Background
Gren was born on 31 October 1920 to parents Johan Olsson and Gerda Maria Olsson. Gren, a son of a carpenter, grew up in Majorna, Gothenburg. From a young age, Gren excelled in football.
Gunnar Gren
Gunnar Gren 1957
1950s AC Milan's Swedish trio of Gre-No-Li (Gren, Nordahl and Liedholm)
Gunnar Gren
Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm
Gunnar Nordahl, Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm. (AC Milan)
Gre-No-Li
Gunnar Gren and Hagge Geigert in "Guest at Hagge"
Statue of Gunnar Gren outside of (the now demolished and rebuilt) Gamla Ullevi stadium.
Guldbollen
Gunnar Gren 1957
1950s AC Milan's Swedish trio of Gre-No-Li (Gren, Nordahl and Liedholm)
Gunnar Gren
Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm
Gunnar Nordahl, Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm. (AC Milan)
Gunnar Gren and Hagge Geigert in "Guest at Hagge"
Statue of Gunnar Gren outside of (the now demolished and rebuilt) Gamla Ullevi stadium.
Gren was born on 31 October 1920 to parents Johan Olsson and Gerda Maria Olsson. Gren, a son of a carpenter, grew up in Majorna, Gothenburg. From a young age, Gren excelled in football.
On 7 October 1934, Gothenburg Football Association President Carl "Ceve" Linde held a juggling contest. He won his first sporting prize – a bronze plaque. Göteborgs Sport Bladet wrote about 13-year-old Gren's skills and how he outshone some of the big boys in the national league. The then, 13-year-old Gren played for Bollklubben Strix. During his youth, he played for Lindholmens BK and GAIK before playing Gårda BK.
In 1937 Johan started playing for Gårda BK. He made his Allsvenskan debut on 1 May 1938 against Malmö FF which resulted in a scoreless draw. During his time there, he played a total of 54 matches scoring 16 goals.
In 1941, he was recruited by IFK Gothenburg. During his time in the club, Gren won one national championships in the 1941/42 season and was top scorer in 1947. He won the first ever Guldbollen in 1946. His first league match for IFK was in August 1941, IFK played against Gårda BK winning 6–1 with Gren scoring the first goal. His last game for IFK was on 6 June 1949 versus IFK Norrköping at Gamla Ullevi in which Gothenburg lost 0–1. He had played 164 matches for IFK and scored 78 goals.
On 11 September 1949, he debuted for A.C. Milan against Sampdoria, with Milan winning 1–3. During his time with Milan, Johan became the 'Gre' part of the famous Gre-No-Li trio with his Swedish teammates Gunnar Nordahl ('No') and Nils Liedholm ('Li'). He also earned the nickname the "Il Professore" which is Italian for "the professor". While at A.C. Milan, he won the league title for the 1950/51 season. He made 133 appearances in Serie A and scored 38 goals. Gren also managed AC Milan in 1952 before moving to AC Fiorentina.
In 1953, Gren moved to AC Fiorentina where he made 55 appearances and scored 5 goals. Then in 1955, Gren moved to Genoa CFC where he made 29 appearances and 2 goals. Tired of Italy, Gren decided to move back to Sweden. In 1956, Gren returned to Gothenburg where he joined Örgryte IS as both player and manager. Gren left in 1959 and played for GAIS in 1963. Gren retired from football in the 1970s. He died ten days after his 71st birthday.
A creative forward, known for his technical skill, vision, tactical intelligence, and passing ability as a playmaker, he was part of the famous "Gre-No-Li" trio of forwards at Milan and the Swedish national team, and was also capable of playing as an attacking midfielder or even as a striker. Gren has won numerous awards including an Olympic Gold Medal in 1948, Guldbollen in 1946, and was a part of the 1958 Swedish National Team that took second place. Gren is considered to be one of Sweden's greatest and most prolific football players; a statue has been erected in his honor outside Gamla Ullevi stadium.
