, along with Josip Skoblar and Jean-Pierre Papin_{by whom?}.

He started his career in Sweden, where he was nicknamed Säffle, before playing for Danish side Kjøbenhavns Boldklub before being transferred to Olympique de Marseille, where he became a key player, scoring 169 goals in 220 matches in Division 1. With l'OM he was also Division 1 top goalscorer in 1951–1952 and 1952–1953 and runner-up in the Coupe de France 1953–1954. He also played for other French teams such as FC Girondins de Bordeaux and AS Aix.

Despite his success in France, he never played for the Sweden national football team because of a policy not to select players based outside Sweden, such as Andersson and Gunnar Nordahl. However, as he obtained French citizenship in 1954, he was capped once for the France B team, but was disappointing and was never called again.

He died in 1969, as he was heading to Stade Vélodrome, to see a match against Dukla Prague in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1969–70. He remains today one of the best players to wear l'OM uniform and one of the most appreciated by supporters.

Titles

• Coupe de France runner-up in 1954 with Olympique de Marseille
• Division 1 top goalscorer in 1951-1952 and 1952-1953 with Olympique de Marseille

External links

• Article and photos on a Olympique de Marseille fan site
• Article on Gunnar Andersson http://mondediplo.com/2003/02/15soccer