Karl Gustafsson

Offensive midfielder Karl Gustafsson made his first appearance for IFK Köping’s A-team as a 15-year-old. He soon became Sweden’s all-time top scorer top scorer with 12 goals in one league match. After a short-lived loan to Västmanland-Nerikes BK he returned to his hometown in 1910 and joined the newly founded Köpings IS. Gustafsson travelled to England in January 1913 to study football and signed an amateur contract to play 12 matches for Leicester Fosse. He left Köpings IS for good after one more season in 1914 and transferred to Stockholm’s top club Djurgårdens IF.

The years with Djurgårdens (1916-25) were the most successful ones of Gustafsson’s club career. In his first season he led the club to win the Swedish cup championship against local rivals AIK. He repeated this feat with his club in 1920, and he formed a formidable midfield with Ragnar Wicksell and Bertil Nordenskjöld. For three more years he returned to Köpings IS.

Gustafsson played in Sweden’s first ever international football match in 1908 beating Norway in a 11-3 hands-down victory. He became the first ever goal scorer for Sweden in an international match scoring in the 14th minute of the match. He was a member of the Swedish football team at four Olympic Games. In 1908, 1912, and 1920 he played all matches for the Swedish team, seven in total, losing all but one (against Greece in 1920), but Gustafsson remained without a goal in these games. In Paris in 1924, at the age of 35 he was an unused substitute, when Sweden won bronze. In total he played 32 games with the national team and scored 22 goals. Between 1913 and 1916, he captained the team eight times. From 1921-23 he was suspended from playing for the national team following a controversy with the federation. But he was granted a farewell game in 1924 in a friendly against Estonia.

He had a player-coach career with IC Westmannia (1930-21, 1933-35) and Hallstahammars SK (1929, 1932) and then coached various small clubs, mostly from his native Västmanland. According to Gustafsson’s own count he played a total of 635 matches (nationally and internationally) and scored 483 goals. Regarded as Sweden’s first complete player, he won the “Stor Grabb” badge in football in 1926 and was inducted into the Swedish Football Hall of Fame as number three in 2003.

Besides football he was active in shot put, triple jump, high jump, pentathlon and decathlon, skating, bandy, wrestling, and eventually, bowling. Gustafsson held several honorary positions including chairman of Köping IS and of Västmanland IF’s first ice hockey section (1938-40). He was a board member of Västmanland-Närke Sports Association and of the Köping wrestling club. Initially trained as a carpenter, Gustafsson ran a well-known sports shop in Köping. He was married to Jenny Elvira Larsson and had a son.