When Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss of 1938, there were grave consequences for the population. However, it also ended Austria’s reign as one of the dominant forces in world football, and an even worse fate awaited one of their greatest-ever players and captain of the Wunderteam, Matthias Sindelar.
The “Wunderteam” refers to Austria’s national side during the 1930s. They were spearheaded by Sindelar and Josef Bican, two of the greatest goalscorers in Austrian and football history. Before beginning to represent Czechoslovakia in 1938, Bican scored 14 goals in 19 appearances for Austria between 1933 and 1936.
Despite being among the leading nations to boycott the 1930 World Cup, believing it would not succeed as a legitimate tournament, the Austrians didn’t need it to prove their quality.
During the decade, their standout results included 5-0 and 6-0 victories over Germany, a 6-0 demolition of Switzerland, and an 8-2 routing of Hungary.
Their only piece of silverware came in the 1932 Central European International Cup, a precursor to the European Championship. In the final, they defeated Italy 4-2, a side that would go on to win the 1934 World Cup in highly controversial fashion.
Austria entered the 1934 World Cup as favourites but failed to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy after losing 1-0 to hosts Italy in the semi-finals. They then found themselves on the wrong side of a 3-2 defeat to Germany in the third-place play-off. Austria would meet the Germans again four years later, but under very different circumstances.
The foundations of the team began to crumble between 1934 and 1938. After Bican switched allegiance to Czechoslovakia, the architect of the side, Hugo Meisl, passed away in 1937 after 18 years in charge. He was replaced by Heinrich Retschury, who would oversee the integration of Austrian football into that of the Third Reich.
The Anschluss effectively ended Austria’s 1938 World Cup campaign, as they withdrew three months before the tournament was due to begin. Following the annexation, nine Austrian players were forced to switch colours, and German manager Sepp Herberger was ordered to integrate them into his squad at short notice.
Though Austrian players featured at the 1938 World Cup, it was nowhere near the same. The identity that had made them so dominant had been stripped away as they were forced to integrate with German teammates they barely knew. Not every member of the Wunderteam had made the transition either.
The lack of unity quickly became apparent. Germany recorded their worst World Cup performance until 2018, being eliminated in the first round. At the time, the tournament was a straight knockout competition with no group stage. Switzerland knocked them out after a 4-2 replay victory, with the former Wunderteam players caught up in the humiliation.
One player the occupiers desperately wanted was Sindelar, but he gave them the cold shoulder, refusing to play for the combined side outright. However, as was so often the case under a regime like Nazi Germany, resistance could be a fatal choice.
Unfortunately, it proved to be for Sindelar.
On 23 January 1939, Sindelar and his partner were found dead. The official verdict was carbon monoxide poisoning, but numerous theories have emerged over the years, ranging from suicide to assassination by the regime.
Regardless of the true cause, the poster boy of Austrian football’s golden age was gone, and in many ways, the golden age died with him.
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