Augusto Godoy interviews Gschweidl
Augusto Godoy | 07/05/1958

— "I don't believe in South American football!" — The author of this sensational phrase is the former star Gschweidl, who was partner of the famous Sindelar in the greatest Austrian national team of all time — He is now the manager of the "Sport-Toto" (football lottery) in Austria — The "Wunderteam" was like a finely tuned orchestra — "The football of twenty years ago was superior to today" — He believes England will win the World Cup in Sweden.

If the great Sindelar disappeared about twenty years ago, leaving an enormous nostalgia in the bosom of those Austrians who were excited about the Wubderteam, of which it was their maximum expression; if Walter Nausch, another notable figure who has come down to our days, passed away less than two years ago, after even playing the role of the Austrian Federation's coach, other former members of the unforgettable team are still alive. And, of course, they keep with them the memories of the remarkable campaigns of the greatest Viennese team of all times.

Here in this famous Vienna we went to meet one of the most legitimate representatives of Wunderteam. By the way, he played alongside Sindelar, in the inside-right, having participated in the most brilliant games that thrilled Europe, in those years of the fastidious football in Austria. This is Fritz Gschweidl, who is currently still in full activity in football-related sectors, as he is the director of "Sport-Toto", which is nothing but the sports lottery, which here as in so many European countries exists in perfect working order, regulated by law and arousing extraordinary interest.

Football twenty years ago was superior.

It was at the headquarters of "Sport-Toto" that we interviewed the now respectable citizen in his fifties, Gschweidl, who is no longer an ace in the field to direct the fans' bets in this competition of guesses in which millions are running.

Gschweidl belonged to First Vienna, Austria's pioneering football club, and is very proud of the fact that he was a pure amateur.

To our first question, he replied:

— I believe that the standard of football we played at the time of Wunderteam was superior to the current one and for a very simple and fundamental reason. It's just that back then there was much less individualism than today. These days, the football star wants to have his own fans, he needs to show up to get a good economic situation, whereas twenty years ago we all worked for the whole group. What mattered was only that the team, as a single whole, was successful. Individually, the role played by each of us was secondary.

Greatest emotion: the dramatic departure of Wunderteam in London.

Sindelar's former companion lights a cigarette and then answers our second question:

— My greatest emotion in my entire football career, as I believe it was also that of all my teammates, was the dramatic fight we held in 1932 at Chelsea Stadium, in London, against the powerful English team. We played a lot and we almost had the victory at our mercy but even that time the British kept the tradition and didn't lose in their domains, ending the prelio with their victory, 4-3. This was, by the way, the only defeat that Wunderteam suffered, until its disappearance in 1935.

See also: Die Kolumne #1

— And how do you appreciate the achievements of Wunderteam today? — we asked.

— Our team was like a very well tuned orchestra. Everyone got along wonderfully and hence the secret of its great performance. Naturally, it would have to rely on elements that technically presented appreciable conditions, but the very secret of its success was the perfect harmony of the whole, which worked like a machine.

South Americans will have no chance before Europeans — England, the favorite.

About the next World Cup dispute, in Sweden, Gschweidl expressed his opinion as follows:

— I definitely believe that once again the Europeans will get the better of this maximum match. In my opinion, the South Americans will have limited chances of reaching a situation of greater evidence, as they will not withstand the greater strength of the Europeans. There are several factors that should weigh in favor of the main representatives of the Old Continent. And as most important, I classify the best physical fitness, the greatest ability of Europeans to face a competition of such magnitude. In addition, the South Americans are at a disadvantage in the melee with the ones here, who normally act based on the use of the physicist.

— Which candidate do you think has the greatest possibilities? — we went back to interrogating the former member of the famous Wunderteam.

— I consider England the strongest competitor. Their chance is, in my opinion, very big. They are again in full footballing splendour, fully recovered from the period of decline as it passed that of the loss of some Manchester United values. It is, finally, my favorite in the VI World Cup — added Gschweidl.