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Austria’s footballing heyday came in the 1930s when Hugo Meisl’s Wunderteam swept all before them. They thumped Germany 6-0 in Berlin, Switzerland 8-1 and Hungary 8-2 during a run of just two defeats in 28 matches leading up to the 1934 FIFA World Cup. Austria, who reached the semi-finals that year, have participated in seven World Cups but before co-hosting UEFA EURO 2008™ had never reached a UEFA European Championship. The star of Austria’s Wunderteam was striker Matthias Sindelar, nicknamed ‘Der Papierene’ – The Man of Paper – because he was so thin. Sindelar scored 27 times in 43 games for Austria between 1926 and 1937 before famously refusing to play for Germany at the 1938 World Cup following the Anschluss.
Miracle of Córdoba
“Tor, Tor, Tor, Tor, Tor, Tor, I wer’ narrisch” – “Goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, I’m going crazy,” screamed Austrian commentator Edi Finger Sr after Hans Krankl’s 88th-minute strike knocked rivals West Germany out of the 1978 World Cup. At the final whistle Finger sent goose bumps down the spines of his compatriots when he screamed: “Now it’s over! The end! Finished! After 47 years, Austria have finally beaten Germany again.” When West Germany and Austria met again in 1982 the contrast could not have been greater. A 1-0 West German victory would take both sides into the second round and after Horst Hrubesch scored on ten minutes the contest was over. The two teams passed the ball around at a snail’s pace thereafter, earning the match the moniker ‘Der Nichtangriffspakt von Gijon’ – “The non-aggression pact of Gijon”.
Polster magic
“For me there is only either or – either all the way or completely.” This quote from Toni Polster sums up Austria’s record scorer who between 1982 and 2000 scored 44 goals in 95 games. Polster was as popular off the pitch as on it, most famously as lead singer of the band Die Fabulösen Thekenschlampen (The Fabulous Barsluts). Singing obviously comes naturally to retired Austrian footballers: Hans Krankl reached No2 in the Austrian charts with Lonely Boy in 1985.
Wembley Toni
Few moments truly touch a country’s sporting consciousness. For Austrians, skier Franz Klammer winning Olympic gold in 1976, Niki Lauda surviving his crash at the Nürburgring, Krankl’s winner against West Germany and Toni Fritsch’s two goals at Wembley in 1965. England would win the World Cup nine months later, but that October night it was Austria that played like champions. Fritsch scored twice in a 3-2 triumph and the legend of Wembley Toni was born. One of those goals, a long-range screamer, set Fritsch up for future success in another sport. When the Dallas Cowboys toured Europe looking for a place-kicker in 1971, former Austria coach Leopold Stastny put Fritsch’s name forward. Fritsch’s Wembley goal had put him on the path to Super Bowl glory.
History makers
Austria’s 7-5 defeat of Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the 1954 World Cup is still the highest-scoring game in that tournament’s history. In 35C heat in Lausanne, Switzerland raced into a 3-0 lead within 20 minutes. With no substitutes allowed, Austria goalkeeper Kurt Schmied played on despite suffering sunstroke, however, Austria battled back, scoring five times in the next 15 minutes to run away with the game. After losing to eventual champions West Germany in the semi-finals, Austria would beat Uruguay in the third-place play-off, their best ever finish.
Heroes
Andreas Herzog, known affectionately as ‘Herzilein’ (Sweetheart), is Austria’s most capped player with 103 appearances. The country’s most famous footballing figure, though, is the late, great Ernst Happel. Happel was capped 51 times and was the star of the team that finished third at the 1954 World Cup. He is best remembered, though, for his success as a coach, lifting the European Champion Clubs’ Cup with Feyenoord in 1970 and Hamburger SV in 1983 and taking the Netherlands to the 1978 World Cup final.
