FK Austria Wien

Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (German pronunciation: [ˈaʊstri̯aː ˈviːn]), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Austrian club from the top flight, with 24 Austrian Bundesliga titles and 27 Austrian Cup titles. With 27 victories in the Austrian Cup and six in the Austrian Supercup, Austria Wien is also the most successful club in each of those tournaments. The club reached the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final in 1978, and the semi-finals of the European Cup the season after. The club plays at the Franz Horr Stadium, known as the Generali Arena since a 2010 naming rights deal with an Italian insurance company. Along with their local rivals, they have never been relegated.

FK Austria Wien has its roots in Wiener Cricketer, established on 20 October 1910 in Vienna. The club was renamed Wiener Amateur-SV in December of that year and adopted the name Fußballklub Austria Wien on 28 November 1926.

The team claimed its first championship title in 1924. Wiener Amateur changed its name to Austria Wien in 1926 as the amateurs became professionals. The club won its second league title that year.

The 1930s, one of Austria Wien's most successful eras, brought two titles (1933 and 1936) in the Mitropa Cup, a tournament for champions in Central Europe. The star of that side was forward Matthias Sindelar, who was voted in 1998 as the greatest Austrian footballer.

The club's success was interrupted by the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938, with Austria taunted as "Judenklub". While Jewish players and staff at the club were killed or fled the country, Sindelar died under unresolved circumstances on 23 January 1939 of carbon monoxide poisoning in his apartment. He had refused to play for the combined Germany–Austria national team, citing injury (bad knees) and retirement from international matches. The club was part of the top-flight regional Gauliga Ostmark in German competition from 1938 to 1945, but never finished higher than fourth. They participated in the Tschammerpokal (the predecessor to the modern-day DFB-Pokal) in 1938 and 1941. Nazi sports authorities directed that the team change its name to Sportclub Ostmark Wien in an attempt to Germanize it on 12 April 1938, but the club re-adopted its historical identity almost immediately on 14 July 1938.

Austria Wien won its first league title for 23 years in 1949, and retained it the following year. It later won a fifth title in 1953. The club won three-straight titles in 1961, 1962 and 1963. Forward Ernst Ocwirk, who played in five league title-winning sides in two separate spells at the club, managed the side to 1969 and 1970 Bundesliga titles. Other players of this era included Horst Nemec.

From the 1973–74 season, Wiener AC formed a joint team with FK Austria Wien, which was called FK Austria WAC Wien until 1976–77, when Austria Wien opted to revert to their own club's traditional name. The results of the joint team are part of the Austria Wien football history. From 1977 onwards, Austria Tabakwerke took over the sponsorship and Austria was competed under the new name Austria-Memphis.

The 1970s saw the beginning of another successful era, despite no league title between 1970 and 1976 as an aging squad was rebuilt. Eight league titles in eleven seasons from 1975–76 to 1985–86 reasserted its dominance. After winning the 1977 Austrian Cup, Austria Wien reached the 1978 European Cup Winners' Cup final, which they lost 4–0 to Belgian club Anderlecht. The following season, the club reached the semi-finals of the European Cup, losing 1–0 on aggregate to Swedish team Malmö FF. In 1982–83, Austria Wien reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup, losing 5–3 on aggregate to Real Madrid.