The Side From Vienna Who Became Champions of Germany

They were, at the time, one of the best sides in all of Germany and found themselves 3-0 up. But what is most remarkable about the final of the 1941 German football championship is not that Schalke 04 went on to lose the match 4-3, but that their opponents were not actually from Germany itself.

What constitutes as Germany may nowadays seem rather straightforward but this has not always been the case. particularly before and during the war. Whilst the state, and former military power, of Prussia, which nowadays covers many different countries in eastern Europe, played a large role in Germany's history in the first half of the 20th century, there were many other countries annexed by Germany over the course of the second world war, for example. In short, what could once have been classed as Germany, or part of a greater Germany, covered a much larger area than the modern-day nation now does. Not only that but in the early years of the DFB (German football association), Germany's football authorities actively sought out members amongst ethnically German clubs from outside of the country. This changed when Germany joined FIFA but, to emphasise the significance of it, the very first German Championship saw a team from the city of Prague, capital of modern-day Czech Republic, finish runners up. 

But whilst DFC Prag were hammered 7-2 in the final, almost 40 years later there was another side from outside Germany that went one better. As a Jewish but also, of course, ethnically German club, the Jewish bit meant DFC Prag sadly did not survive the Nazi regime. But two years after DFC Prag's demise it was a team from the Hütteldorfer district of Vienna in recently annexed Austria who in 1941, in the midst of World War II, managed the feat of becoming the first, and to date only, club from outside Germany to be crowned German football champions.

SK Rapid Wien had made history in January 1939 when they became the first team from outside Germany to win the German Cup, then known as the Tschammerpokal. It was only the competitions fourth year of existence and the first year of Austrian participation when the side from Vienna defeated FSV Frankfurt 3-1 in the final. On March 12 of the previous year, German troops had marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation and see it become part of Hitler's Third Reich and so all Austrian sides now became part of German football. In that final FSV had led after 17 minutes and it wasn't till 10 minutes from time that the Viennese drew level but two further goals saw Rapid make history. Even greater success was to follow, however.

Pre Bundesliga, Germany had no top flight as such and was split into regional leagues with the winners of each league qualifying for the end of season German Championship that determined who would be the country's champions. Rapid played in what was known as the Gauliga Ostmark, Ostmark being the name the Nazi's gave for Austria once under their control, and in 1904-41 they finished top of the division losing only twice in an 18 game campaign.

For the German football championship, Rapid would take part in a four team group for which the winners would progress to the semi-finals. Rapid faced TSV 1860 München, Stuttgarter Kickers, and VfL Neckarau both home and away and lost only once. They finished top of the group ahead of an 1860 side that had beaten them in Munich. In the semi-finals, Rapid defeated Dresdner SC 2-1 to reach the final where they would face Schalke 04 in front of 95,000 spectators at a sold-out Olympiastadion in Berlin. Interestingly the match would end up taking place on the day that Hitler's German troops began their offensive in the Soviet Union for the very first time.

SK Rapid Wien in 1941 were probably not a team full of big name stars, and certainly not names many fans today would recognise. A year later a 17-year-old Ernst Happel would make his debut for the club but although Happel would become famous throughout the world of football as an all-time great, albeit more so for his managerial career, the same cannot really be said for those in the squad of 1940-41. Having said that the squad did include numerous Austrian internationals so were hardly a terrible side either, and their results that season showed that anyway. Rapid were very much an attacking team, Franz Binder was top scorer and would end up scoring 38 goals across the whole season with the team as a whole scoring on average almost four and a half goals a game. Binder would be Rapid's star man in the final too.

Rapid's final opponents Schalke 04 had won the two previous championships and several of their players were big name stars at the time with Ernst Kuzorra and Fritz Szepan, in particular, to this day considered two of the greatest Schalke, and indeed German, players of all time. Funnily enough, the pair also happened to be brothers-in-law. The club's success of recent times made them clear favourites for the final and when the match got underway they soon found themselves in the driving seat.

Schalke were facing Austrian opposition in the final for the second time in three seasons with Rapid, no doubt, hoping to fare better than SK Admira Wien had two years earlier when they lost 9-0 to the side from Gelsenkirchen. Within eight minutes, however, Schalke were 2-0 up and it looked as if Rapid might fare no better than their fellow Viennese side had in 1939.

Goals from forwards Heinz Hinz and Hermann Eppenhoff very quickly put Schalke two goals ahead and although Schalke were the better side, the scoreline remained 2-0 at the break with Binder having missed a penalty for Rapid. Any positives for the losing side were soon destroyed, however, when Hinz grabbed his second just before the hour mark. With Schalke now three goals up the contest seemed all but over and their fans were desperate for more. "9-0, 9-0!" the Schalke fans began to sing but if they sensed more blood then they were to be sadly mistaken. In fact, for Schalke things would actually take a real turn for the worse in scenes none of their supporters could have imagined.  

"Bad start - good end." was how prominent Viennese newspaper at the time Das Kleine Volksblatt described the match from a Rapid point of view and they were basically spot on. The 'good end' began when Georg Schors pulled a goal back for the Austrians two minutes after Schalke's third and it ended with Rapid 4-3 up.

It is claimed that once their third went in Schalke thought it was game over to the point that they never took their opponents seriously for the rest of the match, at least not until it was too late I guess. But true or not, don't let that diminish the achievements of Franz Binder because from 3-1 onwards it really was the Binder show. 

"Binder was once again wearing the best shooting boots" stated Das Kleine Volksblatt and he certainly used them to great effect. 3-1 very quickly became 3-2 when he fired home a free-kick on 62 minutes whilst four minutes later he made amends for his first-half penalty miss by drawing the sides level from the spot. Incredibly within the space of six minutes, Rapid had eradicated their three goal deficit and were now level at 3-3 in a game that only minutes earlier had seemed completely lost.

Two goals from Binder had helped turn the game on its head but he wasn't done yet. Five minutes after he'd drawn the sides level Binder completed his hat-trick to put Rapid in front and he did it in style. It was another free-kick that gave the Austrians the lead as Binder hammered the ball into the upper left corner - a beautiful strike. From 3-0 down Rapid now led 4-3, having achieved this feat in less than 15 minutes, and Schalke were shell shocked. Das Kleine Blatt summed it up cleverly with their headline "Berlin experiences a Rapid quarter of an hour"

Schalke never recovered from going behind and despite there being almost 20 minutes left, the side who went into the final as overwhelming favourites could not find an equaliser. Against all the odds SK Rapid Wien had become champions of the Third Reich. Having been given no chance before kick-off and having found themselves 3-0 down after 58 minutes, Rapid had achieved the seemingly impossible and done it in incredible fashion.

"The masses streamed into the field and the victorious [team from] Hütteldorfer could hardly resist the onslaught and the congratulations" declared newspaper Österreichische Volks-Zeitung after joyous supporters had run onto the pitch at full-time.

Rapid Wien have won many Austrian league titles in the years since, but becoming champions of Germany? Well, that one was unique! Austria's oldest club First Vienna, who interestingly use the English spelling of the city name, won the Tschammerpokal in 1943 but never again would a side from Austria, or indeed anywhere outside modern-day Germany, win a major German trophy. Of those two Austrian sides victorious in German football, however, SK Rapid Wien are the only ones to actually have won the German championship and what is the equivalent of the modern-day Bundesliga. They were a side from Austria that was crowned champions of Germany, a feat that will surely never be achieved by anyone ever again.

Read Me In This Month's Late Tackle Magazine

I hope to have a new piece on this blog soon for you to be read and it should be an interesting piece of footballing history for you to absorb. But in the meantime, you can read me in the latest issue of Late Tackle magazine which is out today. I revisit the 1964-65 season for some dramatic final day title drama in Scotland's top flight which interestingly does not include either of the two Old Firm clubs. 

Travels in Germany: Füchse Berlin and the Time I Missed the First Half of Their Match Because I Went to the Wrong Ground

On a trip to Berlin a few years back, a Saturday afternoon flight home stopped me from catching any of the numerous local weekend football fixtures apart from, after studying the various fixture lists, a lone Friday night sixth tier Berlin-Liga match. The match in question was between a team called Füchse Berlin and the infamous Tasmania Berlin who I now know are famous for completing the worst season in Bundesliga history (You may have heard of them, I've written about them a few times before).

Pronounced 'Fookser' which translates as 'foxes', Füchse Berlin are a small-time team who are difficult to fathom out even to the point that it's unclear if Füchse Berlin is even their actual name. Based in the Berlin suburb of Reinickendorf in the west of the city, search for them online and depending on where you look they are also known as Reinickendorfer Füchse and Füchse Berlin Reinickendorf. To confuse matters further, Füchse Berlin is also the name of a top flight handball team. However, it actually turns out Füchse Berlin Reinickendorf/Reinickendorfer Füchse (I'll call them the latter from now on as that's what it says on the scarf I bought) are actually part of a sports club which, with over 3600 members, covers far more than just football. The aforementioned Füchse Berlin handball team, once part of the club, are, however, nowadays a separate entity though still have close links with the sports club.

In terms of footballing history, after the creation of the Bundesliga in 1963 Füchse joined the new, at the time second tier, Regionalliga Berlin but did not sustain themselves at that level. The club were before long relegated and have played outside the top two levels ever since. During those years outside the higher echelons of German football, their best performances came in 1989 and 1990 when they won consecutive, then third tier, Amateur-Oberliga Berlin titles. Sadly, on both occasions they missed out on promotion to the 2.Bundesliga by losing in the resulting play-offs. The club have twice won the Landespokal Berlin (regional cup) and three times participated in the main DFB-Pokal with one lone first round victory to their name.

As for my visit to see Reinickendorfer Füchse in action, well it turned out to be a rather eventful one with finding the right ground rather problematic. 

Whilst Füchse's website even when translated into English was almost useless it did, however, give me details of their home ground - or so I thought. Google Maps (other mapping services are available) gave me accurate directions and I arrived there half an hour before kick-off with everything initially seeming fine, albeit a little quiet. 

I had turned up in the middle of what was a quaint residential area and I found several football pitches and some tennis courts but whilst there seemed to be players warming up next to the main pitch there was a distinct lack of supporters about. Despite posters up advertising the match, I knew something was amiss when as kick-off approached the aforementioned players were still training/warming up and there were still no spectators around. The specified kick-off time came and went with still no match taking place so I checked my phone and a German site listing the league fixtures claimed the match had already kicked off. The site in question also had live updates from said game so yeah it had clearly kicked off somewhere just not where I was! At the time I wasn't aware of the groundhopper app nowadays known as 'fubology' but it might have come in handy.

I frantically searched online using my phone to try and find out where the match was actually being played and whilst doing so was accosted by two lads who, speaking perfect English, introduced themselves as a German groundhopper and a Finnish guy studying in Berlin. The two men I had just met had made exactly the same mistake as me and turned up at the wrong venue. At least I wasn't alone in doing so! One of my two new friends was thankfully able to find directions to the correct ground and I followed the pair to a nearby train station where I was promised it was only two stops to the correct stadium.

After some great banter on the station platform, where the conversation at one point rather surprisingly turned to the not very Germanic or Nordic sport of cricket, we were finally able to board a delayed train and eventually reach our destination. Unfortunately, the aforementioned delay saw us enter the ground just after the second-half had kicked off. Arriving so late, however, saw no one charge us an entrance fee so it wasn't all bad.

The original so-called ground we'd turned up at consisted of one lone terraced section on one side of the pitch and certainly did not feel suitable even for sixth tier football yet this alternative venue was barely any more befitting. After buying cheap beers in the clubhouse we headed out onto the terracing in front of it. These several rows of terracing ran along the length of one side of the pitch and many people were stood there enjoying the action, whilst behind one goal a grassy bank was also populated by supporters. Most of the rest of the ground seemed to be surrounded by trees in what was a rather scenic setting. In all there were probably a couple of hundred people in attendance at the ground which I later discovered was called Wackerplatz and the former home of a now defunct side called SV Wacker 04 Berlin.

Although I remember the fantastic football craic with my two new pals more than the actual match itself, home side Füchse scored late on what, judging by the euphoria around us, seemed to be a winning goal (a check online later showed that yes it was, in fact, the winning goal with a final score of 3-2 and the other four goals evidently coming in the first half before we arrived).

Game over and we headed back for the train. After the local amongst us departed a few stops down the line, me and my new Finnish friend ended up having a lovely pork schnitzel takeaway before exchanging social media details and then heading our separate ways.

That win, it turned out, was much needed for Reinickendorfer Füchse as the club would end the season just one point above the drop zone. The following season it was even closer with only a superior goal difference stopping them from going down. The league has since been interrupted by COVID and I have yet to return to Berlin, but one day I hope to go back and maybe I'll get to watch Füchse again - let's just hope that in the meantime they don't move grounds without telling me!

Cooking Lessons With Carlo Ancelotti

I haven't posted anything for about ten days so whilst you wait for my next article/feature that I'm, no doubt, sure you can't wait to read, here is a video of Carlo Ancelotti making penne carbonara.

One Season Wonders - The Seven Clubs Who Each Have Just One Lone Bundesliga Campaign To Their Name

Since the Bundesliga was created in 1963, fifty six teams have played in what is Germany's top flight. Of those 56 sides, some have barely played outside division whilst others have made only fleeting appearances in it. 

Whilst, for example, founding members Hamburger SV lasted 55 seasons in the division before their eventual relegation in 2018, and FC Bayern München, who joined the league in 1965, are now in their 56th straight top flight campaign, Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin, on the other hand, have managed just one lone season in the Bundesliga.

Blau-Weiß are actually one of seven sides to have just one Bundesliga campaign to their name and, not wanting pick solely on the Berlin minnows, here is a brief look at each of those seven clubs.

SC Preußen Münster (1963-64)

Preußen Münster were inaugural members of the Bundesliga but whist, of course, some of those original 16 clubs hung around in the top flight for quite a while sadly for Münster they did not.

Pre Bundesliga era Münster finished runners up in the German Championship in 1951, losing to 1. FC Kaiserslautern in front of 100,000 spectators in the final in Berlin, but that was as good as it got. When the club joined the newly formed Bundesliga in 1963 they finished second bottom in the leagues first season and were relegated, as yet, never to return.

Münster spent most of the 60s and 70s in the second tier and several times came close to promotion back to the big time but eventually slipped down to the third tier in the early 80s. The club briefly returned to the 2. Bundesliga almost a decade later but have since spent most of their time in the third and fourth tiers. They currently play in the Regionalliga West having been relegated from the 3.Liga last season. 

In 2012 Münster came to prominence when they knocked Bundesliga side Weder Bremen out of the DFB-Pokal by defeating them 4-2 after extra-time in the first round. The club failed to make it past round 2, however, losing to another Bundesliga side in FC Augsburg.

SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin (1965-66)

In 1965, West Berlin's only Bundesliga side, Hertha BSC, had their license revoked and were forcibly relegated for breaking the league's player salary rules with SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin drafted in to replace them. The DFB were, for political reasons, uncomfortable about the idea of not having a Bundesliga team in the divided city at what was the height of the cold war and decided one of the second tier clubs based in the city should replace the disgraced Hertha.

Tennis Borussia Berlin and Spandauer SV both finished above Tasmania, but of the three Tennis Borussia were considered the weakest and Spandauer decided, for financial reasons, they were not interested in joining the top flight leaving Tasmania as the only choice. When Tasmania were finally given the gig it was just two weeks before the season started and with so little time to prepare the odds were seemingly stacked against them.

Despite winning their opening match in front of 81,524 spectators at West Berlin's Olympiastadion, Tasmania would win just two of their 34 league games whilst losing 28 and ending the season with just eight points to their name, a whopping 14 behind the team directly above them in an era of just two points for a win. The club would go on a 31 match winless streak which was and still is Bundesliga record and just one of many unwanted records they would gain that season. Despite drawing huge crowds in the early part of the season they even ended up recording, what is still to this day, the lowest attendance in Bundesliga history when just 827 people turned up to watch their 0-0 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach.

In 1973 SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin went bankrupt and were reformed as SV Tasmania Berlin. Under their new guise, Tasmania's most successful period started in 1981 when promotion saw ten straight seasons in the third tier. More recently, seven straight seasons in the sixth tier Berlin-Liga ended with promotion to the fifth tier NOFV-Oberliga Nord last time around. They currently play at the very modest Werner-Seelenbinder-Sportpark where 827 is considered a decent turnout. 

The club recently hit the headlines again when FC Schalke 04 came within one game of matching their Bundesliga record of 31 games without a win but Schalke then managed to put four without reply past TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and the record still stands.

Finally, for anyone wondering why the club are named after an island off Australia, it is believed that their name comes from the fact the founders of the original club had wanted to move to Tasmania.

SC Fortuna Köln (1973-74)

Over the years in the city of Cologne, Fortuna Köln always played second fiddle to their big name city rivals 1. FC Köln and whilst FC Köln have 49 Bundesliga campaigns to their name Fortuna have jsut one.

Fortuna finished second bottom of the Bundesliga in 1973-74 with just eight wins to their name, however, they are remembered more for their run to the final of DFB-Pokal nine years later than that, to date, sole top flight appearance.

After defeating Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach in a quarter final replay, second tier Fortuna reached the 1982-83 DFB-Pokalfinale after a second Bundesliga scalp in which they thrashed Borussia Dortmund 5-0. In the final Fortuna would face none other than city rivals FC Köln and the match was moved to FC Köln's Müngersdorfer Stadion where a crowd of over 60,000 would be in attendance. Unfortunately for Fortuna, they lost the match thanks to a second-half goal as their far more successful neighbours were crowned cup winners for a fourth time with a 1-0 win.

Fortuna continued to play second tier football until 2000 when they were relegated from the 2. Bundesliga and have yet to return. Spells in the third and fourth tiers followed whilst after a return to the 3. Liga in 2014 they were relegated back to the Regionalliga West five years later. That relegation in 2019 came as Viktoria Köln, traditionally the smallest of the city's three main clubs, went in the other direction and won promotion up to the third tier making Fortuna technically now the city's third club.

Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin (1986-87)

A second tier side for much of the 70s and 80s Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin were relegated from the 2. Bundesliga in 1992 and have yet to return. During that period of relative success, however, they did manage to make it to the Bundesliga for one single season.

A second placed finish in 1985-86 saw the club promoted to the top flight for the very first time but they were immediately relegated straight back down to the second tier. Three wins and 12 draws meant Blau-Weiß's Bundesliga campaign did not go quite as badly as city rivals Tasmania's had some 20 years earlier but they still finished rock bottom of the league some eight points from safety.

Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin went bankrupt after their 1992 relegation from the second tier and reformed as SpVg Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin. They currently play in the fifth tier NOFV-Oberliga Nord.

VfB Leipzig (1993-94)

After Germany reuinited in 1990, former East German Oberliga side 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig renamed themselves VfB Leipzig and in 1993 were promoted to the Bundesliga.

In East Germany, Lokomotive never managed to be crowned top flight champions but did have 4 FDGB-Pokal domestic cup triumphs to their name and in Europe reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1973-74 and finished UEFA Cup Winners' Cup runners-up in 1986-87.

When east and west became one again VfB Leipzig began life in the second tier but, of course, it only took them a couple of seasons to reach the top flight. Life in the Bundesliga did not go well for the club, however, as they finished rock bottom in their first season with just three wins to their name and some 12 points from safety.

Post that lone Bundesliga campaign the club struggled, eventually went bankrupt, and reformed as 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig once more.  Lokomotive currently ply their trade in the fourth tier Regionalliga Nordost and last season missed out on promotion after losing in the play-offs.

SSV Ulm 1846 (1999-2000)

SSV Ulm 1846 currently ply their trade in the fourth tier Regionalliga Südwest and last season claimed their third straight regional WFV-Pokal trophy in a row.

Promotion in 1980 saw the club spent ten straight seasons in the 2. Bundesliga but after relegation, they did not return to the second tier until 1998. It was worth the wait, however, as the club's first season back in the second tier saw them promoted to the Bundesliga for the very first time.

In the Bundesliga Ulm finished third bottom and three points from safety, however, whilst a second successive relegation saw them back in the third tier for the 2001-02 season. Since then the club have really struggled and spent much of their time in the fourth and fifth tiers. At one point they even went insolvent. They currently play in the Regionalliga Südwest.

SpVgg Greuther Fürth (2012-13)

Based in Fürth next to Nuremberg, like rivals 1. FC Nürnberg from the city next door, SpVgg Greuther Fürth's most successful period came well before the Bundesliga was created. The club were national champions in 1914, 1926, and 1929 but have achieved little since.

A few spells in third and fourth tiers in the 80s and 90s aside, the club has spent most of the Bundesliga era in the second tier. The club has actually spent 23 of the past 24 seasons in the 2. Bundesliga with the odd one out being 2012-13 when they made their one and only foray into top flight football during the Bundesliga era. 

Having been 2. Bundesliga champions the previous season the club, unfortunately, failed to deliver in the big time finishing bottom of the Bundesliga and some 13 points from safety with just four wins to their name.