Gunnar Andersson (14 August 1928 – 1 October 1969) was a Swedish footballer who played as a striker. He is widely considered one of Olympique de Marseille's best strikers, and is the highest scorer of the club. Born in Sweden, he played for the France national football B team once.

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. Having scored 194 goals in 220 matches, he is the highest scorer of the club ahead of Jean-Pierre Papin (182) and Josip Skoblar (176). 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.

Gunnar Andersson (footballer)

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 nationality in 1954, he was capped once for the France B team in 1956, but was disappointing and was never called again.

Gunnar Andersson (footballer)

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.

Gunnar Andersson (footballer)

Honours

Marseille

Coupe de France runner-up: 1954

Coupe Charles Drago: 1957

Individual

Division 1 top goalscorer: 1951–1952, 1952–1953

References

External links

Article and photos on a Olympique de Marseille fan site

Article on Gunnar Andersson http://mondediplo.com/2003/02/15soccer

1928 births

1969 deaths

People from Arvika Municipality

French men's footballers

France men's B international footballers

Swedish men's footballers

Swedish emigrants to France

French people of Swedish descent

Men's association football forwards

Ligue 1 players

IK Arvika players

IFK Göteborg players

Kjøbenhavns Boldklub players

Olympique de Marseille players

Montpellier HSC players

FC Girondins de Bordeaux players

Pays d'Aix FC players

Expatriate men's footballers in France

Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark

Sportspeople from Värmland County

Naturalized citizens of France