THE AMBROSIANA DEFEATED IN VIENNA BY 3-1
— Mario Giulli | 08/09/1933 —

The Milanese team fought admirably and only succumbed to bad luck and referee bias.

Three to one is the booty of the "purples". Quite satisfactory, considering the numbers themselves; of questionable value, if one wishes to attribute a moral significance to the figures. Austria won, and we certainly won't be the ones who want to pull them off the pedestal on which a cheering crowd carries them once the match is over. But whatever the judgment that tomorrow's newspapers may issue on today's match, one thing is certain: the "purples" owe a lot of gratitude to the referee Cejnar. The immense crowd rushed to attend this decisive match undoubtedly disoriented the referee, because otherwise how to explain certain decisions of his; that not even the most exalted Viennese partisan would have dared to hope against the Italians?

FIERCE FIGHT.

Today at the Vienna Stadium was one of the fiercest duels that the Danube capital has recorded in the post-war period. The proponents of pure technique will probably not have found their advantage in it, but we can bet that at a certain moment they too let themselves be subjugated by the beauty of the fight, and they never thought about anything else. Because, it must be said immediately, rarely have two opposing teams fought with greater self-sacrifice. Ambrosiana and Austria demonstrated today how sport and its colors are used.

They may have been technically inferior to their previous manifestations, however, how heartily they played! Meazza, when the two teams were called together to hear the praise of the winners from the authorities, cried with pain like a child. This trait of our excellent boy would suffice to reproduce the mood of him and of all his companions. When in the second half the plump dictator of the whistle sent off Demaría and Allemandi guilty of hypothetical infringements of his subjective will, our magnificent team stiffened even more in the effort and, with only nine men, kept their opponents in check.

On the eve of the meeting, the Viennese were still collecting the votes of their fellow citizens. Ten minutes after the start of the match, dead silence reigned in the stadium. The Milanese destroyed all predictions. Had the Encounter continued at this rate, it would have ended in a "black-blue" soliloquy. Other than unconditional Austrian victory! But then Sindelar's comrades echoed. With circumspection first, then gradually with energy, with vehemence, with anger. Sindelar's theories, according to which football is beautiful insofar as it is imposed on the technical factor, have foundered miserably. The technique was there, yes, but without any pretensions, of the hustle and bustle. What mattered was victory, the cup glittering yonder in the slanting rays of the sun, making a fine display before the box of authorities. For the Italians the affirmation had a moral meaning, material for the "purples" since it was synonymous with well-being, with a better tomorrow, with an escape from everyday financial burdens.

Driven by two different but equally powerful springs, the teams could not help but fight to the point of sacrifice. The black-blues must have rarely been as busy as they are today. The Italian avant-garde disappoints, observed the usual belly-bearing aristarches. The Italian avant-garde did not disappoint; only, harassed as it was by its adversaries, it dissolved into actions which, even if often faded, still revealed the genius of their creators. In Vienna, the confrontation between Sindelar and Meazza was eagerly awaited. The confrontation took place; however neither one nor the other centre-forward could assert the individual talents. They were too controlled. When they could, they gave the full measure of their knowledge; but they could not often.

Having to say which team was the best today is embarrassing. Meisl, Schwarz and the others up here believe the "purples" victory was just. We, without wanting to sin, of partisanship, must objectively confess that, if anything, the game should have ended without winners or losers, since both teams were equal. The Austrian half-back line, embodied by Mock worked wonders. What other defense could have surpassed that of the Ambrosiana today? It is now known that all meetings with Italians fascinate the crowds of these districts. Today's game will make history. Impetuousness and exuberance are generally attributed to the Latins. Mistake. Anyone who hasn't seen today the mass of people crammed into the Vienna stadium, raving, agitating, even crying, doesn't know what sports fanaticism means.

PHASES AND GOALS.

The game can be summarized like this. Italian aggressiveness and their dominance in the first half, Austrian reaction in the second half; Sindelar beats the start, his companions immediately pour into the Lombard area. It is a moment of confusion as often happens in the embryonic stages. But then the Italians immediately get back on track and go on the attack in their turn. In the 5th minute Molzer lifts the ball, shoots violently at Ceresoll who however manages to block. A little later Austria is in the "corner" without effect. Collecting a shot from Allemandi, Faccio can pass to Demaría who puts Billich's gate in serious danger. There are therefore several scrums without result, until at the tenth minute the Italians are again in the "corner". Ceresoli who during the very intense evening match, then engaged without respite, again manages to block a tremendous ball shot at him by Jerusalem in the precise direction of the net. Then there was a rapid and worrying Italian descent for the "purples" which, however, ended halfway due to a foul by Meazza.

The Viennese, led by Sindelar, are now breaking into our area. Everyone is there, even the rearguards. The pressure of the "purples", accentuated above all by the work of Jerusalem, threatens to culminate in a goal from a surprise shot by Sindelar. But Ceresoli sails again and saves. The Italian defense is iron. In the 25th minute, following a foul by Mock, the referee imposes a free kick against Austria, which is ineffective, just as the one conceded shortly after in favor of Austria following a foul by Faccio will be ineffective.

Two minutes from the end of the first half, Viertl manages to open a pass between the «nero-azzurri». The Italian full-backs hinder him too roughly, according to the referee, who concedes a penalty kick against Ambrosiana, a kick that Sindelar knows how to score amidst the frenzy of the crowd. It is the first Viennese goal.

The recovery takes on an even more eventful aspect. In the fourth minute Austria was in the corner, but Serantoni's header failed. In the 20th minute, following a free kick from Frione, Meazza equalized for the «nero-azzurri». However, the referee denies the point for a hypothetical offside. Then, as if that weren't enough, the referee now almost simultaneously sent off Demaría and Allemandl, guilty, in his eyes, of having charged Nausch. The game proceeded in an increasingly incandescent atmosphere, until Sindelar was able to score a second goal in the 27th minute. Fainting of joy among the audience. In the final minutes, despite the Milanese playing with only nine men, Meazza scores an unstoppable goal which, with one minute remaining, Sindelar neutralizes with his sly but precise shot.