While The Wunderteam, as they would become known, are regarded as legendary in their native Austria, little attention is paid to this wonderful side outside of the country. This is unfortunate, as the Austrian side of the 1930’s was one of the finest teams to grace a football pitch, who unfortunately fell just short of glory. They began to make name for themselves by being the first continental team to defeat Scotland in 1931. It can be said that Austria beat the Scots at their own game, since the teams style of play was based on the Scottish style that focussed on quick passing.

 

In the lead up to the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy, Austria demolished Germany 6-0, Switzerland 6-0 and the powerful Hungarians 8-2. They also won the Central European International Cup, which was a predecessor to the European Cup, defeating a tough Italy side 4-2 in the final and earned a silver medal in the Berlin Olympics. With manager Hugo Meisl calling the shots, Austria enjoyed a 14 game unbeaten run between April 1931 and December 1932. Superstars of the era Josef Smistik, Walter Nausch and the legendary Matthias Sindelar formed the core of a team that went on to dominate European football in the lead up to the second world war. All this was a quite an achievement for a nation that had already been crippled by the first World War and reduced to a small, landlocked nation. They then entered the 1934 World Cup as clear favourites.

 

This World Cup is remembered for being an example of a  high profile sporting event being exploited for political gain, with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini keen to use the Cup to promote fascism. Austria made a point of ignoring the controversy and got on with their games, starting with a 3-2 extra time win over France. Again, they faced and defeated Hungary 2-1, before going up against hosts Italy in the semi-finals. Sadly, this was the end of the road for the Wunderteam in this World Cup. The match was played in poor weather conditions, which limited Austria’s ability to play their preferred passing game. Despite this, Italy faced a stiff challenge, and their only goal came when Guaita bundled the Austrian goalkeeper over the line. The Swedish referee, who was accused of heavily favouring the Italians under the instructions of Mussolini, gave the goal and it was all over for  the Wunderteam. Despite this (or perhaps because of it) the referee went on to officiate the final, which Italy also won.

 

Despite being immensely talented and playing gorgeous football, the Austrians failed to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy, much like Hungary’s Mighty Magyars of 20 years later. The beginning of the end for the Wunderteam came in 1937, with the passing away of their manager Meisl. The team qualified for the following World Cup in 1938, but withdrew following the annexation into Germany. German officials demanded that the best Austrian players would now have to play for Germany, and forced new manager Herberger to change the line-up on short notice. This combined German/Austrian team failed to live up to expectations, and they were eliminated in the first round of the 1938 World Cup in France. Austria should also be remembered for their influence on Total Football, having been a pioneer of the style and with Ernst Happel, an Austrian player of the 40’s and 50’s, going on to coach the famous Dutch national team of the 70’s.

Achievements: Central European International Cup – Winners x1
                         Olympic Games – Silver medal x1
                      FIFA World Cup – Semi finalists x1

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Star player: Josef Bican DoB 25 September 1913, Vienna, Austria-Hungary, nickname: Pepi

The second of three children, Josef Bican’s father died at the age of 30 due to a kidney injury sustained in a football match. His mother worked in a restaurant kitchen. His family lived in poverty and young Bican had to play football without shoes, which helped develop his ball control. At 12 years old, Bican played for the junior team of Hertha Vienna, the same club his father had played for. He got his big break at 18, when he was spotted by one of the city’s biggest clubs, Rapid Vienna. He started off on the wage of 150 schillings, but he played so well that he soon found himself on 600 schillings. However, he eventually left the club to join Czech side Slavia Prague, another great team of the day. He played for them throughout WWII, scoring 328 goals. On three occasions, he scored 7 goals in one game. He was Europe’s top scorer in 5 consecutive seasons, perhaps due to the fact that most physically fit young men were fighting the war. When the war was over, several of Europes biggest clubs wanted to sign him, including Juventus. He refused, worried that Communists might control Italy. He stayed in Czechoslovakia instead, which, unfortunately for Bican, came under Communist control in 1948. He joined FC Hradec Kralove, but the Communists kicked him out and he ended up back in Prague with Slavia Prague, who were then called Dynamo Prague. He was a member of the 1934 Austrian Wunderteam and scored the winner in their 3-2 defeat of France. Rumor has it that Bican scored 5000 goals during his career. When Pele scored his 1000th goal, reporters searched for another player who had scored that many and Bican was suggested. When reporters asked why he hadn’t made a fuss about his feats, Bican replied, “Who would have believed me if I said I’ve scored five times as many goals as Pele?” Due to the poor record keeping of the time, nobody really knows how many goals Bican scored, but to score 5000, he must have had to hit the net 185 times a year over his 27 year career, a feat which would be almost impossible. Bican died two weeks before Christmas at 88 years old.