Full name Gunnar Nils Thoresen 1946–1959 Norway Place of birth Larvik, Norway Name Gunnar Thoresen | Years Team Role Football player 1937–1962 Larvik Turn Children Hallvar Thoresen | |
Date of birth (1920-07-21) 21 July 1920 (age 95) | ||
Gunnar Thoresen (born 21 July 1920) was one of the greatest Norwegian footballers in the 1940s and 1950s. He played 64 matches and scored 22 goals for the Norwegian national football team and took part in the 1952 Summer Olympics. His last appearance for Norway came on 28 June 1959, less than a month before his 39th birthday, making him the oldest-ever Norwegian player to play for his national team.
On club level Thoresen stayed with Larvik Turn. He made his first-team debut for the club on 17 May 1937, in a match against Lisleby. He lost four seasons of his career (1941–1944) because of World War II, but quickly established himself among the best players in Norway when organized football resumed in 1945, and made his international debut against Denmark on 16 June 1946.
As a member of Larvik Turn, Thoresen became league champion in 1952/53, 1954/55 and 1955/56. In addition he won the top scorer title twice. He scored 91 goals in 116 matches in the Norwegian Premier League, an average of 0.78 goals per match. He played his last match for Larvik Turn in 1962, having scored a total of 425 goals in 472 first-team matches for the club (including friendlies). This makes him the highest-scoring Norwegian footballer of all-time.
Gunnar Thoresen is the father of Hallvar Thoresen, another Norwegian international. They were capped over 100 times combined.