Axel "Pap" Pilmark (23 November 1925 – 13 July 2009) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, who played as an amateur for

Kjøbenhavns Boldklub Kjøbenhavns Boldklub or KB is a Danish sports club based in Copenhagen. The club was founded 26 April 1876 on the grassy fields in outer Copenhagen which later became Fælledparken. Tennis has been played since 1883. The club hosted, in 1921, on ...

(KB) and professionally for Italian club

Bologna FC Bologna Football Club 1909, commonly referred to as Bologna (), is an Italian association football, professional football club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Football in Italy, Italian football. The club ...

. He played 18 games and scored one goal for the

Denmark national football team The Denmark men's national football team ( da, Danmarks herre-fodboldlandshold or ''herrelandsholdet'') represents Denmark in men's international football competitions. It is controlled by the Danish Football Association (DBU), the governing bo ...

, and won a bronze medal at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

Biography

Axel Pilmar is one of the greatest technicians in Danish football history, able to the strike the ball with extreme precision. 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

.http://www.dbu.dk/landshold/landsholdsdatabasen/PlayerInfo/2816&allmatch=1#match He stayed in the Danish team until 1950, when he signed a professional contract and was banned from the amateur-only

Danish football Association football is the most popular sport in Denmark, with 331,693 players and 1,647 clubs registered () under the Danish FA. The game was introduced into Denmark by British sailors. Kjøbenhavns Boldklub is the oldest club outside of the U ...

. Many of his 1948 Olympic teammates were already professional in

Italian football Football ( it, calcio ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world. They have won the FIFA World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing only Bra ...

, with

Karl Aage Hansen Karl Aage Hansen (4 July 1921 – 23 November 1990) was a Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmar ...

and

Jørgen Leschly Sørensen Jørgen Leschly Sørensen (24 September 1922 – 21 February 1999) was a Danish footballer who played as a forward. He started as an amateur player in Danish football, and won the 1945 Danish championship with B.93. He played 14 games and scor ...

Atalanta Bergamo Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly referred to as Atalanta, is a professional football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy. The club plays in Serie A, having gained promotion from Serie B in 2010–11. Atalanta was founded in 1907 by Lice ...

and Ivan Jensen at

all trying to persuade Pilmark to join their team. 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
"Danish Players in Italy"

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around the ...

, 2 January 2005.

References

1925 births 2009 deaths Men's association football midfielders Danish men's footballers Olympic footballers for Denmark Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Denmark Olympic medalists in football Kjøbenhavns Boldklub players Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics {{Denmark-footy-midfielder-stub