FK Austria Wien

Foundation to World War II

FK Austria Wien has its roots in Wiener Cricketer established on 20 October 1910 in Vienna. The club was renamed Wiener Amateur-SV in December of that year and adopted the name Fußballklub Austria Wien on 28 November 1926.

The team claimed its first championship title in 1924. Wiener Amateur changed its name to Austria Wien in 1926 as the amateurs had become professionals. The club won its second league title that year.

The 1930s, one of Austria Wien's most successful eras, brought two titles (1933 and 1936) in the Mitropa Cup, a tournament for champions in Central Europe. The star of that side was forward Matthias Sindelar, who was voted in 1998 as the greatest Austrian footballer.

The club's success was interrupted by the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938, with Austria taunted as Judenklub. While Jewish players and staff at the club were killed or fled the country, Sindelar died under unresolved circumstances on 23 January 1939 of carbon monoxide poisoning in his apartment. He had refused to play for the combined Germany-Austria national team, citing injury (bad knees) and retirement from international games. The club was part of the top-flight regional Gauliga Ostmark in German competition from 1938–45, but never finished higher than fourth. They took part in play for the Tschammerpokal, predecessor to the modern-day DFB-Pokal (German Cup) in 1938 and 1941. Nazi sports authorities directed that the team change its name to Sportclub Ostmark Wien in an attempt to Germanize it on 12 April 1938, but the club re-adopted its historical identity almost immediately on 14 July 1938.

Post-World War II

Austria Wien won its first league title for 23 years in 1949, and retained it the following year. It later won a fifth title, in 1953. The club won 16 titles in 33 seasons between 1960 and 1993, starting with a hat-trick of titles (1961, 1962, and 1963). Forward Ernst Ocwirk, who played in five league title-winning sides in two separate spells at the club, managed the side to 1969 and 1970 Bundesliga titles. Other players of this era included Horst Nemec.

From 1973–74 season, Wiener AC formed a joint team with FK Austria Wien, which was called FK Austria WAC Wien until 1976–77 season when Austria Wien decided to revert to their own club's traditional name. The results of the joint team are part of the Austria Wien football history.

The 1970s saw the beginning of another successful era, despite no league title between 1970 and 1976 as an aging squad was rebuilt. Eight league titles in the 11 seasons from 1975–76 to 1985–86 reasserted its dominance. After winning the 1977 Austrian Cup national Cup, Austria Wien reached the 1978 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, which it lost 4–0 to Belgian club Anderlecht. The following season, the club reached the semi-finals of the European Cup, losing 1–0 on aggregate to Swedish team Malmö. In 1982–83, Austria Wien reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winner's Cup, losing 5–3 on aggregate to Real Madrid of Spain.

Players at Austria Wien in this era included: Herbert "Schneckerl" Prohaska, Felix Gasselich, Thomas Parits, Walter Schachner, Gerhard Steinkogler, Toni Polster, Peter Stöger, Ivica Vastic and Tibor Nyilasi.

Recent history

At the start of the 1990s, Austria Wien enjoyed its most recent period of sustained success: a hat-trick of Bundesliga titles (1991–93); three cup titles (1990, 1992 and 1994); and four Super cup titles (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994). The club declined in the late 1990s due to financial problems which caused key players to be sold.

Austria Wien was taken over by Austro-Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach's Magna auto-parts consortium in 1999. Following deals with the Memphis cigarette company the club was renamed FK Austria Memphis Magna. Stronach's investment in players, with a budget three times larger than the average in the league, saw a first Bundesliga title for ten years in 2002–03. Despite this, coach Walter Schachner was fired. His replacement Christoph Daum could not retain the league title, but won the Cup.

In 2004, Memphis was dropped from the club's name. Austria Wien reached the UEFA Cup quarter-final in 2004–05, where it was eliminated by Parma of Italy. On 21 November 2005, Frank Stonach decided to withdraw from the club. As a result, several players such as top scorer Roland Linz, Vladimír Janočko, Joey Didulica, Libor Sionko, Filip Šebo and Sigurd Rushfeldt were sold to other teams the following summer. The 2005–06 season nonetheless concluded with a league-and-cup double.

The loss of key players and a much lower budget for the 2006–07 season saw the club fall away. .Despite losing 4–1 on aggregate to Benfica of Portugal in the preliminary round of the Champions League, the team managed to qualify (against Legia Warsaw winning 2–1 on aggregate) for the Group Phase of the UEFA Cup. Former player and coach Thomas Parits became general manager. After the team lost three days later 4–0 away to Red Bull Salzburg, he sacked coaches Peter Stöger and Frank Schinkels. Georg Zellhofer replaced them. The season saw a sixth-place finish in the league despite being in last place at Christmas. But the team did win the Cup. The side improved the following season, finishing in third in the league.

The summer of 2008 brought notable changes. Twelve players left the club, including Sanel Kuljic and Yüksel Sariyar, who joined Frank Stronach's newly founded team FC Magna in Austria's second division. The Betriebsführervertrag (operating contract) with Stronach's Magna company expired, letting the club reorganize. On 1 July 2008 the original name FK Austria Wien was reinstated, without a sponsor's name included for the first time in 30 years. The club also bought Chinese international Sun Xiang, the first Chinese player to play in the Bundesliga. In the 2012–13 season Austria Wien won its 24th league title, ahead of holders Red Bull Salzburg, but lost the Cup final 1–0 to third-tier FC Pasching.

In August 2013, Austria Wien qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time after defeating Dinamo Zagreb in the play-offs round. It was drawn against Porto, Atlético Madrid and Zenit Saint Petersburg (all of which have won European trophies in the 21st century). Austria finished last in the group after a loss to Porto at home (0–1), a draw against Zenit in Saint Petersburg (0–0), two losses against Atlético and an away draw against Porto, which eventually put the Portuguese side to the third place in the group. A consolation came when Austria defeated Zenit 4–1 at Ernst-Happel-Stadion.

Stadium

FK Austria Wien plays its home games at the Franz Horr Stadium which has had a capacity of 13,000 since 2008 when a new two-tiered East Stand opened and renovations were made to the West Stand. The stadium was renamed the Generali Arena in a naming-rights deal with Italian insurer Generali announced at the end of 2010.

The stadium was originally built in 1925 for Slovan Vienna, a Czech immigrants' club, and was largely destroyed by the Allies in World War II. Austria Vienna moved into the ground in 1973, playing its first match there on 26 August. The stadium was subsequently named for Franz Horr, chairman of the Viennese FA, following his death. The stadium was expanded with new or renovated stands in 1982, 1986, 1998 and, most recently, 2008.

Wien Derby

Austria Wien contests the Wien derby with Rapid Wien. The two clubs are the most supported and successful in the country, and two of the most culturally and socially significant clubs, both historically representing wider divisions in Viennese society. Both teams originate from Hietzing, the 13th district in the west of the city, but have since moved into different districts. While Austria Wien is seen as a middle-class club, and before World War II as part of the coffeehouse culture associated with the capital's intelligentsia. Rapid traditionally holds the support of the city's working class. The two clubs first met in a league championship match on 8 September 1911, a 4–1 victory for Rapid. The fixture is the most-played derby in European football after the Old Firm match in Glasgow and the Edinburgh Derby in Edinburgh both in Scotland.

Domestic competitions

European competitions

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Manager history