Italy 1912

back (L-R):  Angelo Binaschi, Franco Bontadini, Felice Berardo, Giuseppe Milano, Pietro Leone, Renzo De Vecchi, Piero Campelli;
 front (L-R):. Carlo De Marchi, Enrico Sardi, Enea Zuffi, Edoardo Marian 

Vittorio Pozzo had 4 spells as the manger/coach of the Italian national team. His first period in charge lasted 5 days, being for the duration of Italy's involvement in the 1912 Olympic Games at Stockholm.
Here are the teams that Pozzo fielded in Italy's 3 games.

Campelli (Internazionale)	Campelli	Campelli
Binaschi (Pro Vercelli)	De Vecchi	De Vecchi
De Vecchi (Milan C&FC)	Valle (Pro Vercelli)	Valle
De Marchi  (Torino)  *	Binaschi	Binaschi
Milano (c) (Pro Vercelli)	Milano (c)	Milano (c)
Leone (Pro Vercelli)	Leone	Leone
Zuffi (Torino)	Bontadini	Zuffi
Bontadini (Internazionale)	Berardo	Bontadini
Berardo (Pro Vercelli)	Sardi	Berardo
Sardi (Andrea Doria)	Barbesino (Casale)	Barbesino
Mariani (Genoa C&FC)	Mariani	Mariani
di Popolo (Torino)*

*di Popolo replaced  De Marchi at half time.

In the opening game Italy lost 3-2 to Finland in extra time. Italy's goalscorers were Bontadini (1-1:10 min) and Sardi (1-2:25min).

Italy then beat Sweden 1-0 in the consolation tournament (Bontaini the scorer).

Pozzo in conference with William Garbutt (centre)

In the next match they met Jimmy Hogan's Austria and were beaten 5-1, Berardo Italy's scorer. 

Pozzo's next period as coach of the Azzuri began in the build up to the Paris Olympics 12 years later. 

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.

Netherlands Coaches

From their first International outing in 1905 until the outbreak of the war in 1939 Netherlands employed 11 coaches.

1. Cees van Hasselt (Netherlands:1905-08)
Netherland's first coach was a player/ trainer. A tailor who played for Sparta Rotterdam he led Netherlands in 11 internationals (won 6 , lost 5- 54.54%). Remarkably he was the last Dutchman to hold the post of National coach until 1946.

2. Edgar Chadwick (England:1908-13) 
Blackburn born Chadwick had a 22 year top level career as a player. He played 270 League matches for Everton and represented England 7 times. Chadwick was Netherlands' manager during the 1908 and 1912 Olympics and oversaw the famous  2–1 victory over England Amatuers in 1913.

P	W	D	L	%
24	14	2	8	58.33

3. Jimmy Hogan (England:1910)
The legendary Jimmy Hogan, one of the most influential figures in the development of continental football, took charge of Netherlands for one match , a 2-1 win over Germany on 16.10.10.


4. Tom Bradshaw (England:1913)
Bradshaw was a Lancastrian who played for a dozen League clubs. He took charge of the Netherlands for their 4-2 defeat at the hands of Belgium on 20.04.13.

5. Billy Hunter (Scotland:1914)

P	W	D	L	%
4	2	1	1	50

6.Jack Reynolds  (England: 1919)
The Ajax manager was in charge for the  3-1 win over Sweden on 09.06.19.

7. Fred Warburton (England:17.11.1912  & 1919-23)
The former Bury, Swindon Town and Plymouth Argyle inside forward moved to the Netherlands in 1910 and  managed HVV Den Haag for 22 years (1913–1935).

P	W	D	L	%
21	8	6	7	38%

8. Harry 'Jim' Waites (England:1921)
Waites never played at senior level- he was a rugby player, After the war, during which he was imprisoned, he managed a number of Dutch soccer clubs- most notably Feyenoord.
On 12.06.21 he oversaw a 1-1 draw against Denmark at Copenhagen.

9. Bob Glendenning (England: 25.10.1923 & 1925-*)
Glendenning played half back for Barnsley (playing in 2 FA Cup Finals) and Bolton Wanderers.

P	W	D	L	%
73	31	13	29	42.46

Also 7 unofficial internationals...

P	W	D	L	%
4	2	1	4	50

 *Glendenning was coach up until 1940 but these stats cover the period up until the summer of 1937. 

10. Billy Townley (England: 1924)
The former Blackburn Rovers star was the coach at the 1924 Olympics.

P	W	D	L	%
8	2	3	3	25

11. John 'Jan' Bollington (England:1924)

Bollington oversaw a  2-1 victory over South Africa on 02.11.1924.

Evolution of the European game

Some very interesting footage here.

Teddy Duckworth- Switzerland 1924

The 1924 Olympics in Paris marked a high point in the history of Swiss Football. 
In 19 years of international football the Swiss had played 53 matches, recording 15 wins, 9 draws and 29 defeats.
At the tournament they began by smashing Lithuania 9-0. Paul Sturzenegger (FC Zurich) scored 4 and  Max 'Xam' Abegglen (Grasshopper) 3.
In the next round they drew 1-1 with Czechoslovakia, winning the replay 1-0.
The following match saw Sturzenegger and Abegglen score as Vittorio Pozzo's Italy were beaten 2-1.
Abegglen added another 2 goals to his tally as Switzerland beat Sweden 2-1. This game took place on the 5th June, which was also the expiry date for the Swiss party's rail tickets! They considered withdrawing in order to avoid incurring additional costs but a newspaper appeal raised the funds needed to prolong their stay in Paris.  This victory over the Swedes, the surprise package of the games, set up a final against Uruguay.
The Swiss were easily beaten 3-0 in front of a crowd of 60,000. Abegglen finished top scorer with 6 goals (second only to Petrone, on 8) and Sturzenegger scored 5. Xam Abegglen scored 34 goals in 68 appearances for Switzerland , a record that was unequaled until 2001.

The Swiss national team was run by a three man committee known as  the Technical Commission. Each area of the country was represented by a coach. The Swiss favoured this arrangement up until the 1934 World Cup. In this case the trio was Jimmy Hogan (England-Young Boys), Dori Kürschner (Hungary- Grasshopper) and Teddy Duckworth (England- Servette). Hogan, of course, was one of the most influential figures in the development of continental football. Kürschner  had enjoyed success in Hungary, Germany and with Grasshopper- but it was his influence on Brazilian coaching and tactics that later made his name. The triumvirate was headed by Teddy Duckworth.
Duckworth was the man who actually took the team to Paris, and it was he who was awarded a silver medal. 
Duckworth (whose first names were Thomas Crook- Teddy being a nickname) was born in Blackpool, Lancashire. He made his debut for Blackpool FC in 1902. He played at outside right.
He played 9 games in the 1902-03 season before moving to West Ham United of the Southern League. He then joined First Division Blackburn Rovers. His only 1st team appearance in 2 seasons at Rovers came on 1st October 1904, a 1-0 defeat at home to The Wednesday. Duckworth  rejoined Blackpool in 1905-06, making a further 21 appearances for the club.
Duckworth's coaching career appears to have begun in 1919 when he joined Servette. Under his leadership 
Servette won Swiss Série A in 1922,1925, 1926 and 1930. They won the Swiss Cup in 1928.
Duckworth led the Switzerland selection to the Olympics in 1928, but they went out in the first round, beaten 4-0 by Germany. 

Dori Kürschner

The Hungarian Izidor Kürschner-Szűcs, usually known as Dori Kürschner (or Dori Kruschner in Brazil) was one of the coaches who contributed to the evolution of the modern game in quite a subtle way. Even though he died in 1941, his greatest contribution to football probably came after 1937. As coach of Flamengo he changed the way Brazilians thought about tactics and formations, setting the stage for later triumphs.Kürschner played for MTK Budapest from 1904–1913. This was a succesful period for the club, who were coached by Jimmy Hogan from 1914. 
MTK won the Hungarian League in 1904 and 1907–08, and the cup 3 seasons in a row (1910-12). 
A left half or centre half, Kürschner made his international debut for Hungary in 1907. He won 5 caps over the next 4 years, never being a regular . Kürschner commenced his coaching career in 1918 with MTK. 

1918 MTK  (Hungary)
  Kürschner replaced Hogan as coach at MTK, who were Hungarian champions that season.

1919-21 Stuttgart Kickers  (Germany)
During Kürschner's tenure at Kickers  they won their regional league (Kreisliga Württemberg).

1921 1 FC Nuremberg (Germany)
  Once Kickers were eliminated from the national Championships Kürschner was engaged by Nuremberg and  oversaw their successful defence of the title.

 1921 FC Bayern  (Germany)
Bayern hired Kürschner as the replacement for Billy Townley. 

1922 1 FC Nuremberg (Germany)
When Bayern failed to progress in the national championships  Nuremberg invited him back and he was coach in the Eternal Final. 

1922-23 Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)

1923-24 FC Nordstern Basel (Switzerland)
Kürschner was Nordstern's first ever full time coach, and he took them into the first division. 

1924 Switzerland (National team)
Switzerland were coached by a Technical Commission made up of 3 members, each representing one of the regions of Switzerland (east, central and west). This was a remarkable triumvirate in which Kürschner served alongside the Englishmen Teddy Duckworth and Jimmy Hogan. Switzerland won the silver medal at the 1924 Olympics.

1924 Schwarz-Weiss Essen (Germany)
Again, he was the first full time coach.

1925-34 Grasshopper (Switzerland)
Under Kürschner Grasshopper came to be highly regarded, with 3 national championships and 4 cup wins. 

1934-35 Young Boys Berne (Switzerland)

1937-38 CR Flamengo (Brazil)
Brazilian football was still tactically naive. 2-3-5 still reigned. Kürschner introduced the WM formation along with European training and preparation methods. 

1939-40 Botafogo (Brazil)

Hugo Meisl and Jimmy Hogan- The Danubian School

Under Meisl soccer became almost an exhibition, a sort of competitive ballet, in which scoring goals was no more than the excuse for the weaving of a hundred intricate patterns.
Brian Glanville.

Hugo Meisl was the most influential figure in European football during the first half of the 20th century. As a player he had represented Cricketer and also served as a referee. he was head of the Austrian Football Federation from 1912 to 1937, and managed the national team in two periods, in 1912-14   and from 1919 -1937.As manager of Austria the cosmopolitan Meisl envisioned a fluid and beautiful way of playing football, based on the principles of movement.
The style of play was described by Willy Meisl, Hugo's brother, as The Whirl. This involved a perpetual interchanging and fluidity between all 10 outfield players, in which there would be no such thing as a purely defensive or a purely attacking player. 
 with assistance of an English coach, Jimmy Hogan.


In 1912, Austria drew 1-1 against Hungary. The game was refereed by Englishman James Howcroft. Ever keen to develop, Meisl asked Mr Howcroft for some advice on how to improve his team. Mr Howcroft's opinion was that they needed a professional coach to work with them on basic technique. As it happened Mr Howcroft knew just the man they needed. He recommended Jimmy Hogan, the former Bolton Wanderers player who had been coaching in the Netherlands.
Meisl promptly appointed Hogan to work with leading Austrian clubs, but mainly to prepare the Austria national squad for the Stockholm Olympics.

There is a strong case for arguing that Hogan, a journeyman professional who had also played for Rochdale, Burnley, Nelson , Fulham , Swindon Town during an 11 year career was to become one of  the most influential coaches in the history of football. The origins of the great Hungarian post war style, Netherlands Total Football and even the development of tactical awareness in Brazilian football (via Dori Kruschner*) can be traced back to the work that Hogan did in Central Europe.  

Hogan helped Meisl to put his vision into action. Hogan promoted  a style that emphasized  greater ball-control, attacking freedom, creativity, quick passing, and better physical preparation  Football was to be played on the ground, not in the air, and it was a game for brains as well as muscles.  
Essentially the 2-3-5 pyramid remained untouched (in fact Willy Meisl remained an advocate of thew pyramid formation until well into the 1950s). The forward line was complemented by wide half-backs and an attacking centre-half.

We played football as Jimmy Hogan taught us. When our football history is told, his name should be written in gold letters 

Gusztáv Sebes- coach of the 1950s Hungarian Golden Team.



*Izidor "Dori" Kürschner was known as Dori Kruschner in Brazil

Wunderteam

1931-32

Austria had an unbeaten  run of 14 games between April 1931 and December 1932. 
In May 1931 they demolished a depleted Scotland team by outplaying them at their own game, based on short passing.

  12.4.31  Czechoslovakia 2-1 (Vienna, Coupe Internationale européenne) 
    3.5.31  Hungary 0-0  (Vienna, Coupe Internationale européenne)
  16.5.31  Scotland 5-0 (Vienna) 
    4.5.31  Germany 6-0 (Berlin)
  16.6.31  Switzerland 2-0 (Vienna)
  13.9.31  Germany 5-0 (Vienna)
  4.10.31  Hungary 2-2 (Budapest, Coupe Internationale européenne) 
29.11.31  Switzerland 8-1 (Basel, Coupe Internationale européenne) 
  20.3.32  Italy 2-1  (Vienna, Coupe Internationale européenne) 
  24.4.32  Hungary 8-2 (Vienna)
  22.5.32  Czechoslovakia 1-1 (Prague, Coupe Internationale européenne) 
  17.7.32  Sweden 4-3 (Stockholm)
  2.10.32  Hungary 3-2 (Budapest)
23.10.32  Switzerland 3-1  (Vienna, Coupe Internationale européenne)*
  7.12.32  England 3-4 (London)

*Austria winners of 2nd  Coupe Internationale européenne

The unbeaten run came to an end at Stamford Bridge - critics in England felt that they had had a narrow escape, and that had Austria played their natural game from the start that they would have embarrassed England:

English team lucky to win. There could not be the slightest doubt that as a team (Austria) were the superiors.
 Manchester Guardian

 It was victory and no more, and it was by no means easily earned.
The Times. 

The unbeaten run featured  the following personnel:

Goalkeeper: Rudolf Hiden
Right  Backs: Roman Schramseis, Karl Rainer
Left  Backs: Josef Blum, Karl Sesta
Right Halves: Georg Braun, Johann Mock
Center Halves: Josef Smistik, Leopold Hofmann
Left Halves: Karl Gall,  Walter Nausch
Outside Right: Karl Zischek
Inside Right: Friedrich Gschweidl
Center Forward: Matthias Sindelar
Inside Left: Anton Schall
Outside Left: Adolf Vogl

Manager: Hugo Meisl 
Trainer: Jimmy Hogan

Austria's place amongst the top teams in the world endured right up until the country was absorbed by Germany in 1938.
The retrospective Elo World Rankings have them briefly in top position (following a 3-2 win over France) in May 1934. They were favourites to win the 1934 World Cup, but in Italy only Italy could win. In the semi final  Enrique Guaita scored the only goal after Meazza had clattered into the Austrian keeper, Platzer, forcing him to spill the ball.