Axel Pilmark
{{short description|Danish footballer (1925-2009)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Axel Pilmark
| image =
| fullname =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|11|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place =
| currentclub =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|7|13|1925|11|23|df=y}}
| death_place =
| height =
| position = Midfielder
| youthyears1=
| youthclubs1=
| years1 =
| clubs1 = KB
| caps1 =
| goals1 =
| years2 = 1950–1960
| clubs2 = Bologna FC
| caps2 = 274
| goals2 = 4
| nationalyears1 = 1947
| nationalteam1 = Denmark U23
| nationalcaps1 = 1
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 1947–1950
| nationalteam2 = Denmark
| nationalcaps2 = 18
| nationalgoals2 = 1
| manageryears1 =
| managerclubs1 =
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport | Men's Football}}
{{MedalBronze| 1948 London |Team Competition}}
}}
Axel "Pap" Pilmark (23 November 1925 – 13 July 2009) was a Danish footballer, who played as an amateur for Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (KB) and professionally for Italian club Bologna FC. He played 18 games and scored one goal for the Denmark national football team, and won a bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics.{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/pi/axel-pilmark-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418090502/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/pi/axel-pilmark-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |accessdate=30 May 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/24686 |title=Axel Pilmark |publisher=Olympedia |access-date=13 October 2021}}
Biography
Axel Pilmar is one of the greatest technicians in Danish football history, able to the strike the ball with extreme precision.{{cite book |title=Dansk Fodbold | last=Lundberg |first=Knud |author-link= Knud Lundberg|volume=1. Fra Breslau til Bronceholdet |year=1986 |publisher=Rhodos |location=Copenhagen |isbn=87-7245-132-7 |pages=118–119 }} He played as a wing half-back, and formed a strong partnership with Ivan Jensen in the Danish national team. He made his international debut in 1947, and was a part of the Danish team that won a bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics.{{cite web| url=http://www.dbu.dk/landshold/landsholdsdatabasen/PlayerInfo/2816&allmatch=1#match | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204092616/https://www.dbu.dk/landshold/landsholdsdatabasen/PlayerInfo/2816&allmatch=1#match | url-status=dead | archive-date=4 December 2024 | title=Unknown}} He stayed in the Danish team until 1950, when he signed a professional contract and was banned from the amateur-only Danish football.
Many of his 1948 Olympic teammates were already professional in Italian football, with Karl Aage Hansen and Jørgen Leschly Sørensen at Atalanta Bergamo and Ivan Jensen at Bologna FC all trying to persuade Pilmark to join their team.{{cite book |title=Dansk Fodbold | last=Lundberg |first=Knud |author-link= Knud Lundberg|volume=1. Fra Breslau til Bronceholdet |year=1986 |publisher=Rhodos |location=Copenhagen |isbn=87-7245-132-7 |pages=174–175 }} In the end, Pilmark signed with Bologna FC, recreating his former international partnership with Ivan Jensen. Axel Pilmark's passing became the main attacking strength, setting up chances for the Bologna forwards, and Jensen later declared Pilmark the best Serie A half-back at the time. Pilmark stayed in Bologna for 10 seasons, playing 274 league games for the team.Roberto Di Maggio, [https://www.rsssf.org/players/den-players-in-it.html "Danish Players in Italy"], RSSSF, 2 January 2005.
Honours
Individual
- Serie A Team of The Year: 1951,{{cite web|url=http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?/6&f=9966&p=1&c=1#page/1/mode/2up |website=Biblioteca dello Sport |title=Corriere dello Sport 1951|access-date=28 January 2025 }} 1952,{{cite web|url=http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?/6&f=11193&p=1&c=1#page/1/mode/1up |website=Biblioteca dello Sport |title=Corriere dello Sport 1952|access-date=28 January 2025 }} 1957{{cite web|url=http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?/6&f=10882&p=1&c=1#page/1/mode/1up |website=Biblioteca dello Sport |title=Corriere dello Sport 1957|access-date=28 January 2025 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Denmark Squad 1948 Olympic Football Tournament}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilmark, Axel}}
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:Danish men's footballers
Category:Olympic footballers for Denmark
Category:Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Denmark
Category:Olympic medalists in football
Category:Kjøbenhavns Boldklub players
Category:Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Category:20th-century Danish sportsmen
{{Denmark-footy-midfielder-stub}}