Josef Uridil

Josef Uridil (nicknamed Pepi, der Tank) (24 December 1895 – 20 May 1962), was an Austrian footballer and coach.

Josef Uridil

Personal information
Date of birth	(1895-12-24)24 December 1895
Place of birth	Ottakring, Austria
Date of death	20 May 1962(1962-05-20) (aged 66)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Sportklub Orion
	Tasmania
	Rekord
	Blue Star
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1910–1912	Romania Ottakring
1912–1914	Blue Star
1914–1925	Rapid Wien
1925–1926	First Vienna
1926–1927	Rapid Wien
1929–1930	Bari
International career
1919–1926	Austria	8	(8)
Managerial career
1929–1930	Bari
1931–1933	ZFC Zaandam[1][2]
1933–1934	Blauw-Wit Amsterdam[3][4]
1934	Ripensia Timișoara
1934	Romania
1934–1935	SPC Helfort
1935–1936	BSK Belgrade
1936–1937	FC Biel
1936–1937	FC Luzern
1938–1941	Schwarz-Weiß Essen
1941–1943	VfL Altenbögge
1949–1951	Schwarz-Weiß Essen
1953–1954	Rapid Wien
1954–1957	Jahn Regensburg
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Pepi Uridil was born on Christmas Eve 1895 in the Vienna district of Ottakring. He began to play football aged eight in the streets of his neighbourhood with his brother Franz. Pepi Uridil played for numerous clubs in his youth, such as Sportklub Orion, Tasmania, Rekord and then Blue Star Vienne, before leaving for the great club of SK Rapid Wien.^[5]

During the First World War, he got the nickname "Tank". Pepi Uridil played for a number of seasons with Rapid, and in 1919, his team won in the final 3-0 against Wiener Sport-Club. He was one of the main players in the Championship victory in 1921 against Wiener AC.

International career

At the end of the First World War he became an Austrian international for the first time. He played for the Austria national football team between 1919 and 1926 and scored eight goals in eight games.^[6]

Coaching career

After his retirement from football, Pepi Uridil became a manager of Bratislava club. He then moved to Ripensia Timişoara and the Romania national football team for the 1934 World Cup in Italy. His team were beaten in the first round by eventual finalists, Czechoslovakia.

He later coached Austrian side SC Helfort, then Beogradski SK in Yugoslavia in 1935. He then moved to Switzerland to coach FC Biel from 1936 to 1937, and FC Lucerne until 1938.^[7] He then trained German side Schwarz-Weiß Essen between 1938 and 1941, and VfL Altenbögge between 1941 and 1943.

After the Second World War, he returned to coaching Schwarz-Weiß Essen from 1949 to 1951. He went on to train his former club, Rapid Vienna, for one season from 1953 to 1954. In this year they beat the London club Arsenal 6-1 on 25 May 1953.

Personal life

Uridil was also an businessman. He created his own brand of beer, Uridil, and a brand of sugar, Kracheln. The famous Viennese writer Hermann Leopoldi wrote a musical piece named Heute spielt der Uridil ("Today, Uridil is playing") in 1922. Pepi Uridil played a number of film roles, such as Pflicht und Ehre ("Necessity and Honour") in 1924.

Honours

• Austrian Football Bundesliga (5): 1916, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1923
• Austrian Cup (2): 1919, 1920
• Austrian Football Bundesliga top scorer (3): 1919, 1920 (non-official), 1921