Slavia stood with three reserves against SK Rapid in Hütteldorf on Sunday and, although only a 1:1 draw and was eliminated from further matches, with their great field play and beautiful style, they deserved full recognition from the Viennese audience and critics. Before SK Slavia headed towards Prague, Frigyes Becske asked a few interesting questions to Kálmán Konrád. 
 
— What is your opinion about the world championship tournament? — Becske started.

Konrád II.: It is my opinion that its course was unrealistic. It could have been an unrivaled attraction, but its sporting value is few.

— Which countries can you rank among the leading football nations in the world?

Konrád II.: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Hungary and Great Britain. The most cultured football is played by the Austrians and the Czechoslovaks. In tactics, Central Europe takes precedence. The Mitropacup and the European Cup are now out of competition in sports value. More substantial and classical in terms of quality than any international football competition.


Mitelleuropa Pokal

— What conclusions can be drawn from the results of the first round of Mitropa Cup?

Konrád II.: The course of the cup matches justifies those who do not consider Italy's world championship victory to be in line with the balance of power. Ambrosiana bleed against Kladno, Juventus result in Teplitzer is not a “world championship” result, Bocskay is at least as good a team as Bologna and Admira even a few goals stronger than Napoli even without Schall. I consider the victory of Újpest against Austria to be very valuable. My team, Slavia, caught a bad day in Prague and therefore lost to the enthusiastic SK Rapid, whose right half-back, Wagner, and center, Bican are world-class. I think with a complete team we would have gone further and not them, but the missings of Čambal, Krčil and Ženíšek proved to be too much of a handicap. I saw Ferencváros in Vienna to play against Floridsdorf, but the game shown here can not be used as a basis for judging their knowledge. I like that Ferencváros strives for style, so they are on the right track. Trendy oroszlán és hajráfutballal can't achieve lasting success and recruit an audience. Sárosi was born a centerhalf, but he is such a talent and classic that he is definitely better than any of his Hungarian rivals as a centre-forward. I think Sárosi's centre-forward's game played a decisive role in Ferencváros' victory.

— Which teams do you think will advance to the Mitropa Cup semi-finals?
 
Konrád II.: Based on the actual knowledge, the chances of Rapid, Újpest and Ferencváros seem to be the best. Bologna should be defeated by Rapid under realistic conditions. If Újpest is really on par with Austria, they have nothing to fear, because Austria must have beaten the best Juventus last year. Why not be able to do the same thing with Újpest? The Kladnó-Ferencváros meeting also promises a Hungarian victory, but with a condition that Ferencváros takes Kladno very seriously. You shouldn't joke with Kladno. Sparta proved against Ambrosiana to be a very dangerous opponent. The winner of the Hungária-Sparta match will occasionally face Admira. In this case, the Austrian champion — Admira — and Mitropa Cup winners — FK Austria — can qualify for the semi-finals, so it is not ruled out that the cup-finals will result in an Austro-Hungarian duel. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Italian teams dropped out of the competition ahead of time, because the Mitropa Cup is not the World Championship...