Karl Kurz (born 21 November 1898; died 26 November 1933 inBasel,Switzerland) was anAustrianfootball player andmanager.
Kurz played mostly as a winger but by the end of his career he had been deployed as a central midfielder on occasions. Slight in stature, his preferences lay in the ball control, the game overview and the positional play.
He began playing football as a pupil atKlosterneuburg drill ground and eventually played for theVienna school boys' team and the youth team atFirst Vienna FC where he played alongsideVictor Hierländer andKarl Jiszda. In 1915, he began playing for Floridsdorfer Amateurs but after just three games he joined theAustrian Army and in May 1916 he was sent into battle duringWorld War I. He returned from the war wounded in 1917 and began playing withFK Austria Wien after his recovery, and helped them finish league runners up in 1920.
In 1921, he moved to Ridge Vienna FC where he finished league runner up twice more. He then signed for 1 more season with1. Simmeringer SC and retired in March 1927 to work as a coach inLatvia. However, he returned to Vienna in October of that year to play amateur football but had to retire in Winter 1928 due to an illness that would later turn out to beleukaemia.
Kurz's first international appearance forAustria came in November 1919 againstHungary. From 1921 until 1926 he played as Austria's right winger in every fixture. His last game for Austria was againstItaly in November 1928. He earned 32caps for Austria and 15 for the Vienna Select XI.
After a short spell as a coach inLatvia in 1927, Kurz's next coaching roll was as assistant manager toRobert Lang atFK Austria Wien in 1929. In 1930, he became manager ofFC Grenchen inSwitzerland and thenFC Basel in 1931. With Basel in theseason 1932–33 he won theSchweizer Cup with three fellow Austrians,Ferdinand Wesely,Josef Chloupek andOtto Haftl, in the team.
He died on 26 November 1933 inBasel when hisleukaemia worsened. He was 35 years old.
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