Another edition of the Central European Cup arrived, consecutively, for F.K. Austria. This was the fifth edition disputed for Die Violetten. Champions of the 1936 edition, defeating A.C. Sparta, and runners-up of Wien Liga, only losing the championship to S.K. Admira, the team was considered as one of the best placed, with an excellent combination of tactics, techniques and its inherent determination in the international tournament. Captain Walter Nausch was one of those representatives of the violet team, as his characteristics were molded with the different seasons in which he wore the colors.

The Austrians' opponent: Bologna, the champion team of the Prima Divisione 1936/37. In fact, a powerful opponent at first, yet another team that would score a strong clash with Die Violetten.

Nausch had played in Wien I. Liga as a left half-back, however, due to an injury suffered by Josef Stroh, Nausch was positioned as the team's right inside forward. He had already acted in that position on other occasions, even though there were still certain doubts on the part of some if it would work again.

MITROPACUP-SPEAZIALISTIN.

The test worked. Composing the Viennese inside trio, Nausch was regarded as one of the best men. The three oldest players — Sindelar, Sesta and Nausch — on the team showed once again that their skills are still at their former level stands. Nausch performed tirelessly, mainly as an extra half-back, but the fact that he was then able to advance into attack brought about the decisive turn, all the more so since he also worked excellently as a forward, which was at least to be regarded as a surprise.

As an excellent 2:1 advantage for the F.K. Austria on Italian soil, the second game would be played at Praterstadion, with Nausch, once again, acting as inside forward.

The second match was, in fact, a true Viennese spectacle for their supporters. With a final score of 5:1, F.K. Austria not only made it through the round but also made a strong impression on their next opponents. It was a safe performance, from the moment Sindelar scored a spectacular goal from approximately 30 meters. Nasuch, on the other hand, performed brilliantly, working as a forward and, once again, an extra half-back.


MATCH REPORT: The man who got the most out of his uncertainty in the further course of events was Nausch, who as an inside right showed himself to be just as competent, eager and powerful as one is used to from him in his traditional half-back's post. Nausch fought for every ball with unbelievable doggedness, kept the upper hand in each duel with opposing defenders and also proved that he had the necessary speed and presence of mind as a "scavenger". After brilliant preliminary work by Sindelar, Nausch scored three goals in a row, an achievement that can be described as extraordinarily flattering for him in the unfamiliar forward position. Nausch's hat-trick was the sensation in the stadium.


Nausch was lively, working —  and working a lot  — to perfection defensively and offensively, especially in the defensive field. Under his criticisms in the match, as much as he played an exceptional role on the field, it was said that he still could not replicate the inside forward role of Stroh, due to his own characteristics, but he was a very effective inside forward. Three consecutive goals were scored by Nausch, giving him one of his only hat-tricks in his career. The first goal was through a ball centralized by Neumer whcih Nausch headed perfectly. The second goal was through an individual play followed by a well-placed shot. The third goal was through a ball rebounded by Ceresoli that Nausch just had to push into the back of the net.

Die Violetten followed with excellent feelings about what could be expected from such a strong group. On 04/07/1937 the first match of the quarter-final was scheduled. The team was Újpest from Budapest, who had finished third in Nemzeti Bajnokság I. Still, the Hungarian team was characterized as a dangerous team.

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The first game was fiercely contested between the Hungarians and the Austrians – and that was not a good advantage for Die Violetten. The Austrians were weaker then in previous week against Bologna.

Nausch was, once again, completely occupied on the field. He, however, couldn't find the right connect with Sindelar — that was something which Stroh was used to. The combination moves between Sindelar and Nausch were never as precise as against Bologna. At that time, Nausch was an extremely valuable executive agent that intuitively grasped Sindelar's intentions. Against Újpest, however, there did not seem to be quite the desired agreement between Sindelar and Nausch. Due to this, many would miss Stroh, who was exactly the inside forward who would be perfectly suitable for the forward line. This was the main criticism, almost unanimously, regarding Nausch. However, it is worth mentioning that, even though both main players of the Austrian team did not understand each other very well, Nausch, as an executing agent, was quite effective. Nausch scored two goals – and the last one was a spectacular play by Leopold Neumer which Nausch only had to push into the back of the net.

Újpest had prepared very well for the match at Praterstadion. The final score 5:4, decided only in the final minutes of the match, was an excellent result to take to Hungary.

HALF-BACK WALTER NAUSCH.

The second match promised an assiduous match between both matches. The match, moreover, with the Hungarian temperature looking for the scoreboard, would mean that the Austrian defensive system would have to be even more polished to hold back the advances of Gyula Zsengellér's Újpest. With the return of Stroh, Nausch was back in his usual position: left half-back.

The match, as already mentioned, was very disputed and aligned with Újpest constantly producing offensive actions. However, it was Sindelar's goal, scored in the 43rd minute of the first half, that changed the aspect of the match. Nausch did a steady job, which, as usual, possibly got even better after the break. He had Géza Kocsis against him and, through skillful placement, was able to prevent most attacks in rhyme.

In another excellent performance by Nausch, thus helping his team, the violets went on to the next phase of the tournament — and with a certain mastery. The Viennese team had won all the disputed matches, but they would have a team that, in recent history — in Húsveti Torna, including — proved to be far superior: Ferencváros, of Dr. György Sárosi.

TO THE FINAL?

The two clashes that would qualify for the final stage of the Mitropa Cup were among the most spectacular in the history of the tournament. Exceptional footballers on the field, with teams rich in history and in their toughest head-to-head matches. In the first match, F.K. Austria was unaware of Ferencváros' completely mitigated performance — and Nausch was part of it.

Nausch didn't start so well, however, as this has already been reflected in several other matches, he improved as the minutes went by, especially in the second half. Nausch, who, especially after the break, stopped the opposing attack attempts as soon as they started with his exemplary pass and similar ball readiness. In the last twenty minutes he was in a particularly strikingly high form. Nausch was in full possession of his impressive skills and worked towards the final success with great certainty and calm.


MATCH REPORT: Nausch was in unsurpassable form.

WALTER NAUSCH: Ferencváros is good. This was especially a pleasant surprise for the Viennese audience, because we heard that they played poorly against Vienna during the week. A fair but hard-fighting team, the only problem is with the efficiency. They played satisfactorily in the field. Personally, I liked Hámori, Kiss, Sárosi, Biró and Gyetvai.


With an excellent advantage gained on Viennese soil, the F.K. Austria went on to play their second match at Ulloi-út. There were Hungarians who believed in a spectacular comeback by Fradi. Austrian thinking was already a little different. After all, Ferencváros had not shown a level comparable to that of F.K. Austria in general. Furthermore, as Nausch himself had said, it was rumored in Vienna that the Hungarian team was performing poorly — and so was the case in the clash against Die Violetten at Praterstadion.

THE END OF THE ROAD.

In one of the most spectacular matches in the history of the tournament, a match that qualified the Hungarian team for the finals, Nausch stood out for his constancy. After all, it has been mentioned quite a bit that F.K. Austria slowed down dramatically in the second half, while Ferencváros surged forward impressively to be regarded as one of the greatest performances by a Hungarian forward line. In this Viennese chaos, Nausch held his wing heroically, but his team was unable to match the level of performance. He got more and more going and finally, when everyone else had long since given up, Nausch defended with sacrifice and diligence to avoid an even worse defeat.

After five unbeaten matches and being considered the main team of the tournament, F.K. Austria suffered one of the biggest defeats in its history. This, if they won the final, could be considered one of the greatest teams in the history of the tournament. Nausch, as well as Sindelar and Sesta, would be the main pillars of this achievement. Nausch, who had already won the cup twice, was playing his last tournament.


CONCLUSION

Tested as an inside forward against Bologna, Nausch performed exceptionally well, despite not fulfilling Stroh's duties. He, however, was quite efficient, either offensively or defensively. He scored a beautiful hat-trick in the sensational match at Praterstadion.

In both matches against Újpest, the result was tighter, as the Hungarian team offered too much resistance against the Austrians. In the first match, Nausch acted as a right inside forward, however, as he was often mentioned in the critics, he was not ideal for the position, despite being quite effective. In the second game, Nausch returned to his classic left half-back position, and performed very well against Újpest's violent advances on the right side, mainly against Kocsis. His performance got even better in the last minutes.

Against Fradi, Nausch did well in both games. Even when his team took that impressive and striking comeback at Üllői-út, Nausch was regarded as one of the best in the match – according to the Hungarians, he was the best of the Viennese. A great proof of his regularity throughout the tournament, because even when his team performed quite poorly, Nausch maintained his very high performances in terms of quality.

F.K. Austria faced high-level teams in the competition, and achieved brilliant results until 25/07/1937. Nausch, in turn, was quite regular throughout the tournament, even acting out of regular position. Nausch balanced his performances on top, especially in the end of each match, thus always presenting himself as one of the best of the match or even the best of the match. Whether attacking or defending, he was a great pillar of the F.K. Austria for the entire tournament and  one of the best players  in the Mitteleuropa Pokal 1937. In three games playing in a theoretically more offensive position — theoretically, as Nausch played more defensive actions as a right inside forward — the Austrian captain scored five goals.