Bulgaria 1924

1924 was a big year in Bulgarian football. The first national championship competition was scheduled and the nation played its first international fixtures.
Regional leagues had been held since 1921, and in 1924 a unification tournament for the 6 regional champions was planned. Unfortunately this was  abandoned when Vladislav (Varna) refused to replay their semi final with Levski in Sofia, wanting a switch to Varna as the original tie had been played in Sofia. This was never resolved. 
 The following season's  championship was successfully concluded, with Vladislav beating Levski 2-0 in the final.

Bulgaria's first international came on 21.05.24 at Vienna's Simmeringer Sportplatz. 
The team featured 9 Levski players.

Petar Ivanov	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Aleksandar Hristov	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Simeon Yankov	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Gheno Mateev	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Boian Byanov	S.С. Ticha, (Varna)
Dimitr Manolov	S.C. Slavia, (Sofia)
Dimitr Mutafchiev	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Nikola Mutafchiev	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Tsvetan Genev	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Konstantin Maznikov	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Kiril Yovovich	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)

Austria (in their 87th international) were too strong for the Bulgarians, who held out until the 31st minute. The final score was Austria 6, Bulgaria 0.

Bulgaria made 2 changes for their next match, against The Irish Free State at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Petar Ivanov	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Aleksandar Hristov	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Simeon Yankov	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Ivan Radoev	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Boian Byanov	S.С. Ticha, (Varna)
Dimitr Manolov	S.C. Slavia, (Sofia)
Dimitr Mutafchiev	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Nikola Mutafchiev	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Todor Vladimirov	S.C. Slavia, (Sofia)
Konstantin Maznikov	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)
Kiril Yovovich	S.C. Levski, (Sofia)

They were beaten by Patrick Dunkan's 75th minute goal.
Bulgaria's first international win came in their 15th match, against Romania in 1930.

Der Papierene

In December 1932 Hugo Meisl's Austrian Wunderteam took on England at Stamford Bridge.
Here we see the great centre forward, Matthias Sindelar, in training in preparation for the game.
The game could be seen as the first of many wake up calls that England has recieved from continental sides down the years. 
English team lucky to win, was the Manchester Guardian's verdict; There could not be the slightest doubt that as a team (Austria) were the superiors.
 According to The Times  It was victory and no more... And it was by no means easily earned.

Balls

31st May 1934, Stadio Littoriale, Bologna. Before the Hungary v Austria match, the process of selecting the match ball. I believe the picture shows Sternberg László (holding the balls) and  Hans Horvath (pointing). Referee Francesco Mattea (Italy) behind Horvath and possibly  Hungary coach Nádas Ödön on the left.

We have seen that in 1930 there was controversy over which ball was used in the final. In Italy 1934 there were 3 different models of ball in use, and the teams would decide which one to use before each game. 

Die Pfarrwiese

Simply adore this panoramic postcard of Rapid Vienna's Pfarrwiese ground. Football in La Belle Époque. 

There is an air of gentility about the scene. People in their Sunday best attending the game.

An assortment of headwear and plenty of walking-canes...

... and this lady has really made an effort!

Note the high fences to prevent the ball being booted out of the ground- this was before Jimmy Hogan taught the Austrians to play it on the carpet.

Rapid moved to this ground  in the Hütteldorf area of Vienna in 1911. The initial capacity was 4,000,

This site has some pictures of the ground as it is today. 

Austria vs Hungary, 1902

Hungary had fielded a national selection 3 times in 1901. Their opponents had been the English sides  Richmond and Surrey Wanderers (twice) over the course of 3 days in April (11th, 12th and 13th). The  tourists  had proved too strong for the Hungarians, winning 4-0, 5-1 and 6-1. The Hungarian XI for the first match featured an English player (Windett).
Whereas the Hungarian governing body, Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség, had been founded in 1901, football in Austria at this time was organised on a city by city basis. 
A national governing body (Österreichischer Fußball-Bund) was not established  until 1904. 
On October 12th 1902 a match was played at WAC Platz, Vienna between teams representing Vienna and Budapest: 

Vienna Selection			Budapest Selection
Philipp Nauß	Wiener A.C	GK		Bádonyi Gyula	Budapesti T.C
'Eipel'-Wilhelm Eipeldauer	First Vienna	FB		Berán József	Ferencváros
‘Omlady’- Emil Wachuda	Wiener A.C	FB		Gabrovitz Emil	Postások
Felix Hüttl	Vienna Cricket and F.C.	HB		Koltai József	Ferencváros
Rudolf Blässy	S.C. Graphia	HB		Pozsonyi Imre	M.Ú.E.
‘Quick’- Raimund Mössmer	D.J. Währing	HB		Bayer Jenő	M.A.C.
Julius Wiesner	Wiener A.C	F		Buda István	Budapesti T.C
Gustav Huber	Wiener A.C	F		Steiner Bertalan	33 F.C.
Engelbert Schrammel	Wiener A.C	F		Pokorny József	Ferencváros
Jan Studnicka	Wiener A.C	F		Hajós Alfréd	Budapesti T.C
Josef Taurer	Wiener A.C	F		Oláh Károly	Budapesti S.C.

The Viennese controlled the game, placing the Hungarian goal under relentless pressure.  Josef Taurer put the hosts in front in the 5th minute and Studnicka got a second after 10. Gustav Huber made it 3 before half time and in the second half Studnicka completed his hat trick for a 5-0 win to Vienna. 
It was agreed during the course of  the after match celebrations to hold this fixture on an annual basis.
Hajós Alfréd* wrote in Sport Világ magazine that the Austrian advantage had been to have the core of the team made from the players of one club (WAC), whereas the Budapest players were relatively unfamiliar with each others' play

In 1907 Austria,Hungary  and Czechoslovakia (Bohemia) were all admitted separately to FIFA.

In 1908 the Austrian  and Hungarian Associations agreed to retrospectively designate the 1902 match  an official international. 

*The Hungary captain was a fascinating man. Hajós, the Hungarian for sailor, was a psuedonym- he was originally called Guttmann Arnold. Hajós was a double gold medal winner in swimming at the Athens Olympics in 1896. He was also a top class runner and discuss thrower. It wasn't all about sport though, he was also an architect of considerable renown. He was responsible for designing part of the Millenáris Sporttelep stadium in which Hungary played their matches. This must have given him considerable satisfaction when he was later coach of the national team.

The Crafty Berlin Decision

It was the most scandalous incident in the history of international football.
Peru were the sole South American representatives at the 1936 Olympic Football Tournament.
The 1935 South American Championship served as a qualifier for the Olympics, but neither champions Uruguay nor runners up Argentina were able to travel to Germany due to an economic recession. Peru had finished 3rd, winning just the one game, against Chile. 


At the Olympics Peru beat Finland by 7-3 in the first round, giving them a match with Austria in the next round.
Austria went  two-nil up through goals from Werginz  and Steinmetz . They held onto this lead until the 75th minute. Campolo Alcalde pulled one back and then in the 81st minute Alejandro Villanueva equalized. Peru were then reduced to 10 men by the loss of Alcade.

This Austria side, with the great Jimmy Hogan as manager, were not of the calibre of Meisl's Wunderteam from earlier in the decade.

The game went into extra time, and during the first period referee Mr  Kristiansen of Norway disallowed 3 Peruvian 'goals'.
Villanueva gave Peru the lead in the 117th minute and in the very last minute of extra time Teodoro Fernández made it 4-2 to Peru.
And then the trouble started.
There was a pitch invasion following the 4th Peruvian goal, The Austrians claimed that one of their players was assaulted. The referee abandoned the match (with just seconds remaining). Press reports stated that "about 1,000 Peruvian supporters" stormed  the pitch with "iron bars, knives and even a pistol". 1.000 Peruvian supporters ? In Berlin? It seems unlikely. The Peruvians counter claim was that the pitch invaders was fascists who couldn't stomach a victory by a team featuring black players.

Following a hearing which the Peruvian delegation missed (they were waylaid en route, stuck behind a fascist parade!)  the Olympic Committee and FIFA ordered a replay behind closed doors.
Peru however (supported by Columbia) chose to go home. Anti German feeling in the South American continent ran high after this debacle. 
The Crafty Berlin Decision was how the incident was described by Snr. Oscar Benavides, the President of Peru.

Sport-Magazin - August 1935

 Ferencváros lost  to Sparta in the Mitropa Cup final the month after this magazine appeared. They were runners up in the Hungarian league in the 1934-35 season, and won the Magyar Kupa.
This was the team, consisting of  11 Hungary internationals, that lined up in the semi final of the Mitropa Cup against Austria Vienna. 
Kronenberger was also known as Lajos Korányi. 
I really like József Háda's goalkeeper's jersey.

Tottenham Hotspur and Woolwich Arsenal on Tour, 1912

Spurs at Leipzig

When the 1911-12 season ended on April 29th Woolwich Arsenal were in 10th place in Division 1 and Tottenham Hotspur in 12th. The famous North London rivalry had yet to come into being, as Arsenal were still based in Plumstead (South East London). In May 1912 both clubs embarked on tours of central Europe (Germany, Austria-Hungary) and played each other in an exhibition match at Vienna arranged by Hugo Meisl. 

Tottenham Hotspur
12.05.12	Hull City	2	0	Tottenham Hotspur	Brussels
	The Belgian Charity Cup- Beddeker Cup Hull City retaining the trophy.
16.05.12	VfB Leipzig	1	3	Tottenham Hotspur	Leipzig
	The hosts were Mittel-Deutschland champions and had made the semi-finals of the national championships.
20.05.12	Wiener Sport Club	2	5	Tottenham Hotspur	Vienna
24.05.12	Woolwich Arsenal	4	0	Tottenham Hotspur	Vienna
	An exhibition match for a solid silver cup and medals.
27.05.12	Ferencváros	1	4	Tottenham Hotspur	Budapest
	Fradi were the champions of the Budapest league, winning 14 out of 18 games and having a goal difference of 57.
28.05.12	Hungary	2	2	Tottenham Hotspur	Budapest
	The Hungary and Austria teams were preparing for the Olympic Tournament at Stockholm.
30.05.12	Hungary	3	4	Tottenham Hotspur	Budapest
02.06.12	Austria	3	0	Tottenham Hotspur	Vienna
	Both Austria and Hungary featured in the second round of that summer's Olympic tournament- Hungary had a bye in the first round and lost 7-0 to Great Britain in the second. Austria beat Germany 5-1 before losing 3-1 to the Netherlands. They went on to meet in the final of the consolation tournament, Hungary winning 3-0.
Woolwich Arsenal
11.05.12	Hertha BSC Berlin	0	5	Woolwich Arsenal	Berlin
12.05.12	Viktoria 89 Berlin	2	2	Woolwich Arsenal	Berlin
	1911’s German National Champions.  Former Tottenham player Jack Brearley took up the coaching position at Viktoria at about this time.
16.05.12	Deutscher FC Prag	1	4	Woolwich Arsenal	Prague
19.05.12	Ferencváros	1	2	Woolwich Arsenal	Budapest
22.05.12	Grazer AK	0	6	Woolwich Arsenal	Graz
24.05.12	Woolwich Arsenal	4	0	Tottenham Hotspur	Vienna
26.05.12	SK Rapid Wien	2	8	Woolwich Arsenal	Vienna
	Rapid were the Austrian League champions…
27.05.12	Wiener Sport Club	0	5	Woolwich Arsenal	Vienna
	…and WSC had finished the season just one point behind Rapid.
29.05.12	Sp Vgg Fürth	0	6	Woolwich Arsenal	Fürth
	Fürth were managed by Billy Townley , the former Blackburn Rovers player.

It was Arsenal's second visit. They had toured Belgium, Netherlands, Germany  and Austria -Hungary in 1907.  Tottenham were of course old hands at the touring lark. Having visited Austria -Hungary  in 1905 they had since played in Belgium, South America and Germany.