98 years ago, the home of Vienna wrote Austrian football history. The international match against Italy attracted tens of thousands.
85,000 spectators at an international match of the Austrian national team. Especially in times of Corona, in which no viewers are currently allowed, an almost unimaginable number. On April 15, 1923, exactly 98 years ago, that was exactly the case. After Austria's team had wrested a 3: 3 from Italy in Milan in January 1922 – in their first international match after World War I – they came back almost a year later.
The game was played on the Hohe Warte, the home of Vienna, the oldest football club in Austria. And the explosive duel between two former World War opponents attracted tens of thousands of people. More than 85,000 spectators made the pilgrimage to the Hohe Warte, a record to this day. The game was also celebrated internationally, and seen “as a sign of overcoming political hostility through sport and an impressive demonstration for the reconciliation of peoples”.
Landslide after the game
In any case, the interest on site was so huge that all tickets were sold out four days before the start of the game. Officially, 72,000 tickets had been sold. Nevertheless, “up to 20,000 spectators were waiting in front of the entrances”, as the football historian Alexander Juraske writes in his book “Blue-Yellow is My Heart – The History of First Vienna Football Club 1894”.
98 years ago today, the home of Vienna made history: More than 85,000 spectators came to the international match of the @ oefb1904 selection against Italy. Eternal attendance record!
More information: https://t.co/Kc9uTIqJ1K
Source: Filmarchiv Austria pic.twitter.com/UTF4bI8WUS
– First Vienna FC 1894 (@FirstViennaFC) April 15, 2021
In any case, the game ended goalless. And the crowds on the stadium slope were also lucky: After heavy rain the previous days, the slope was softened, and after the game there was a landslide. But there were no serious injuries.
