Matthias Sindelar

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.

Club career (1918–1939)

At the age of 15, the Sindelar joined Hertha Vienna, playing there until 1924, when he 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.

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.

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.

1934 World Cup

Sindelar and Austria were especially prominent at the 1934 World Cup.

The high point was their defeat of Hungary in 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 then suffered a controversial defeat to 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, albeit 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 flags colours) instead of their traditional white and black. Austria missed out many sitters in a way it looked deliberate. However, in the last 20 minutes, Sindelar and team-mate 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 rejected to play for Germany after the Austrian state was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938 (Anschluss), citing old age 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.

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. 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: