All-Time Greatest Players ('Kicker', July 1941)

The Belgian aces

Here we find a big number of great talents. It is impossible to name all players that are above average. Therefore I will be content with only naming the very best. The Belgian Voorhoof played numerable times against Germany and is a superb player. He is the record international of Belgium with 60 caps. His technique and positioning are of great class. Although his countryman Braine's reputation is greater internationally I do think that there is hardly a difference in class between these two players. Voorhoof is a wonderful linkman.

Braine is possibly more versatile. On top of that he played a few years as professional in Prague which increased his popularity. He came to the fore in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam where he showed some dazzling performances. Later he returned to Belgium and resumed playing for his country. For FIFA he played against England in London. He is a bit of a prima donna. "Don't make a step too many" was his slogan. But he was a man of class and very effective. Voorhoof was much more hard-working and in his own way achieved at least as much as Braine. Braine was versatile and played in all three inside forward positions with the same aplomb.

Latin record-national forwards

As inside right the Spaniard Regueiro proved himself. He played in Cologne and Barcelona against Germany and he took part in the World Cup in Italy. The stately number of 21 Spanish caps (a rarity in Spain) prove his class. The Italians were very well-manned in the inside right position. Baloncieri was capped 47 times and took part in the 1928 Olympics. He faced Germany in Frankfurt. He was a nimble and tactically excellent inside forward who also often played as inside left.

But an even greater career had Meazza. He was centre forward and linkman. 53 caps by Italy and two World Cups! He was great against England in London. He played for FIFA in Amsterdam. Meazza was a wonderful athlete and had all attributes of a good player: he was fast, a fascinating dribbler and excellent shooter of the ball. For years he was also captaining Italy. Meazza was a great personality on the pitch. While he was of different kind than Szepan, both were of the same class. Meazza to me is the best right linkman of the continent and the world.

Kvammen, the best Scandinavian

The Norwegian Kvammen shall not be overlooked. He belongs to the top class. For years he was one of the pillars of the Norwegian national team and arguably also the best forward in Scandinavia. He took part in the 1936 Olympics and also in the World Cup in France. A sympathetic player of great class.

Of the overseas inside right players I would like to single out Scarone of Uruguay. He played in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics and then helped his country to win the World Cup in Montevideo. Scarone was a man of world class and is surely shortlisted for the world's best in this position.

In total the selection of inside right players is qualitatively very good. The decision was not easy:

Best German: Fritz Gschweidl

Best of the Continent: Meazza

Best of the World: Meazza

 

Inside left the greatest forwards!

The left linkmen have always been great in Germany. From the beginning. In foreign countries we also find many great inside left forwards. While this makes it easy coming up with a list of players it makes it harder determining the very best.

In the time before the War in Germany we had Eugen Kipp from Stuttgart who was of great class. He was the ideal linkman. In 18 caps he scored 10 goals. A tall, apollonian athlete and participant of the 1912 Olympics. Kipp's career was terminated in the war. He was also a fine half back.

The unsurpassed dribbler Fischera

Similarly paramount was Adolf Fischera in Vienna. He was one of the most splendid dribblers of all time. From 1908 to 1922 he was part of the Austrian national team. A long time! Due to a dispute between his club and the Austrian FA he did not participate in the 1912 Olympics. Despite his long international career that spanned 15 years he only recorded 14 caps - one game a year! But he represented Vienna in many games. He was one of the very best Austrian players before the war! He didn't know what loyalty to a club was, playing for WAC, WAF, Vienna FC, Schwechat and even for Neunkirchen!

Fischera counts among those players that you never forget once you have seen them!

Ferdinand Swatosch began his international career during the war. He played for Austria for 11 years and recorded 25 caps. Near the end of his career he joined Cologne and still showed good performances there. He twice faced Germany.

First teacher of Schalke

Almost simultaneously with Swatosch came Gustav Wieser so that we see three excellent inside left forwards at the same time in Vienna. All three of them emigrated towards the Reich. It was the time when professionalism was introduced in Vienna. Wieser recorded 27 caps and also at times played as outside left. He was the first manager of FC Schalke 04.

The pair Swatosch-Wieser was followed by Toni Schall of Admira as inside left linkman of the "Wunderteam" and he proved to be that team's most prolific goalscorer. In the great forward line of that great Austrian team he was the hustler and fighter who often lend physical weight to the elegant playing style of the other forwards.

Heinrich Träg of Nürnberg was a striking figure during his time. He got capped 6 times for Germany and scored once. This shows without doubt that he was not as impactful internationally as for his club for which he helped win several championships. Träg was a very temperamental player, a hustler and energetic fighter. Once he played on the left wing for the national team.

Richard Hofmann world's best inside left during his time

During the preparation of the national team for the 1928 Olympics Richard Hofmann emerged. He came from the little town Meerane in Western Saxony. He was a really great natural talent. If there's a stand-out feature in his style then it is his bombshell right-footed shot which proved to be especially valuable for an inside left forward. His star was born in Amsterdam. A car accident interrupted his career for a short while. But no serious consequences remained except that he lost his ear. The peak of his career was about to come after the accident. Richard Hofmann could rest like a bear. He would have slept away every international game if he had not been waked. He was short but built athletically and had soft, cat-like movements. He was adnate with the ball and possessed a subtle feeling for the tempo of the ball. In 25 caps (record at the time) he scored 24 times, which made him record goalscorer for many years. In 1929 he scored 6 goals against Sweden in Cologne (of which only three were counted). Against England he scored 3 goals in Berlin. During the 1928 Olympics he scored three goals against Switzerland and one against Uruguay. Richard Hofmann was t h e m o s t p o w e r f u l shooter in the national team ever. Additionally he was a fine link-up player and an excellent partner for the left wing. During his time he may have been the best inside left forward in the world.

 

But Fritz Szepan even exceeded him

Back then I would have never believed that we would be able to replace Richard Hofmann adequately. But at the same time this unknown even better inside left was already on the pitches and had already played in the national team - albeit as inside right. Fritz Szpean is one of those that matured latish. In his club - the frequent German champion Schalke - he acted as inside right and that's where he started out in the national team, too. Against Finland in Altona his international career began. But he only made it big when Germany converted the system in 1934 to the modern style. There we saw him in a variety of tactical roles: as stopper in the World Cup, as offensive centre half in Naples against Austria, as left linkman in many great battles. In battling the top world class opposition he remained outstanding. Szepan was not as staggering as Richard Hofmann but he was a great technical player and he was even almost better in tactics. Especially effective were his direct through balls which he addressed with wonderful precision.

A meniscus injury with surgery forced only a short break and his effectiveness was not affected. His greatest performances even came after the surgery. He remained a member of the national team for 10 years, gainig 34 caps and scoring 8 goals. That may not sound like much but he was a player that would set-up others more than score himself. A typical example for this is Fath.

In my opinion Szepan is not only the overall best German linkman but also the best German footballer. He even managed to overshadow the incomparable Richard Hofmann. Szepan had a dry sense of humour and a very balanced temperament. He was a good comrade and leader of his team. In the Breslau XI he saw his peak.

Competition from the family

Ernst Kuzorra, the captain fo Schalke for many years, also played for the national team. He debuted even before the 1928 Olympics but he did not live to see a renaissance like his brother-in-law Szepan. In the national team he partly played as inside left and partly as centre forward. He was without doubt a man of great class. But for him the same is true as for a number of other great players: it was hard to find a fitting partner for him. The partnership with his brother-in-law Szepan, which was so productive in the club, proved to be unproductive in the national team. He also did not harmonize as well as hoped with Richard Hofmann. His best performances in the national team came as centre forward. He is more an individualist than a linkman. Szepan is better at adapting and getting into the spirit of the others. Mind you, Kuzorra is still a man of extra-class.

As juvenile heading to the national team training course

Helmut Schön was already called up to the national team training course as a juvenile. That was during the great Olympic seminar in 1933. Already back then he showed his great talent but he lacked the physical attributes to be competing internationally. He started his international career in the wake of the Breslau XI in 1937 against Sweden in Hamburg-Altona, when Kitzinger was out injured. Gellesch moved back to the half back position to replace Kitzinger and Schön filled in on inside right. He was doing so well that it seemed as if we had found a second Szepan.

Schön has recorded 15 caps so far and was deployed in all three inside forward positions. He is a tall player whose athletic abilities are a bit lacking. But he is an artist on the ball and his heading is excellent, especially from a distance and he has a good shot. He is also an intelligent player. But he is an unlucky fellow. A severy knee injury troubles and inhibits him. Thus is often forced to pause. A really great career does not seem likely under these circumstances. But Schön is still in his prime and with a little more luck his time shall come.

Bowlegs ahead in Europe

Imre Schlosser, the left linkman of MTK Budapest and record international of Hungary was a great player. Unfortunately I only saw him near the end of his career. He was a stout and cunning linkman with an excellent shot and bowlegs. He was one of the most remarkable players in the 1912 Olympics. Schlosser gained 70 caps for Hungary!

Similar in his style and of the same class is the Dane Sophus Nielsen. He was part of the Danish national team at the time when they were rated as the continent's best team and were runners-up behind England twice in the Olympics. Nielsen was the strategist in the Danish offense just like Middelboe was the main man at the back. His shot was like a bombshell and he was an artistic dribbler. With his slight bowlegs the ball seemed to be sandwiched! For a while he played for Holstein Kiel and I saw him play for Holstein when they played in Southern Germany. He left an indelible impression on me. He is now the national team manager of Denmark.

Forwards kings of Paris 1924

Small but mighty! This we may say of the Swissmann Abbeglen. He was the star of the Swiss Olympic team in 1924 and he was also part of the 1928 Olympics. Roughly 60 caps - maybe even more - Xam recorded for his county. He is a technically supreme player and excellent tactician. For world class he did slightly lack athletic ability but he was a small football wonder and a fine sportsman. His brother Trello, too, was a very good linkman. Germany got to see that during the World Cup in France.

The Swede Rydell was one of the best players of the 1924 Olympic tournament. He was an elegant and tricky player. Remarkable his great tactical nous. When he faced Germany in Cologne in 1929 he was already past his best and was overshadowed by Richard Hofmann, hero of the day. But during his prime he was a man of world class

Under Italian sun

Excellent left-sided linkmen were the Czechoslovakians Svoboda and Nejedly. During the World Cup in Italy, where the Czechoslokavians were runners-up, Svoboda played inside right and Nejedly inside left. Svoboda was a very forceful yet elegant player. Nejedly was of a more subtle kind but just as effective. In Amsterdam Nejedly played as outside left for Europe.

Ferrari, the Italian inside left, proved himself in 44 caps and was an excellent linkman in two World Cups. He was a very good buildup player and very untiring. He was close in class to Meazza but he lacked Meazza's vigour.

Concluding, the following players may be mentioned: the Romanian Bodola, record international of his country with 46 caps, the Dutchman Smit and the Portuguese Sousa. They all would be worthy of further appreciation but we have to draw the line somewhere. The result of the overview of the best inside left forwards:

Best German: Szepan

Best on the Continent: Szepan

World's best: Szepan

 

Captions

Fritz Szepan so far is the only German player credited as being world class by Otto Nerz (maybe Sindelar, competing with Schaffer and Piola, will follow among the centre forwards). The Schalke player was arguably the one with the finest tactical sense and the richest wealth in combination skill. As team captain he was unsurpassed; he certainly engineered the Schalke style to reach that high level of mastery that is a special feast for the eye for a whole decade already. With him the national team also achieved its strongest years.

To Otto Nerz Giuseppe Meazza is the world's best inside right. There's hardly another player on whom so much has been written over the course of the last years.

Fritz Gschweidl was chosen as the best inside right in Germany. Hardly another player stood in the ranks of the wunderteam as long as Gschweidl from FC Vienna. His redeployment from centre forward position to inside right pairing Sindelar was the egg of Columbus in the creation of the Wunderteam. Only last season did Gschweidl leave the first team of Vienna FC. He already played internationally in 1926.

The standard inside left of the "wunderteam" was Admira forward Schall, a temperamental hustler and opportunistic goalgetter, a splendid supplement to his clubmates Vogl and Sindelar, both fencing a more subtle blade. The indestructible Schall still plays today in his club Austria, full back or outside left.

Andreas Franz, one of the most sympathetic players of Nürnberg-Fürth origin, outstanding as dribbler and goalscorer, formed one of the best forward pairings together with Seiderer. His brother Karl promised to be an even greater inside right but he was killed in the world war.

Hanne Sobek certainly belongs to the most gifted and sensible inside forwards of Germany. Like Kuzorra his productivity was more impressive in club football than the national team because he was totally depending on the combination style of Hertha BSC.

The all-purpose forward Hahnemann is one of the most talented but also most idiosyncratic men of German and European class. He plays and fights with sparkling temper, is unusually agile and inventive. His instep shot on the dead run was captured so often by photographers that it has become a typical image of Hahnemann. The swift Admira player is now active for a whole decade. The 7-0 victory against Hungary in Cologne and many other games are proof of his high class. He is a serious contender for Gschweidl in the position as best German inside right. This picture shows the young Hahnemann.

SC Dresden is the dynasty of inside left forwards of the national team already for 13 years. That dynasty is embodied by Richard Hofmann and Helmut Schön, both are very different in physical appearance but share merits: both were first class at young age, both are technically mature and intelligent team players, both are thus prototypes of the good linkman. The squat Richard Hofmann, who combines the physical force of a Träg and dribble skill of a Franz is named by Otto Nerz as world's best inside left during his peak years. Looking at this picture one understands this. Schön in many ways is a second Siffling.

Ernst Kuzorra has seen national team action for over a decade! However he was not called up as often in this timespan as his brother-in-law Szepan, because - according to Otto Nerz - the right partner was not found for him. Already for 20 years he plays for Schalke's first team! As their captain he led them to five German championships and one Cup win. Even today he is at times the best forward of Schalke. As dribbler and combination player the fact that his style was too tangled up in the Schalke style prevented that he was capped more often. That's why we show him in the Schalke dress in this picture.

Raymond Braine is a second Schaffer. Intriguing technique and tricks, unexpected gambits, enarming the opponent with apparently simple means always made the Belgian look like a slightly phlegmatic and prima donna-like player. His star was born in the 1928 Olympics in the game Argentina v Belgium (6-3). His time in Prague followed. Today he plays for Beerschot to the delight of his countymen.

 

Concluding our "Kicker" series: the stately guard of the centre forwards

Sindelar the world's best

Richer than any other position is the choice among the celebrities of the pitch for the centre forwards – it was a hard task for Prof. Nerz to find the leading players of the last decade (Sindelar, Conen, Sarosi, Piola); no less hard was the task to find the greats of decades of the past, the "Football King" or the Northern German giant – in the last issue a review will follow that deals with the really best and the imagined best teams

The position of the centre forward is of great tactical importance for a football team and thus has a great drawing power for the players. Centre forwards are in the focus of proceedings and are also the leader of the attack.

Even in the old times, the time of the classic playing style, there were two types of centre forwards, the attack leader and the tank. The special class consists of players that combine both types, coming close to the ideal. Attack leaders were: Seiderer, Pöttinger, Hochgesang, Kozeluh and Kuthan. The tank type were: Worpitzky, Uridil, Jörgensen and Harder. The ideal combination is represented by Studnicka, Jäger, Conen and Sindelar. Of the tanks Harder was of such great class that he has to be ranked as special class. Albeit he cannot dispute the higher class of the others.

Between these two main types there are many shades: Individual play, combination play, shooting and leading the attack are crucial qualities that work best in a balanced blend to see a good centre forward performance.

Tank and leader at the same time

In the modern style the centre forward is preferrably positioned as close to the goal as possible. How close depends on the off-side setting. The centre forward is thus mostly self-dependent and must be able to prevail on his own. The consequence is that in the highest class the "attack-leader-only" is not existing anymore. Required is now the tank with attack leader qualities. In the classic style it was reverse, the attack leader with tank qualities was the ideal. In the highest level not much has changed, though. The very great centre forwards of the past could play in a modern team with the same success as in the past without having to change their playing style. Class remains class.

The space available to the modern centre forward is not as restricted as it was in the past. He exploits the wider space just as much as the wing forwards and it happens that both change positions. Occasionally we see a centre forward playing great on the wing or a wing forward playing very good in the centre. As examples I name Conen and Bickel.

The fine soft technical player in the centre of the attack has no place anymore in the elite's modern game. The "stopper" is taking care of that. Laborious ball artists are misplaced especially in international competitions where they are being fought with all available means – with power and pace ….

The number of centre forwards that we compare here will be pretty big. The talents are really crowded.

 

The great model Adolf Jäger

The first great centre forward of the German national team was Adolf Jäger of Altona 93. He was a very versatile player. Of his 18 caps 11 were pre-War and 7 post-War. His international career lasted 15 years. He was part of the 1912 Olympic team in Stockholm but played as inside right in the lost game against Austria. Jäger combined all qualities of a great player in almost ideal fashion. He was an equally good individualist as he was a combination player. His style was of great tactical insight. At the same time he was a very good goalgetter, scoring 11 times for Germany. As classy as he was, his style was always straightforward and simple. Jäger was international extra class.

At the same time as Jäger Willi Worpitzky of Viktoria Berlin operated as centre forward. He was a very physical and massive player that made short work. His target was the goal. Worpitzky recorded 9 caps and scored 5 goals. He was less attack leader than tank.

The situation of our national team back then is illustrated that Worpitzky in his 9 caps only once experienced a victory of his team. This has nothing to do with Worpitzky as he was an excellent player that played an outstanding role during his time. Today it is more like the reverse, a player only loses once in 9 caps. The current situation doubtlessly is better. Today Worpitzky is sports teacher in Berlin.

 

Attack leader Studnicka already legendary

In those days the attack of the Austrian national team was led by Studnicka of WAC. He was arguably the major player of the Viennese beginnings. His career lasted almost 20 years. He often played as inside left, too. He was a great leader of attack and equally well in individuality as well as combination play. He was capped 27 times by Austria. For that time, when international games were few and far between, this was an incredible achievement. After ca. 15 years he retired and became manager of WAC. A severy club crisis led to his return as active player. He faced Germany in the very first encounter between these two teams. His career has been fabled already. I gather him among the very highest class of centre forwards. He was a born attack leader.

Likewise an excellent centre forward and conductor of the attack was Kuthan of Rapid. He played before and after the war. …. 16 years in the national team of Austria, 22 caps, 3 times against Germany. Kuthan was an excellent player and attack leader. Albeit not quite as outstanding as Studnicka but still an exceptional player.

Therewith the pre-War years are concluded. We can determine that we did have a few centre forwards that were impressive by international standards.

Tull Harder type of his own kind

In Germany we noticed Otto Harder from Hamburg. …. Harder was a player that attracted attention. When he covered ground with his space-consuming steps, the ball at his feet, dashing off, then something was about to happen. Even though his playing style was adjusted to individuality he was more than a mere break-through-tank. He began his international career in the last game before the war (against Holland). Altogether he was capped 15 times and scored 14 goals, his career was long. Harder was less attack leader than individualist. But his personality was so exceptional that he has to be counted among international extra class. Power, force, momentum, pace and shooting prowess were coupled with a subtle instinct for the situation. While he was not as good a leader of attack as Jäger his impact bears comparison with that of Jäger. He thrilled the crowds like few other players.

 

Artists of the short pass

At the same time as Harder in the north Seiderer played in the south. He was an excellent centre forward. Contrary to Harder, Seiderer's strength was more the tactical leading of attack. Seiderer was an artist of the short pass, which was a style of play especially cherished in Fürth. For a player of great class however he lacked the physical requirements. He possessed an artistic technique but lacked pace and momentum. He scored 4 goals in 8 international appearances. His international career was comparatively short.

I rate Josef Pöttinger markedly higher. He played for Bayern and was a typical native of Munich. At times he played as linkman and his international career also began as inside left against Holland, together with Ludwig Hofmann he recorded an excellent debut in that game. Pöttinger was a centre forward of class. While he was not part of international special class he still occupies an excellent position. He was of small, delicate build but possessed a lighting fast acceleration and a very good tactical insight.

A severe knee injury almost at the start of his career prevented him from fully unfolding his great talent. Still he held his own in the national team and was part of the Olympic team in Amsterdam. He recorded 14 caps and scored 8 goals. Technique and tactic were exceptional and raised him high above the international average. During his heyday he was arguably the technically finest player in Germany. Today he is a sports teacher.

Occasionally Georg Hochgesang is named as a great leader of attack. Justifiably but also unjust. In the national team he was essentially not a starter, not as linkman, nor as centre forward. In 6 caps he scored 4 times. While he did not play an outstanding role in the national team he was all the more important for his club teams. Especially Fortuna Düsseldorf has to be grateful. But club performances can only be partly incorporated because it depends on the opponents one faces with his club. Hochgesang was a good player but not part of international special class.

 

In the years of the transition

Karl Hohmann of Benrath (Düsseldorf) played during the transition to the modern style in the national team and was one of the few players that survived this transition unscathed. He continued to hold his own in an excellent way. Hohmann was part of the team that took part in the World Cup in Italy. In the game against Sweden he scored both goals but then was sidelined for the rest of the tournament due to an injury.

In 26 caps he scored 20 goals and counts among the top scorers of the national team. His style was elegant, fast and effectful, which his goal record proves. His stamina and agility made him especially suited to the modern style. Hohmann was a ball virtuoso but he was not an attack leader in the proper sense. For that his style was too bizarr. He dumbfounded with his sudden ideas not only the opponent but also his teammates. His style was not fluent but galvanic. To reach the highest level he perhaps lacked the intuition. But he surely belongs to international class. Often we see him as a linkman.

 

Conen a first grade star

Edmund Conen joined the national team aged 17 …. He was an early recognizable talent. His first cap was against Hungary in Frankfurt. It was the last game before the 1934 World Cup in Italy. His perfomance received mixed reactions. During the games against Derby County (preparation for the World Cup) he proved himself against the highest calibre of professionals, having to face the centre half of the English national team. In Italy he distinguished himself in every game. Althouh he was only a beginner he was rated among the very best of that tournament. A really great career had started. But unfortunately it did not fully meet expectations. Conen's health is not the most solid which resulted in a number of long breaks from active playing. Thus he missed the 1936 Berlin Olympics and a few other big games. Especially in London our team was missing him.

Conen is a first rate combination player and leader of attack. His style is straightforward and he knows how to make things hum. But he's also a great individualist and bombshell goalgetter. In 23 caps he scored 25 goals, averaging more than one goal a game! Conen is one of those players that invigorate the class of an attack simply by his mere presence. While doing that his playing style is simple, elegant and fluent. I nominate Conen as the top player in Germany. Currently he is injured. Will he be back to his full form?

Again a player from Saarpfalz…

One of the current centre forwards of the national team is Walter from Kaiserslautern. The fact that the casting of the centre forward position is disputed proves that we lack a man of great class at the moment. Walter may be able to become that man. His hitherto performances are promising. In 11 caps he scored 9 goals. And he's only 20 years of age. It seems like the early stage of a great career. The war however prevents a solid international comparison. But that is what our judgment depends on in this exercise. Walter is also playing as linkman and has proved himself in this role, too.

 

Binder, the controversial man

Bimbo Binder, the centre forward of Rapid, is a striking but also controversial phenomenon. He was capped 15 by Austria and 9 times by Greater Germany. For Greater Germany he scored 10 goals. He is a break-through-tank player of high caliber and brings back memories of Tull Harder. Binder is however not as space-consuming as the Hamburg player but his shot is even harder. His shooting prowess is virtually eerie and he proved this again just recently in the last championship final when he decided the game for Rapid with three freekicks after it looked as if Schalke had already won that game early on. Like Harder Binder is very popular and when he dashes off towards the goal with the ball at his feet the air is brimming with sensation. He electrifies the crowds. But in the national team his form is fluctuating, great performances are followed by weak ones. Binder is not a great leader of the attack, we cannot count him as extra class in this respect. But he is still an exceptional player.

After the retirement of Kuthan it took a while until Vienna once again had a great centre forward to show. Linkmen were used as makeshift centre forwards. Notable is Karl Kozeluh. He was world champion among professional tennis players and a first rate footballer, too. But not quite highest extra class in football. He began in Teplitz and later moved to WAC and Slavia Praha. He was capped 4 times for Austria. It might be possible that he would have become a really great footballer if not for his tennis career. He was a good conductor of the offense, less of an individualist. Next and simultaneously with Kozeluh we find a great number of part-time centre forwards but no striking personality. But that was soon about to change!

Viennese heyday looming!

Suddenly an abundancy of talents was dashing forward and now we see two first class centre forwards: Gschweidl and Sindelar! One time Gschweidl plays, the next time Sindelar. Only when Gschweidl played inside right and Sindelar centre forward the two could play together and the inside forward situation was solved for many years.

Sindelar was capped 44 times altogether by Austria. He started out at Hertha Vienna and later joined Austria Vienna. The start of his career was not that promising. When Swatosch joined Cologne Sindelar could not replace him fully at first. In 1929 he played inside right when Austria lost 0-5 in Nürnberg against Southern Germany. And they lost like that despite playing with a star-studded team: Hiden - Rainer, Nausch - Schreiber, Kurz, Jany - Danis, Sindelar, Gschweidl, Schilling, Billwein! But it was not yet the right blend.

Sindelar was the Wunderteam

Sindelar's great time came with the Wunderteam - or maybe: the Wunderteam came, when Sindelar was at his peak! I am not really sure about that. Fact is that Sindelar was now being deployed in a fitting fashion and was playing in fitting surroundings. He was a virtuoso on the ball and a great attack leader. He would draw the opponent towards him and then shake them off again. His shot was not enormous but assured and well-placed. Thus he proved to be a successful goalgetter. Twice he faced Germany, it was during his heyday. In Naples in 1934 he was only a spectator.

Against England in London he proved his class in the best possible way. He outclassed the English centre forward by far. Sindelar was able to dribble, to feint, to combine and to shoot. He was not much of an athlete, he was fast and smooth and by no means anxious. During the 1934 World Cup Sindelar was already near the end of his career. No other name is linked more to the gloss of Austrian football than the name of the unforgettable Sindelar.

Best German: Sindelar

Sinderlar's successors were Binder and Bican. Bican now plays for Prague who he joined about a year before the "Anschluss" of Austria. Before that he was capped 19 times by Austria. He is a player of fine technique and attack leader and marksman of calibre. In Naples he played against Germany (1934) and in 1939 for Bohemia-Moravia against Greater Germany. He is a prima donna, demands to get paid for every step he makes, but he belongs to international extra class.

Alfred Schaffer, the football king

Schaffer stems from the school of MTK, the first continental club that not only adopted the Scottish style but mastered it. As an international for Hungary Schaffer's role is rather humble. When MTK toured Europe in 1919 it proved to be a great success. It was a real triumph. But MTK lost their best player afterwards. Schaffer remained in Germany and joined Nürnberg. Schaffer's name is linked with that clubs upswing during the 1920s. Later he joined Wacker Munich and he managed to make this mediocre team a championship side. Wacker's performances fully depended on Schaffer's form, though. He then went to Vienna and Prague and then back to Budapest. Today he manages Roma.

Schaffer was of great class. His style was like a picture book. He truly deserved the nickname "football king". Blessed with the great qualities of an attack leader he showed high artistic individual skill. In his younger days he was slender and in good shape and never avoided a duel, albeit he did not look for duels. He was a representative of the non-physical style. As long as he was towering above his opponents this worked. But only as long! When the opponent is of the same class than physical commitment decides! But the bones of a professional player are his asset!

 

I just noticed that I forgot to copy the last chapter on the international centre forwards.

 

This means I have to head back to the library but that won't be possible before next weekend thus a little break from translating until then!

 

This is the piece on the international centre forwards