Matthias Sindelar

Matthias Sindelar (10 February 1903 – 23 January 1939) is a former Austrian football player. His nicknames were "Mozart of football" and "Der Papierene-the Paperman" due to his slight figure. He has played for Austria national team. Sindelar was elected for Austria's "Team of the century".

Club career
Matthias Sindelar was of Czech origin. He and his family came to Vienna in 1905. They lived in Favoriten where Matthias started playing football with Hertha Vienna from 1918 to 1924. Then he went to FK Austria Wien (which was called Wiener Amateur-SV until 1926). For this club he played from 1924 until his death in 1939.

International career
He was an important part of the Austrian team in the early 1930s. This team is called "Wunderteam" and had won lot of matches against leading European nations. 
The following is a list of Sindelar's international appearances and goals with the Austria national football team.

Cap #Date Location Type ofmatch ResultOpponentMinutesplayedGoals Notes1.Sep 28, 1926PragueFriendly 2-190  12.Oct 10, 1926ViennaFriendly7-19023.Nov 7, 1926ViennaFriendly3-19014.Mar 20, 1927ViennaFriendly1-29005.Apr 10, 1927ViennaFriendly6-0480Entered game as substitute (42')6.May 6, 1928ViennaFriendly3-0Yugoslavia9007.Oct 28, 1928ViennaDr. Gerö Cup2-09008.Mar 23, 1930PragueFriendly2-29009.May 16, 1931ViennaFriendly5-090110.May 24, 1931BerlinFriendly6-090011.Sep 14, 1931ViennaFriendly5-090312.Oct 4, 1931BudapestDr. Gerö Cup2-290013.Nov 29, 1931BaselDr. Gerö Cup8-190114.Mar 20, 1932ViennaDr. Gerö Cup2-190215.Apr 24, 1932ViennaFriendly8-2903Scored the first 3 of Austria's goals; second international hat-trick in eight months.16.May 22, 1932PragueDr. Gerö Cup1-190117.Jul 17, 1932StockholmFriendly4-390118.Oct 2, 1932BudapestFriendly3-290019.Oct 23, 1932ViennaDr.GeröCup3-190020.Dec 7, 1932LondonFriendly3-490121.Feb 12, 1933ParisFriendly4-090122.April 9, 1933ViennaFriendly1-290023.Apr 30, 1933BudapestFriendly1-190024.Jun 11, 1933ViennaFriendly4-190125.Sep 17, 1933PragueFriendly3-390226.Oct 1, 1933ViennaFriendly2-290027.Nov 29, 1933GlasgowFriendly2-290028.Dec 10, 1933AmsterdamFriendly1-090029.Apr 15, 1934ViennaFriendly5-290030.Apr 25, 1934ViennaWorld Cup qualification6-190131.May 27, 1934TurinWorld Cup3-2120132.May 31, 1934BolognaWorld Cup2-190033.Jun 3, 1934MilanWorld Cup0-190034.Sep 23, 1934ViennaDr. Gerö Cup2-290035.Oct 7,  1934BudapestDr.Gerö Cup1-390036.Mar 24, 1935ViennaDr. Gerö Cup0-290037.May 6, 1936ViennaFriendly2-190038.May 17, 1936RomeFriendly2-290039.Sep 27, 1936BudapestDr. Gerö Cup3-590240.Mar 21, 1937ViennaDr. Gerö Cup2-0730Match suspended at the 73rd minute. Not considered official by the Italian Football Federation. Sources: http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/unb-italy-19.html (see note [5]); http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ital-recintlp.html (see NB); http://www.austriasoccer.at/LSP/1930_39/1937/s1937_02.htm41.May 9, 1937ViennaFriendly1-190042.May 23, 1937BudapestFriendly2-290043.Sep 19, 1937ViennaDr. Gerö Cup4-3901Totals384126Some sources, including the RSSSF (Austria - Record International Players) list 27 goals in 43 matches. Other sources say he appeared in 44 matches.

Honours
Sindelar was ranked as Austria's best footballer of the twentieth century by the IFFHS, also ranking as the world's 22nd best. His career titles include:

 Club 
Austria Wien
 1. Liga
 Winner: 1926
 Runner Up: (2) 1925, 1937
 Austrian Cup
 Winner: (5) 1925, 1926, 1933, 1935, 1936
 Mitropa Cup
 Winner: (2) 1933, 1936

 International 
Austria
 FIFA World Cup 
 Semi-finals: 1934
 Central European International Cup
 Winner: 1931–32
 Runner-up: (2) 1927–30, 1933–35

Individual
 FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 1934
 Central European International Cup : best player: 1927-30,1933-35
 Mitropa Cup : top scorer:1932,1933
 IFFHS : Austrian player of the century
 Austrian Football Bundesliga : top soccer : 1926-27,1931-32,1932-33
 European leagues : Top Soccer :1932-33

 International career statistics 

|-
|1926||3||4
|-
|1927||2||0
|-
|1928||2||0
|-
|1929||0||0
|-
|1930||1||0
|-
|1931||5||5
|-
|1932||7||8
|-
|1933||8||4
|-
|1934||7||2
|-
|1935||1||0
|-
|1936||3||2
|-
|1937||4||1
|-
!Total||43||26
|}

Death

 References 

Other websites
 Profile at the official web site of FK Austria 
 Tribute web page
 Channel 4 News: Matthias Sindelar 
 Career stats – National Football Teams
 Player profile – Austria Archive

Category:1903 births
Category:1939 deaths
Category:Austrian footballers
Category:Austrian football managers
Category:Players of the Austrian national football team
Category:Association football forwards
Category:FK Austria Wien players
Category:Austrian football forwards
Category:Austrian football champions
Category:1934 FIFA World Cup players
Category:Sportspeople from Vienna