Karl Kurz
Encyclopedia
Karl Kurz in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) was an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player and manager
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
.
Club
Kurz played mostly as a winger but by the end of his career he had been deployed as a central midfielder on occasions. Slight in stature, his preferences lay in the ball control, the game overview and the positional play.He began playing football as a pupil at Klosterneuburg
Klosterneuburg
Klosterneuburg is an attractive small town in Lower Austria, Austria with a population of 24,442.It is located on the Danube, immediately north of Vienna, from which it is separated by the Kahlenberg and Leopoldsberg hills...
drill ground and eventually played for the Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
school boys' team and the youth team at First Vienna FC
First Vienna FC
First Vienna FC is an Austrian association football club based in the Döbling district of Vienna. Established on 22 August 1894, it is the country's oldest team and has played a notable role in the history of the game there...
where he played alongside Victor Hierländer and Karl Jiszda. In 1915, he began playing for Floridsdorfer Amateurs but after just three games he joined the Austrian Army and in May 1916 he was sent into battle during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He returned from the war wounded in 1917 and began playing with FK Austria Wien
FK Austria Wien
Fußballklub Austria Wien is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. They are considered the most successful club in Austria, having won the highest Austrian Bundesliga 23 times, the Austrian Cup 27 times and the Austrian Supercup 6 times. They also reached the UEFA...
after his recovery, and helped them finish league runners up in 1920.
In 1921, he moved to Ridge Vienna FC where he finished league runner up twice more. He then signed for 1 more season with Simmeringer SC and retired in March 1927 to work as a coach in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. However, he returned to Vienna in October of that year to play amateur football but had to retire in Winter 1928 due to an illness that would later turn out to be leukaemia.
International
Kurz's first international appearance for AustriaAustria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
came in November 1919 against Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
. From 1921 until 1926 he played as Austria's right winger in every fixture. His last game for Austria was against Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
in November 1928. He earned 32 caps for Austria and 15 for the Vienna Select XI.
Coaching career
After a short spell as a coach in LatviaLatvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
in 1927, Kurz's next coaching roll was as assistant manager to Robert Lang
Robert Lang
Robert Lang is the name of:*Robert Lang , Czech hockey player in the NHL*Robert Lang , cricketer*Robert Lang , British swimmer at the 2007 World Championships.*Robert J...
at FK Austria Wien
FK Austria Wien
Fußballklub Austria Wien is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. They are considered the most successful club in Austria, having won the highest Austrian Bundesliga 23 times, the Austrian Cup 27 times and the Austrian Supercup 6 times. They also reached the UEFA...
in 1929. In 1930, he became manager of FC Grenchen
FC Grenchen
FC Grenchen is a Swiss football club, based in Grenchen. They currently play in the 1. Liga, and play their matches at the Brühl Stadium.-History:FC Grenchen was founded in 1906...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and then FC Basel
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 14 times, the third most for any Swiss club. They were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the...
in 1931. At Basel, he won the 1933 Schweizer Cup
Schweizer Cup
The Swiss Cup is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1926 by the Swiss Football Association . The winner is allowed to take part in the UEFA Europa League. Between 2003 and 2008 the cup has been sponsored and known as the Swisscom Cup.-Finals:All played...
with two fellow Austrians, Ferdinand Wesely and Otto Haftl, in the team.
Death
He died on November 26, 1933 in BaselBasel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
when his leukaemia worsened. He was 35 years old.