From Wunderteam to Frühlingsteam
Robert Brum | 01/04/1934

Anyone who has experienced and fought in Austria's football history from the very beginning will know about many things that were drenched with the halo of wonderful things at the time of the event, but were only events that look beyond the everyday through the moment of surprise, the unexpected. What a football marvel with a revealing effect that was hardly ever surpassed after all, was the guest performance of the Oxford students in Vienna in 1899! A school wisdom in football that was not even dreamed of on the continent at that time was perfectly shaped by the sons of Albion, so that the Viennese had to admit defeat 15:0 and 13:0. The England marvel was repeated several times, for example in the spring of 1904, when Great Britain's amateur elite, the Corinthians, with G. O. Smith, one of the most famous centre-forwards that England has ever produced, pondered the Austrian team 7:1. The fights that took place in the same year at the Hohe Warte between the Scottish team Glasgow Rangers and the continental eleven Boldklubben from Copenhagen, which were 9:0 and 5:3 in favor of the Scots, were two events that resulted from the Viennese football community at that time were marveled at as football revelations. More recently, the Uruguayans, whose Nacional team, from Montevideo, made a guest appearance in Vienna in 1925, but found in their opponents no extras but almost equal partners, are clear evidence of the huge upswing in top-class football in Austria.

Almost four years ago, the Austrian national team celebrated their sensational 5-0 victory over Scotland on the Hohe Warte and subsequently achieved a record series of victories that could hardly be matched in the football history of the nations, our team advanced in the Foreign prizes free of charge to the Wunderteam, although there was a good reason for a fantastic definition to portray it as a miracle, which, when viewed from a tithler point of view, was merely a footballing feat. Of course, the Austrian team, which heralded the glory epoch of Austrian football history with the grand victory over Scotland, was an ensemble of ball artists of the most splendid footballing individualities, the essence of the Viennese football team, so to speak, that had been neglected by the association's captain. And it took a lot of criticism before Austria's generalissimo abandoned his principle of putting power without beauty into the field and mobilized the best football blowers in Austria against the Scots. The sturgeon quintet of Wunderteam's Zischek, Gschweidl, Sindelar, Schall and Vogl I. became an almost incredibly powerful attack weapon, which operated in an enchanting manner. It took a very long time until Austria's centre-forward Sindelar was "relieved", because in him all you wanted to see was the fabulous ball juggler and not an outstanding footballer. It was only when our national team drew the attention of all of football Europe through an unprecedented success that it dawned on many, and thank God, also in authoritative minds, that Austria had a center forward of the largest format. Of course, when afterwards everything did not always go as desired, Sindelar was usually presented as a sin by the high general staff, and on several occasions they were close to giving him the "blue bow", for example before our representative eleven's first trip to England, who were in Stamford Bridge designed a triumph for the Vienna Football School and Sindelar entered the epithet Best centre-forward in the world in the English specialist criticism. Even after the second trip across the Canal, after the game against Scotland in Glasgow, there were initially brilliant stripes for Sindelar, appeared but in the Berlin “Vossische Zeitung” there was already an article drawn by Hugo Meisl, in which Sindelar's playing style was extensively praised. Certainly, a few days later, after the unhappy defeat by Arsenal in London, you read it anberly in some of the continental papers, and alleged interviews with Austria's band leader, which included: "Never again Sindelar."

It must be a fine task to refresh the ugly, not at all sporting incidents that happened after our national team returned home from Great Britain. The sad outcome of all these tenig ideal events was the sportingly unjustified disembarkation of Sindelar from the national team. Even the ridiculous odes of the Bataienbarden to the newly created Frühlingsteam cannot change anything, because it is not for everyone to get excited about something that was inspired by managerial business spirit. as long as the pernicious influence of the club's rulers on the team line-up cannot be eliminated. Sindelar has shown in the championship game against Admira and also in the city battle against Prague at the Hohe Warte that he is still the most popular contender for the centre-forward position of our national team, as well Schall, who scored eight goals against a Danish team in Copenhagen, has apparently reached his best form again, so the inner trio would probably not be for a Wunderteam or Frühlingsteam, but for the Austrian national team with Bican, Sindelar, Schall given.

For some who measure life with the ethical eternity mage, the career of a footballer, even if the highest level of popularity flares up, may seem extremely insignificant, because to them sport means a detachment of the human race in the spiritual sense, above eternal values, we celebrate honestly enough to admit it, life has definitely not to forgive, that's why we should be grateful for every nice stun that it brings us, even if it's just simple footballers.