Gerhard Hanappi

Gerhard Hanappi (16 February 1929 – 23 August 1980) was an Austrian football midfielder. He is regarded as one of the greatest Austrian footballers. One of the most highly regarded midfielders of his generation,[2] Hanappi was nominally a goalscoring wing half, however his versatility allowed him to successfully play in almost all positions. Hanappi's technical abilities and creativity allowed him to play as an effective play-maker. He was also very intelligent with an excellent sense of anticipation which made him very useful in defensive duties, and also enabled him to make well timed runs in the box. This along with his accurate shot enabled him to be a prolific goalscorer, even once being league top scorer.

Gerhard Hanappi
Gerhard Hanappi 1953.jpg
Hanappi in 1953
Personal information
Full nameGerhard Hanappi
Date of birth(1929-02-16)16 February 1929
Place of birthVienna, Austria
Date of death23 August 1980(1980-08-23) (aged 51)
Place of deathVienna, Austria
Height169 cm (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Playing positionMidfielder
Youth career
1942–1947SC Wacker Wien
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1947–1950SC Wacker Wien72(16)
1950–1965Rapid Wien333(114)
Total405(130)
National team
1948–1962Austria93(12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
Austria national football team in 1958 with the following players – from left to right, standing; Walter Horak, Ernst Happel, Karl Koller, Alfred Körner, Paul Halla, Walter Schleger; crouched: Helmut Senekowitsch, Gerhard Hanappi, Rudolf Szanwald, Franz Swoboda and Johann Buzek.

Club career

Hanappi started his career as midfielder at SC Wacker Wien. He debuted in the highest league in 1947. Then he went to Rapid Vienna where he played from 1950 till 1965. In this time Rapid won Austrian Championship title 7 times. He was captain of Rapid for seven years. In 1999 he was chosen in Rapid's Team of the Century.

International career

He made his debut for Austria at only 19 years in November 1948 against Sweden With the Austrian team heplayed at 1954 World Cup in Switzerland and at the 1958 World Cup. From 1955 on he was also captain of the national team.

His last international match was a September 1962 match against Czechoslovakia. He earned 93 caps, scoring 12 goals.[3] It was the record until Anton Polster earned his 94th cap in June 1998.

International statistics

[4]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Austria 1948 1 0
1949 7 0
1950 7 0
1951 6 3
1952 7 0
1953 6 0
1954 11 1
1955 7 2
1956 6 3
1957 7 1
1958 7 0
1959 6 0
1960 7 2
1961 5 0
1962 3 0
Total 93 12
Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hanappi goal.
List of international goals scored by Gerhard Hanappi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 27 May 1951 Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria  Scotland 1-0 4-0 Friendly match
2 2-0
3 14 October 1951 Heyselstadion, Brussels, Belgium File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium 1-8 1-8 Friendly match
4 14 November 1954 Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 1-1 1-4 Friendly match
5 30 October 1955 Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria  Yugoslavia 2-1 2-1 Gerö-Cup
6 30 November 1955 The Racecourse, Wrexham, Wales  Wales 2-0 2-1 Friendly match
7 25 March 1956 Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France  France 1-2 1-3 Friendly match
8 30 September 1956 Praterstadion , Vienna , Austria  Luxembourg 1-0 7-0 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 2-0
10 25 September 1957 Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 1-0 1-1 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification
11 29 May 1960 Praterstadion , Vienna , Austria  Scotland 1-0 4-1 Friendly match
12 2-0

Personal life

After his football career Hanappi worked as an architect. He planned the Weststadion in Vienna. After his death the stadium was renamed to Gerhard Hanappi Stadium. He died of cancer in 1980, aged only 51.

Honours

Club

International

Other websites

References

  1. In die Jahre gekommen, Legendäre Momente im Hanappi-Stadion, orf.at, 2014-06-06
  2. Europe's best Player of the Century – IFFHS
  3. Appearances for Austrian National Team – RSSSF
  4. Transfermarkt.at