Matthias Sindelar: the forgotten football hero who snubbed Hitler
The mystery of the great footballer who defied the Nazis
To say that Matthias Sindelar is not universally well known would be an understatement. He played for FK Austria Vienna and the Austrian national team throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
His obscurity is even more perplexing given the fact that he was compared to Pele and many other football legends of the era. He was even once known at the time as “The Mozart of football” or Der Papierene (“The Paper Man”) for his speed and ability to seemingly float on the pitch.
Yet in a country not renowned for its incredible sporting talent it is inexplicable that there is no enduring memory of the man. No statues, plaques, no biopic, no exhibition, and most importantly, no conclusive investigation into his suspicious and sudden death.
In 1938 Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany and it was decided that the Austrian team would be dissolved and its players would play for the German national team instead. However, a final match was permitted before the end of the Austrian side.
It was mass-propaganda-friendly to showcase the athletic skills of the German side and Austria were supposed to play at a lower intensity. Sindelar had only one request- he insisted that his team be allowed to wear their…
