Gunnar Andersson (footballer)


Gunnar Andersson was a Swedish and French footballer. He is widely considered as one of Olympique de Marseille's best strikers, along with Josip Skoblar and Jean-Pierre Papin.

Career

Andersson started his career in Sweden, where he was nicknamed Säffle, before playing for Danish side Kjøbenhavns BK 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 1953–54 Coupe de France. 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 1969–70 European Cup Winners' Cup. He remains today one of the best players to wear l'OM uniform and one of the most appreciated by supporters.

Honours

Marseille
Individual