Karl-Alfred Jacobsson

Karl-Alfred Jacobsson (15 January 1926 – 4 March 2015) was a Swedish footballer who is best known for the time he spent at GAIS in Allsvenskan.[1][2]

Karl-Alfred Jacobsson
GAIS during the 1953–1954 season, with Karl-Alfred Jacobsson being one of the players
Personal information
Full name Karl-Alfred Jacobsson
Date of birth (1926-01-15)15 January 1926
Place of birth Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Date of death 4 March 2015(2015-03-04) (aged 89)
Place of death Gothenburg, Sweden
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1943 Gårda BK
1944–1945 GAIS 13 (1)
Redbergslids IK
1949–1959 GAIS 184 (144)
National team‡
1952–1954 Sweden 6 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 March 2013
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 March 2013

Career

At age 16 Jacobsson signed for second tier team Gårda BK who offered to buy him a trench coat to lure the young player to the club. After his season at Gårda he made an early Allsvenskan debut with GAIS the following year but then chose to play for Redbergslids IK while doing his military service.[3]

In 1949 he returned to GAIS where he was the club's top goalscorer in eight of the ten seasons he spent there.[3] When GAIS celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 1994 he was voted "Player of the Century"[4] and at the end of 1999 he was also voted "Player of the Millennium" by the GAIS supporters.[2] He died in 2015 at a nursing home in Gothenburg.[5]

International career

Jacobsson scored three goals in six games for the Sweden national football team. He was also selected in the preliminary squads for the 1950 and 1958 FIFA World Cup but was cut from the final squads both times.[3] During that time period players were selected to the national team by a committee instead of the manager and people in Gothenburg felt that the Stockholm-based committee were biased in only selecting players from the area around the Swedish capital.[2]

Personal life

Jacobsson was born in the United States to a Swedish father and Italian mother. He spent five years in the country before his family relocated to Sweden.[6] Jacobsson played professional football alongside his brother, Frank Jacobsson, with GAIS and the Sweden national football team. His nephew, Roberto Jacobsson, was also associated with GAIS as a manager and player.[7]

Honours

Club

Individual

References
  1. "GAIS - Spelarinformation för Karl-Alfred Jacobsson" (in Swedish). GAIS. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  2. "Profiler vi minns" (in Swedish). GAIS. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  3. Bengt Forsman (13 January 2005). "Århundradets Gaisare" (in Swedish). GAIS. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  4. Tony Balogh (15 January 2009). "GAIS störste fyller 83 år" (in Swedish). GAIS. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2015-03-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "För drygt 60 år sedan tog GAIS guld i Allsvenskan och Degerfors IF lilla silvret. - Degerfors IF". 17 May 2014.
  7. "Gais störste har gått ur tiden".
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