UFWC Hall of Fame:

Matthias Sindelar, ‘The Mozart of Football’ or ‘The Paper Dancer’, was the playmaker and goalscorer at the heart of the legendary Austrian Wunderteam of the 1930s. Skilful and creative, Sindelar scored 27 goals in 44 games for the national side, including 13 goals in just 12 UFWC games.

Of Czech descent, Sindelar was born in Kozlov, then within the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, in 1903. He played all of his club career at Austria Vienna, from 1924 until his premature death in 1939.

Sindelar made his international debut for Austria in September 1926, ironically against Czechoslovakia. He soon became an integral part of Hugo Meisl’s Wunderteam, making 42 appearances for his country and scoring 27 goals. However, his career and life were cut tragically short.

When Nazi Germany took control of Austria in 1938, Sindelar refused to play for the newly-formed combined Austria/Germany side.

A few months later, in January 1939, he was found dead in his home alongside his girlfriend. Official records said the pair had died from carbon monoxide poisoning, but friends said this was written up to ensure a state funeral, which murder victims were not entitled to.

Despite the pressures of war, 20,000 people turned out for his funeral. Sindelar is still regarded as Austria’s greatest ever footballer, and should perhaps be regarded as the greatest footballer ever to grace the UFWC.

Matthias Sindelar, UFWC career 1931-32, 12 games, 13 goals.

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Hall of Fame Austria

UFWC Hall of Fame:

Gunnar Nordahl is the UFWC’s all-time leading goalscorer, scoring 29 goals in 19 UFWC title matches. The centre-forward was the most prolific of Sweden and AC Milan’s brilliant ‘Gre-No-Li’ trio, alongside Gunnar Gren and Nils Leidholm.

Born in 1921 in Hörnefors, Nordahl scored an amazing 44 goals in 30 games for Sweden, before a club move to AC Milan led to his premature international retirement, with Sweden not allowing professionals to play for the national side.

Nordahl never got the chance to play for Sweden at the 1950 World Cup finals, although he did win an Olympic gold medal in 1948, and of course the UFWC’s CW Alcock Cup.

At club level he became Milan’s all-time top scorer, netting 210 league goals in eight seasons. He was the top scorer in Serie A five times, and remains the league’s second highest all-time scorer after Silvio Piola.

He subsequently enjoyed a long management career, first as player manager at Roma, and then back home in Sweden.

Nordahl died in Italy in 1995 aged 73.

See a full run-down of Nordahl’s UFWC games and goals here.

Gunnar Nordahl, UFWC career 1942-47,19 games, 29 goals.

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Hall of Fame Sweden

UFWC Hall of Fame:

Charles William Alcock was a football pioneer, the instigator of international football, and – albeit inadvertently – the ‘creator’ of the UFWC.

Alcock was born in Sunderland in 1842, and educated at Harrow. He was one of the founders of the famous Wanderers club, and went on to become secretary of the English FA. He also played for England in a couple of games against a ‘London Scottish’ side in 1870 and 1871.

Appetite was growing for a proper England vs Scotland international match and, in 1872, he successfully arranged for that to take place. As he noted, ‘In order to further the interests of the Association in Scotland, it was decided that during the current season, a team should be sent to Glasgow to play a match v Scotland’.

The match took place on 30 November 1872, being the first ever international football match, and the first ever UFWC title match.

As a player, Alcock missed the match through injury (although he did act as umpire), but he later played for, captained, and scored for England in a UFWC match against Scotland in March 1875.

Alcock also created the first organised football competition, the FA Cup, with the first round of ties being played on 11 November 1871. The first FA Cup final was won by Wanderers – captained, naturally, by one CW Alcock.

He was also involved in cricket, and arranged the first Test Match, between England and Australia in 1880.

CW Alcock was the founding father of international football, and deserved first inductee into the UFWC Hall of Fame. In a further tribute, the official UFWC trophy is named in his honour as the CW Alcock Cup.

CW Alcock, UFWC career 1875, 1 game, 1 goal.

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Hall of Fame England