Where are the talents?
Dr. Richard Soukup | 24/07/1926

At the time, it was no exaggeration when the foreign newspapers kept saying that Vienna was the city of football talents and that Vienna's soil was humus for football. Almost every Sunday brought new, interesting talents to the surface, every summer break brought us unheard-of triumphs abroad that have never been repeated since then, the guest performances of the Viennese were events, Viennese footballers were wanted, Viennese football had become a brand.

It was the time when Fischera delighted the football aesthetes of Vienna (there was still something like that back then!) Sunday after Sunday at the WAC-Platz, it was the time when Braunsteiner, who was not wrongly called the Unforgettable, teached the Vienna football school, Merz, Andres, Studnicka, the brothers Tekusch, Poppovich, Brandstetter, Kuthan, Bauer, Krzal, Pekarna, Kaltenbrunner, Mayringer, Rumbold, Urban and others were at work at the time. "Connoisseurs" called what they demonstrated and thus developed as the Scottish School. But it was the original Viennese school, a method that today is unfortunately only produced in fragments that have become colorless.

Incidentally, this Viennese school had pioneers who were talented in their own way. Talents of a primordial nature that will never come back, because overgrownness and artistry are terms that have nothing to do with each other. Let me just remind you of a few names: Eipeldauer, Albert, Lintschewsky, Kellner, Bloncy, Wiesner, Hirschl, Huber, Naub, Adi Sturmer, Fischer, Dettelmayer, Dick, Grob, Rudi Wagner, Leuthe, Siems, Hussak, Krug, Dannmann, Schediwy, Schönecker, Wolf, Grünbaum, Preiß and others. Each of these greats had their own note, their tradition, their fate. Today there are great people in abundance, back then there were still individualities, self-taught people who managed to get things done on their own, who didn't need a trainer because they still had something that is currently fairly unknown: ambition.

Today?

Employees complete the matches prescribed for them. That is the formula for all events and performances on the football fields. You have your contract and live until your next notice of termination. Then the Lord God will help you!

But contract is something that stifles the concept of talent. Hence the lack of talent that we have today. Hence this desolation in the performances that slowly but surely chases the audience away. Every footballer strives today to start earning as soon as possible. He used to play for years in the young team and in the reserve until he managed to get into the "first". These years of waiting had its good side. It kept the aspirant's ambition in constant tension and this ambition again brought the impetus to learn, to develop and to achieve maximum performance. And if you finally managed to get into the "First", then you had to endeavor to keep yourself there through consistently good performances. Because he didn't have a contract that valued him for months or a year. In addition, the ambitious from the reserve team pressed in, so he had to be on his guard at all times. It is clear that under such circumstances only talents could survive or, better said, that these circumstances brought and had to bring the talent to development.

And today?

The footballer, even if he is a talent, can never mature. Because if he wants to get his money's worth, he has to become a professional as soon as possible. Therefore he takes over himself and his talent withers. It remains mediocrity and can never, ever, become the bearer of a tradition. But without tradition there is no development.

Let's take a look at today's Viennese teams and look for real talent! I am very much afraid that we will hardly need the fingers of a third hand. At Rapid: Madlmayer. A real talent. Whether Schramseis is such a thing remains to be seen. One must even be prepared for the fact that this man will throw his penchant for infairneb off the rails. For the Amateure: Vanicek. And that's that. At Vienna: Hofmann and Kaller. The latter is actually a very safe tip. In the Hakoah team, with the best will in the world, I don't see any real talent that would have become lately. It would be that one wanted to refer to Wortmann as such. Sportklub? Zero. Wacker? Rappan and Machhörndl — but that's where we are." Finished. From the W.A.C. to mention Braun, who will definitely make it to the international. Kochesser has failed miserably. At Slovan it actually looks quite sad. Nowhere to see a real peak. At Simmering it is something like that. At most, it looks like Zillbauer, who made a nice start at the time, will become something over time, but the opposite is to be expected after what has been said so far. The Floridsdorfers have the brilliant Juranic, but nothing more. Admira can refer to the little Schall and Schott. At Hertha — apart from Semenka — there is hardly anything going on, and Rudolfshügel has a few people who from time to time reveal something like talent to make a forecast, but it would be a risk.

Things look very sad in Vienna with the talents at the moment. And only a very optimistic optimist could predict an imminent improvement. I myself allow myself to be a very pessimistic pessimist.