FC Stadlau (Austria)

FC Stadlau is a football club from the Donaustadt district of the Austrian capital of Vienna that was formed in 1913 as FC Normania playing in the lower reaches of the championship prior to changing titles to Stadlauer Sportclub in 1919.

The team competed in 3. Klasse West while the club name changed again in 1925 to Stadlauer Sportvereinigung following a merger with Union XXI. Stadlau players, the brothers Pepi and Franz Smistik both caught the attention of Rapid Wien, where they went on to have successful careers.

The club was disbanded after civil war in 1934 before being reformed as FC Wolfrum for a spell before changing back to Stadlauer in 1938. From 1940 the club entered a temporary merger with Florisdorfer AC through the War years under the Austrian Anschluss before becoming independent again once the country was liberated.

As FC Stadlau the club climbed from the 3. Klasse in 1945-46 and then 2. Klasse the following season to reach the second tier Wiener Liga for the 1947-48 season where they struggled for the next couple of campaigns.

The club moved into their new Sportanlage Stadlau home on the junction of Erzherzog-Karl-Straße and Smolagasse in 1949. The new surroundings seemed to suite the side as they finished in fourth place in 1949-50.

However, the league became the third level of Austrian football as the league became a more nationally widespread competition. Stadlau came in third spot in 1950-51 and then runners-up a year later before claiming the Wiener Liga title in 1952-53 with youngster Alfred Subits playing a starring role.

The run continued as Stadlau finished the 1953-54 campaign as Staatsliga B runners-up to be promoted to the top flight of Austrian football. The goals of Friedrich Hollaus helped to stave off relegation in 1955-56 but there would be no escape from the drop twelve months later.

A runners-up place in Staatsliga B came in 1958-59. Rather than ending in promotion, the league set up was again reorganised as Stadlau remained at the second level in Regionalliga Ost. It was at this point that long lasting sponsor ÖMV became involved with the official title of the club changing to FC ÖMV Stadlau.

A third place finish arrived in 1960-61 but that would be the best performance before the team was relegated in bottom place in 1964-65. Stadlau consolidated and ended as runners-up in the Wiener Liga season of 1967-68.

Several seasons of mid table obscurity ensued. The Wiener Liga became the fourth tier from 1974-75 as the club put a high importance of their junior development prior to Stadlau being relegated to Oberliga B in 1974-75 before returning to the Wiener Liga in 1976-77.

Stadlau would remain at the fourth level for over a decade before coach Walter Streif led a side including nine home grown youngsters to the Wiener Liga title 1990-91. The team struggled in their new surroundings before they were relegated in 1994-95.

The club retained Streif who repaid their faith by leading his side to another Wiener Stadtliga title in 1999-00 for them to enjoy a couple of seasons in the Regionalliga Ost before dropping back down to the fourth tier in 2002-03.

The period saw the ability of fifteen year old youth star Thomas Prager being spotted by top division Dutch club SC Heerenveen where he began a successful career at club and international level. Another junior starlet Christoph Knasmüllner moved to Austria Wien.

In 2005 the club dropped their sponsors name to become FC Stadlau while Andreas Weimann went to the junior ranks at Rapid Wien on his way to the English Premier League at Aston Villa and Austrian national caps. Thomas Bergmann was also snapped up by Rapid in 2008 as Stadlau continued to produce young talent.

The team finished as Wiener Stadtliga runners-up in 2008-09 followed by a couple of top six endings prior to a third spot in 2011-12 as Mustafa Atik topped the scoring chart. The finish was replicated the following season with Andre Hofer scoring most regularly.

Stadlau won their title in 2014-15 as the form of Philip Wendl proved too much for opposing keepers while the miserly defence only leaked twenty three goals with goalie Benjamin Neckam in commanding form and even getting himself on the scoresheet.

Stadlau ended the 2015-16 Regionalliga Ost season in sixth place with Cem Atan the top scorer which was improved on as the side ended fourth in 2016-17 under coach Erwin Cseh with the help of twin strikers Osman Bozkurt and Dominik Kirschner.

Slobodan Batricevic arrived as coach in July 2017 as Stadlau ended in tenth in 2017-18 before being relegated twelve months later as Samir Naffati took over the side in April 2019. The side was positioned in fourteenth place after the return of Batricevic in January 2020 when the 2019-20 season was abandoned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

FC Stadlau will play in the Wiener Stadtliga in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Saturday 7^th March 2020

Sometimes my football days out land me somewhere totally unexpected and the visit to FC Stadlau would be a case in point. I’d made good time visiting three venues and seeing the second half of a morning friendly.

I’d called in to the home of Florisdorfer AC and realised that I had nearly a spare hour before I headed to Ernst-Happel-Stadion and then my 3pm kick off at ASK Elektra. It was time to get the Google Map App up on my phone.

When I’d done my pre planning I knew of several clubs across the Danube. I scanned the area and a stadium of a reasonable size came to my attention. Even better the tram route would drop me near the gates of the Sportanlage Stadlau.

The number 26 tram from Hopfengasse took me to Josef-Baumann-Gasse where I hopped off and changed on to the 25 service which deposited me at Polgarstraße. The entire journey took less than thirty minutes and took me past the Albert Schultz Eishalle home of the Vienna Capitals ice hockey team.

Junior matches were taking place on the two pitches outside the main stadium when I arrived, of which it appeared that I was going to be out of luck gaining access inside for look. I tried along one side without success, no doubt raising suspicions of those in the clubhouse.

Then I saw a car inside behind the fencing. It had to have got in somehow and sure enough a gate was unlocked. I went in to get my images of an arena with a running track around the pitch and grass banking on one side and behind the curves. A good sized slightly raised seated grandstand stood down the final side.

Once done I made my way back to the main road past the sports hall that formed part of the complex. A tram from the same stop that I had alighted from took me to Hardeggasse where I went upstairs to board the U2 train to Stadion.