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How The Holocaust Swept Away The Jews At The Heart Of European Soccer

JL;DR SUMMARY The article by Dave Rich explores the overlooked history of Jewish contributions to European soccer, particularly through the story of Hakoah Vienna, a Jewish club that dominated Austrian soccer before being dismantled by the Nazis. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish HistoryHolocaustHungaryJewish AthletesAustriaFifaHakoah ViennaBéla GuttmannEuropean Soccer

Places mentioned

Vienna, Austria
"This is the story of Hakoah Vienna, champions of the worlds first professional soccer league in Austria in 1925."
Budapest, Hungary
"Guttman was hiding in an attic above his future brother-in-laws apartment on the outskirts of Budapest."
Austria
"European soccer before the war was dominated by Austria and Hungary, and soccer in Austria and Hungary was dominated by Jews."
London, United Kingdom
"In 1923 Hakoah became the first foreign team to win on English soil when they beat West Ham United 5-0 in 1923."
New York, United States
"In 1926 their tour to the United States drew around a quarter of a million people to watch them play; one match, against a New York All Stars Select XI, was seen by 46,000, an attendance record that lasted until the 1970s."
Brazil
"Guttmann and Izidor Krschner both coached in Brazil and are credited with shaping Brazilian football before its first world cup win in 1958."
Portugal
"After the war, Guttmann went on to win trophies as a manager in Hungary, Portugal and Brazil before cementing his place in football history by winning successive European Cups with Benfica in 1961 and 1962."
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
"Richard Kohn, nicknamed Dombi, coached Bayern Munich to their first championship in 1932 and then won the league in Holland for Feyenoord, where there is a street named after him."
Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands
"Richard Kohn, nicknamed Dombi, coached Bayern Munich to their first championship in 1932 and then won the league in Holland for Feyenoord, where there is a street named after him."
Milan, Italy
"Lajos Czeizler won the Serie A title in Italy with AC Milan in 1951 (their first since 1907) as well as winning the Swedish league five times with IFK Norrkping and coaching the Italian national side."
Norrköping, Östergötland, Sweden
"Lajos Czeizler won the Serie A title in Italy with AC Milan in 1951 (their first since 1907) as well as winning the Swedish league five times with IFK Norrkping and coaching the Italian national side."
Cyprus
"Jzsef Knsztler still holds the record for championship wins in Cyprus, having won it eight times with Apoel FC (to add to his one Greek championship win with Panathinaikos)."
Greece
"Jzsef Knsztler still holds the record for championship wins in Cyprus, having won it eight times with Apoel FC (to add to his one Greek championship win with Panathinaikos)."
Argentina
"Imre Hirschl won the Argentinian league twice with River Plate and the Uruguayan league with Pearol."
Uruguay
"Imre Hirschl won the Argentinian league twice with River Plate and the Uruguayan league with Pearol."
Italy
"Ern Egri Erbstein, who coached Torino to successive Serie A titles before tragically dying with all his players in the Superga plane crash in 1949."

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Cairo Item ID 85932
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2026-06-23 05:31:10 UTC
Curated 2026-06-23 08:31:25 UTC