Wilhelm Meisl (26 December 1895 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

– 12 June 1968 in

Locarno , neighboring_municipalities= Ascona, Avegno, Cadenazzo, Cugnasco, Gerra (Verzasca), Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Losone, Minusio, Muralto, Orselina, Tegna, Tenero-Contra , twintowns =* Gagra, Georgia * Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic ...

) was an Austrian-

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

sports journalist in the 20th century. He was the brother of Austrian national football manager

Hugo Meisl Hugo Meisl (16 November 1881 – 17 February 1937), brother of the journalist Willy Meisl, was the multi-lingual football coach of the famous Austrian 'Wunderteam' of the early 1930s, as well as a referee. Background Meisl was born to a Jewish ...

. Meisl's writings did much to transform how football was perceived and played throughout continental Europe. In 1955, he coined the phrase 'The Whirl' to describe the play of his brother's Austrian 'Wunderteam' of the 1930s. He wrote: "We must free our soccer youth from the shackles of playing to order, along rails as it were. We must give them ideas and encourage them to develop their own". Meisl's early career showed an inclination toward sports and participation. He played amateur football as a goalkeeper in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and was even selected for the national side by his brother. He played tennis, boxing, swam, played water polo and later coached the Swedish side

Hammarby Fotboll Hammarby IF Fotbollförening, more commonly known as Hammarby Fotboll or Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish football club from Stockholm founded in 1915. The club is based at Tele2 Arena in Johanneshov but founded in the neig ...

for two seasons from 1923. He completed legal studies in the early 1920s but his career was in print, working for a Berlin newspaper (''

Vossische Zeitung The (''Voss's Newspaper'') was a nationally-known Berlin newspaper that represented the interests of the liberal middle class. It was also generally regarded as Germany's national newspaper of record. In the Berlin press it held a special role d ...

'') from 1924 to 1933 before establishing himself as an astute author and editor. His work was also part of the literature event in the art competition at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

. Following the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s' seizure of power in Germany, he emigrated to the United Kingdom in January, 1934 and continued as a journalist. He worked in the press department of the

British Olympic Committee The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...

prior to the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, joined the British Army, and was a staff member of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

References

External links

Zeit.de: ''Dr Willy Meisl - 70 Jahre alt''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meisl, Willy Austrian Jews Austrian footballers Austria international footballers Jewish footballers Austrian football managers 1895 births 1968 deaths Austrian emigrants to the United Kingdom Hammarby Fotboll managers Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom British Army personnel of World War II Footballers from Vienna British people of Austrian-Jewish descent Austrian people of Jewish descent British sports journalists Association football goalkeepers Olympic competitors in art competitions 20th-century Austrian journalists