Heinrich Retschury

Heinrich Retschury was the mind of the First Vienna FC’s defence until 1912. For Austria he made his début in a 4-0 victory over Hungary. From the national team he retired in 1909 after winning a total of six caps and captaining the team in four games. He was selected for the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm but was not used.

Retschury then became one of Austria’s best known referees and officiated more than 30 matches of national teams until 1932 including three matches at the 1924 Olympic Games. During World War I, he replaced the official national coach Hugo Meisl who was fighting on the Italian front. Retschury acted as coach in 18 games of the Austrian team between 1914 and 1919. Due to the limitations by the war, the team only played repeatedly against Switzerland and Hungary during this period. After Meisl’s death in 1913, Retschury took over the position of national team manager for a second time and led the team successfully through the qualification for the 1938 FIFA World Cup. However, after the “Anschluss” of Austria to the German Reich the team was merged with the German team to play the World Cup.

Retschury as awarded the Austrian title of “Kommerzialrat”. He was married and had one daughter, when he died in 1944 at the age of 57. He was buried only three years later after the end of World War II.