During this era, a famous trio of Swedes wrote their names into the history books of the Rossoneri. They were Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm, known collectively by the contraction of their surnames: Gre-No-Li. This formidable attacking trio led Sweden to the gold medal at the 1948 Olympic Games, where they caught the eye of scouts from AC Milan. Shortly after, Nordahl became the first of them to move the San Siro, signing for the Italians in the 1949-50 season. He had a huge decision to make because, at the time, the Swedish FA had rules that forbade any player being paid by a club outside of Sweden from representing the national side. By signing for Milan, Nordahl enforced his own international retirement. That season, however, he scored 16 goals in 15 games, helping Milan to a third place finish before his main creator had even arrived.  Nordahl suggested to Milan’s president Toni Busini that he be joined by his countrymen Liedholm and Gren, to further bolster the side, and they were signed the following season, despite paying the same price as Nordahl of no longer being allowed to play for Sweden.

 

Their arrival coincided with the grieving period that arose from the deaths of the entire Torino side in the Superga disaster that May, which left a gaping hole at the top of the Italian league. The new arrivals made their debut together on September 11th, 1949 and lifted the spectators spirits somewhat by helping Milan score an incredible 71 goals in 38 matches, thanks to the almost telepathic understanding between Nordahl and Liedholm. This included a 7-1 routing of league leaders Juventus. Of that game, Nordahl  commented that Gren-No-Li came “close to perfection in our play”. The following season in 1950 was even more successful for the trio, with their club winning the Scudetto, Milan’s first since 1907. Sadly, this would be the only Serie A title that Gre-No-Li would win together.

 

Grens tactical know-how led to him earning the nickname ‘Il Professore’ that year, and two years later, he was made Milans player-manager, replacing Lajos Czeizler who was the man responsible for bringing the trio to the club. His new role didn’t last long however, and the following year he left the club completely, leaving Nordahl and Liedholm behind. Even though the trio was now a duo, they still achieved incredible success. The pair won another Scudetto in 1955, and to this day Nordahl remains the second highest goal scorer in Serie A history, his scoring record for Milan yet to be surpassed.

 

Three seasons later, he moved to Roma following another Serie A title for Milan, which left Liedholm alone at the club. He remained there for several more seasons, becoming captain and winning another two Serie A titles. He was renowned for his vision, control, crosses and elegant playing style. But most of all he was known for his passing. If legend is to be believed, it took years of playing for AC Milan for Liedholm to misplace a pass, and when he finally did, the entire crowd at the San Siro were prompted into a five minute standing ovation. In 1958, Milan reached the European Cup final, losing to Alfredo di Stefano’s brilliant Real Madrid side. Liedholm played so well in the game, that di Stefano invited him to swap shirts and join Madrid on a lap of honour, an offer that the dejected Liedholm declined. He remained at Milan until 1961. Nobody knows what the Swedish side of the 1950’s could have gone on to achieve had they allowed Gre-No-Li to appear in the yellow and blue while based abroad. When the Swedish FA eventually relented, Nordahl had retired and Liedholm and Gren were 35 and 37. Their swansong came in the 1958 World Cup where they represented their country one last time and reached the final on home soil. 

Achievements: Serie A – Champions x4
                              European Cup – Runners-up x1

Star player: Gunnar Nordahl DoB 19 October 1921, Hornefors, Sweden, nickname: Il Cannoniere

Prolific, strong and powerful with eye for goal, Nordahl holds the title of “pluricapocannoniere” with a remarkable 5 Capocannonieri (top scorer) awards. This is more than any player in the history of the Italian championship. He is AC Milan’s top goal scorer of all time and held the record for the most goals for a single club in the Italian league, until he was finally surpassed by Francesco Totti in 2012. Not only considered one of the best Swedish players in history, but also one of the best strikers of all time. During his time playing for Swedish clubs, he notched up 149 goals in 172 matches. In 1948, he became a gold medal Olympian with Sweden, playing alongside his brothers Bertil and Knut. Unfortunately, his 1949 transfer to AC Milan meant that he was no longer allowed to play for his national team, and he sat out of the 1950 World Cup. When Nordahl moved to Milan, he joined his Sweden team mates Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm, forming a third of the incredible Gre-No-Li trio. The Italian fans nicknamed him Il Pompiere (The Fireman) – this was his former job when he played in Sweden. After 8 seasons with Milan, Nordahl moved to Roma for two seasons. When Andriy Shevchenko scored his 100th goal for AC Milan, some old Milanese supporters quoted, “Well, he can double that number, then add another 26, and only then, will he pass Il Cannoniere.”