Wunderteam (German pronunciation:[ˈvʊndɐˌtiːm];Wonder Team) was the name given to theAustria national football team of the 1930s.[1] Led by managerHugo Meisl, the team had an unbeaten streak of 14 games between April 1931 and December 1932. The style of the team focused on quick passing introduced by EnglishmanJimmy Hogan. The forward line was complemented by wide half-backs and an attacking centre-half.Matthias Sindelar,Josef Bican,Anton Schall,Josef Smistik andWalter Nausch were the referents of the team that would dominate European football during that era.Matthias Sindelar, known asDer Papierene (The Paper-thin Man) due to his slight build, was the star and captain of the team.[2]
In the early 1930s, Austria became a very celebrated team in Europe. Before the1934 FIFA World Cup, they routed many of their opponents, including a 5-0 and a 6-0 victory overGermany, a 6-0 victory overSwitzerland, and an 8-2 victory overHungary. They also won theCentral European International Cup, predecessor of theEuropean Championship, by beatingItaly 4-2 in 1932. The cup was to be Wunderteam's only championship win.
Austria entered the1934 World Cup as one of the favorites. In the quarter-final they eliminatedHungary, which was to be the runner-up in the 1938 edition. Like theGolden Team of Hungary 20 years later, Austria failed to lift the World Cup trophy, despite playing beautiful football.[3] They were eliminated by the eventual champion Italy in the semi-final, a match under poor weather conditions that limited their movement of the ball. The only score came when the Austrian goalkeeper was pushed over the line. RefereeIvan Eklind was criticized for partiality toward the host nation, especially after he also refereed the final, which Italy also won. Austria finished fourth after losing 2-3 to Germany in the third place match.[4]
The death ofHugo Meisl in 1937 marked the beginning of the end. Austria qualified for the1938 FIFA World Cup finals, but they withdrew less than three months before the start of the tournament, after the March 1938Anschluss toNazi Germany. The Austrian Soccer Federation dissolved and voluntarily integrated itself into the "Deutschen Reichsbund für Leibesübungen" that coordinated all sports inNazi-Germany.[5] For political reasons, German officials demanded that players from "Hitler's home state" play in theGermany national team, ordering coachHerberger to change the lineup on short notice. Several Austrian players were capped for the combined team failed to live up to expectations, as they were eliminated in the first round. That World Cup campaign was Germany's worst ever World Cup finals performance until 2018.Matthias Sindelar, who did not play for Germany, was found dead in his home in 1939, under circumstances that have been debated since.[6]
The ill-fated Austrian Wunderteam is also credited in some circles as being the first national team to playTotal Football. It is no coincidence thatErnst Happel, a talented Austrian player in the 1940s and 1950s, was coach in the Netherlands in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He introduced a tougher style of play at the clubsADO andFeyenoord, and managed the Netherlands national team in the1978 FIFA World Cup, where they finished as runners-up for the second time in a row.[7][8][9][10]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)