Matthias Sindelar

Matthias Sindelar (, cz, Matěj Šindelář; 10 February 1903 – 23 January 1939) was an Austrian professional footballer. Regarded as one of the greatest Austrian players of all time, Sindelar played for Austria Wien and the Austria national football team.

He played as a centre-forward for the celebrated Austrian national side of the early 1930s that became known as the ''Wunderteam'', which he captained at the 1934 World Cup. Known as "The Mozart of football" or '' Der Papierene'' ("The Paper Man") for his slight build, he was renowned as one of the finest pre-war footballers, known for his fantastic dribbling ability and creativity. He was voted the best Austrian footballer of the 20th Century in a 1999 poll by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) and was named Austria's sportsman of the century a year before.

Matthias Sindelar was a forward. With the Wunderteam, he showed himself as one of the key elements of this formation, evolving in a 2-3-5. It gave, according to specialists like Paul Dietschy, "such fluidity to the Austrian system" that it was nicknamed the "Viennese whirlpool". Although the Wunderteam regularly lacks efficiency, this lack is compensated by Sindelar with his technical skill and his vision of the game.

Early years

Of Czech descent, Sindelar was born Matěj Šindelář () in Kozlov, Moravia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the son of Jan Šindelář, a blacksmith, and his wife Marie (née Švengrová). Despite occasional claims that Sindelar was of Jewish origin, the family was Catholic. They moved to Vienna in 1905 and settled in the district of Favoriten, which had a large Czech-speaking community. Young Matěj/Matthias began playing football in the streets of Vienna.

The family of the young Matěj, who saw his first name Germanized in Matthias, moved to Vienna, the capital of Austria-Hungary, in the working-class district of Favoriten. With his friends, mostly emigrants from Bohemia and Moravia. He grew up on the same streets as Austrian teammate Josef Bican.

Still a football fan, Matthias Sindelar became an apprentice mechanic after the death of his father, or a locksmith according to sources. He had several small jobs, including a seller of sporting goods.

Club career

Sindelar made his career start at Hertha Vienna, which he lasted from 1918 to 1924.

At the age of fifteen, already considered "an excellent dribbler and finisher", he was spotted by a recruiter from ASV Hertha Vienna, who hired him in 1918 from his youth teams . Gradually, football and training took a greater place in the life of Sindelar, who joined the first team in the early 1920s.

Playing in the blue and white jersey of Hertha, Sindelar managed to compensate for his rather frail physique, resembling that of a child (then at 60 kg ), by his high-level technique, allowing him, according to experts, "to dodge and dribble at will his opponents, and to squeeze with disconcerting ease within the opposing defenses ” .

It is these characteristics which make him obtain the nickname of “ der Papierene ” ("the man of paper")

Sindelar quickly materialized the hopes placed by the leaders of Hertha Vienna, scoring his first goals in the national championship in particular thanks to his skills with his feet, and becoming an important part in the Viennese formation. While he had to provide for himself only through football, the Viennese suffered a serious knee injury in May 1923, making him unavailable for an indefinite period. His club also went through a great economic crisis during this same period, and Sindelar, as well as some of his teammates, were made redundant. In his time at Hertha Vienna, Sindelar played 23 matches scoring 4 goals.

Austria Vienna

Revelation in Austria Vienna (1924-1938). Free from any contract and still injured, Sindelar consulted the doctor of the Wiener Amateure, who suggests that he should undergo meniscus surgery, an operation considered risky, because it could mark the end of his career, but necessary. Cured of his injury, the Viennese decided to join the club of the doctor who advised him, that of Wiener Amateure, then Austrian champion and winner of the Austrian Cup in title.

In 1924 was brought to FK Austria Vienna, whose name at the time was Wiener Amateur-SV, up to 1926. He helped the team win the Austrian Cup in 1925, 1926, 1933, 1935 and 1936, a league title in 1926, and the Mitropa Cup in 1933 and 1936. Despite his toddler face and extremely puny physique, Sindelar was a center forward and according to the concept of the time, he was very technically gifted, with a good finish, a true leader and endowed with effective dribbling skills. Gifted with an agility to break the ankles of his vis-à-vis, his ability to erase the defender one on one was exceptional. In 703 matches for Vienna matches, he scored 600 goals.

In 2001, Sindelar was chosen in Austria's Team of the Century.

Sindelar was arguably one of Europe's best and, in scope, most influential footballers of his generation, recognized for his ball control, passing and dribbling, and especially his creativity. Anecdote has it that some Viennese football fans went to Sindelar's games not only to see him play but to get a better understanding of how football should be played.

In 1938 he appeared as himself in the Austrian film ''Roxy and the Wonderteam''.

International career

Austria national team

From 1926 to 1937, Sindelar was capped 43 times for his country, scoring 26 goals. He scored four goals in his first three international matches, including one in his debut match, a 2–1 victory over Czechoslovakia on 28 September 1926. Sindelar became an essential part of the Austrian ''Wunderteam'' that was coached by Hugo Meisl, after a falling-out caused by his individualism. David Goldblatt described the events:

He made his international debut in 1926 and played well before falling out of favour with the disciplinarian Meisl. Four years in the international wilderness followed until Meisl was cornered by a gathering of the city's leading football commentators as he sat in the Ring Café in 1931. Everyone was arguing for Sindelar's recall and Meisl changed his mind. Sindelar played. Scotland were beaten and the ''Wunderteam'' – already disciplined, organized, hardworking and professional – acquired their playmaker and inspiration, that vital spark of unpredictability.

1927-30 Central European International Cup

Not quite the ''Wunderteam'' yet but a young Sindelar helped Austria to its first major international result being a part of the squad that made Runners-up.

1931-32 Central European International Cup

The ''Wunderteam'' started by winning the Central European International Cup: 1931–32, Sindelar scoring 4 goals to help Austria win its first and so far only international Trophy.

1933-35 Central European International Cup

This time around The ''Wunderteam'' made Runners-up. Sindelar scoring 3 goals to make him Austria's all-time top goalscorer at the Central European International Cup.

1934 World Cup

Sindelar and Austria were especially prominent at the 1934 World Cup. The high point was their win over Hungary in the quarterfinals, when Sindelar was matched up against centre-half György Sárosi, who would go on to claim a runners-up medal at the following World Cup in France. In a bruising encounter, one Hungarian was sent-off, and Johann Horvath, the Austrian midfielder, was injured and missed the semi-final against Italy. Austria was then defeated by the host nation, with Sindelar affected by the harsh marking of Luis Monti.

Austria v Germany 1938

On 3 April 1938, the Austrian team played Germany in the Prater Stadium in Vienna its last match as an independent Austrian team, as some weeks earlier, Germany had annexed Austria (Anschluss) and the Nazis ordered the dissolution of the Austrian team into a common team with Germany, even though it had qualified for the 1938 FIFA World Cup.

The match (German: "Anschlussspiel") was dubbed as a game for celebrating the Anschluss and Austria's "coming home to the Reich". The Austrians played on the wish of Sindelar in red-white-red kits (the national flag's colours) instead of their traditional white and black. Austria missed out many sitters in a way that looked deliberate. However, in the last 20 minutes, Sindelar and teammate Karl Sesta both scored as the game finished 2–0.
Sindelar is reported to have celebrated extravagantly in front of senior Nazi dignitaries.

International caps and goals

The following is a list of Sindelar's international appearances and goals with the Austria national football team.

Team record

In the 43 matches that Sindelar played, Austria had a total record of 25 victories, 11 draws, and 7 losses.

Death and myth

Always refusing to leave his home country, Sindelar refused to play for Germany after Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938 (Anschluss), citing old age (by then 35 years) or injury as his excuse.

On 23 January 1939 both Sindelar and his girlfriend Camilla Castagnola were found dead at the apartment they shared in Vienna; the official verdict cited carbon monoxide poisoning as the cause. Different theories speculated that his death was an accident, suicide or murder.

Austrian writer Friedrich Torberg later dedicated the poem ''"Auf den Tod eines Fußballspielers"'' ("On the death of a footballer") to Sindelar. The poem suggested that he had committed suicide as a result of the German Anschluss of Austria in 1938. On the other hand, it has been thought and reported that his death was accidental, caused by a defective chimney. A neighbour had reported a defective chimney in the block a few days before Sindelar's death. However, in a 2000s documentary screened on the BBC, Egon Ulbrich, a lifelong friend of Sindelar, stated that a local official was bribed to record his death as an accident, which ensured that he would receive a state funeral. "''According to the Nazi rules, a person who had been murdered or who has committed suicide cannot be given a grave of honour. So we had to do something to ensure that the criminal element involved in his death was removed''," he stated. It has also been suggested that Sindelar was killed for his opposition for the Anschluss. The Nazi secret police force, the notorious Gestapo, had a file on him and had kept his café under surveillance.

Honours

Sindelar was ranked as Austria's best footballer of the twentieth century by the IFFHS, also ranking as the world's 22nd best. His career titles include:

Club

; Austria Wien
* Austrian football championship
** Winner: 1926
* Austrian Cup
** Winner: (5) 1925, 1926, 1933, 1935, 1936
* Mitropa Cup
** Winner: (2) 1933, 1936

International

;Austria
* FIFA World Cup
** ''Semi-finals'': 1934
* Central European International Cup
** Winner: 1931–32
** ''Runner-up'': (2) 1927–30, 1933–35

Individual
* FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 1934

References

External links

Profile at the official web site of FK Austria



Sindelar's play style transformation by arfsh.com

Channel 4 News: Matthias Sindelar
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Player profile
– Austria Archive

HistoriasDeFútbol. Episodio 2 "Mathías Sindelar, un gol al nazismo"
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sindelar, Matthias
1903 births
1939 deaths
People from Jihlava District
People from the Margraviate of Moravia
Austrian people of Czech descent
Austrian Roman Catholics
Austrian footballers
Austria international footballers
1934 FIFA World Cup players
FK Austria Wien players
Austrian Football Bundesliga players
Austrian football managers
FK Austria Wien managers
Association football forwards
Deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning
Death conspiracy theories
Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery