Hugo Meisl (16 November 1881 – 17 February 1937), brother of the journalist Willy Meisl, was the multi-lingual

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach of the famous Austrian ' Wunderteam' of the early 1930s, as well as a

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

Background

Meisl was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, starting out as a bank clerk after moving to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1895 but soon developed an interest in football, playing as a winger for the Vienna Cricket and Football-Club. In his early 30s, following a short playing career, he found employment as an administrator with the Austrian Football Association, rising to the position of General Secretary. In the 1912 Olympic Games in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Meisl appeared as a match referee. He had previously refereed the first international match between

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 10 June 1908.

Interest in football

Meisl's enthusiasm for the game resulted in the development of a Central European club tournament: the Mitropa Cup, the development of the Central European International Cup and the development of professional League football in Austria in 1924. His interest in football led him to develop friendships throughout Europe most notably with

Vittorio Pozzo Vittorio Pozzo (; 2 March 1886 – 21 December 1968) was an Italian association football, football player, manager (association football), manager and journalist. The creator of the ''Formation (association football)#Metodo (2–3–2–3), Me ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and Herbert Chapman in

. Another English coach,

Jimmy Hogan James Hogan (16 October 1882 – 30 January 1974) was an English football player and coach. He enjoyed some success as a footballer, reaching an FA Cup semi-final with Fulham in 1907–08, but his primary legacy is as a pioneer of the game ...

, who worked in

, helped Meisl develop a technique for dispensing with aerial passing and placing emphasis on groundwork.

Austrian 'Wunderteam'

Meisl became coach of the Austrian national side in 1913 alongside Heinrich Retschury, assuming full control in 1919 and oversaw their rise to prominence in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The 14-match unbeaten run of the Austrian national side from 12 April 1931 until 7 December 1932 placed the Austrians at the forefront of international football; they had routed most of their European rivals. Among their players was

Matthias Sindelar Matthias Sindelar (, ; 10 February 1903 – 23 January 1939) was an Austrian professional association football, footballer. Regarded as one of the greatest Austrian players of all time, Sindelar notably played for FK Austria Wien, Austria Vienna ...

, the man of paper, 'Der Papierene', known for his ability to glide past rough challengers. On 11 February 1934 the Austrians beat

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

4-2 (3-0 at half-time) in the Central European International Cup competition: a defeat that signalled the end of the international career of the Italian captain

Umberto Caligaris Umberto Caligaris (; 26 July 1901 – 19 October 1940) was an Italian international association football, footballer who played, normally at left-back, for A.S. Casale and Juventus FC, Juventus, before ending his career with Brescia Calcio, Bres ...

and rightly made the Austrians one of the strong favourites going into the 1934 World Cup.

1934 World Cup

During that tournament Austria renewed their rivalry with their neighbours

in a game that saw one player sent-off, a penalty awarded to Hungary and an injury to Johann Horvath that would rule him out of the semi-final against

. The Italians would win that game, an early goal and desperate defending ensuring the hosts won through to the final. A goal would also separate the sides in the Gold-medal match at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The second of these games is the only time that Austria have competed in an international final. Meisl died after suffering a heart attack in 1937.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meisl, Hugo 1881 births 1937 deaths People from Malešov People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech Jews Austrian people of Czech-Jewish descent Jewish Austrian sportspeople Jewish footballers Austrian football managers Austria national football team managers FK Austria Wien managers 1934 FIFA World Cup managers Austrian football referees Austrian men's footballers Men's association football wingers Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery

Background

Interest in football

Austrian 'Wunderteam'

1934 World Cup

See also

References