The Second World Cup
Danubian Federation, August 1914
Shortly after the 1912 Olympic Games, the rather quiet offices of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) were flooded by an unexpected surge of activity due to the announcement of the Second World Cup; to be held in 1914.
Therefore, while in 1910 there weren't enough teams to fill the Cup's calendar, now there were too many, as the Cup's announcement sparked a wave of new Federations that claimed recognition and a spot. Quickly a debate arose between FIFA's founders (France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland) and the other members, as the former wanted to be automatically qualified and the latter wanted all the places to be open for all the members. This argument dragged on for most of the year, until an agreement was reached that in the 1918 Cup all the spots would be open and in 1914 the founders would retain their status. Another source of trouble came when the United Kingdom wanted to secure places not only for the 4 founding associations (England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland) but for all the 7 Federations of the Empire (including the Dominions of Canada, South Africa and Australia). Finally, it was agreed that 4 of the Federations would face each other in order to get a spot.
Regarding the location, the initial long list of candidates was finally boiled down to two: Sweden (in light of its successful games of 1912) and Germany (in light of its recent Olympic Championship). However, the voting got caught in a deadlock soon, as none would reach the mandatory unanimity. Then, the Danubian Federation emerged as a third candidate that all members could agree to and the Tournament was granted to them. The main venue would be Vienna, while Prague, Budapest and Zagreb would each host a group. As expected, the selection of the Danubian Federation sparked great controversy, considering their recent economic situation. When confronted, FIFA's British President, Daniel Burley Woodfall simply stated "FIFA believes Vienna will make it"
Letná Stadium, Prague. Denmark (2) - Sweden (2)
This World Cup featured many firsts for the Competition, including:
- Qualifiers: Within the Commonwealth, Scotland kept its spot facing Canada; Ireland did the same against South Africa and Australia secured Wales' spot. In Europe, Italy wins a small tournament featuring Greece, Turkey and Russia. The United States of America beat Central America in chilly Chicago, and in sunny Rio, Brazil came on top facing Uruguay and Chile.
- Standardized Ball: A German manufacturer was hired by FIFA to provide all the balls used; using the same design made of vulcanized rubber and leather
- Uniforms: All teams had their unique uniform and colors. In the 1910 Cup, many of them only wore a colored or white cotton shirt to tell each other. This also helped to create some of the nicknames, like les bleus for France.
The 16 teams were divided into 4 groups:
Group A - Vienna (Franz Joseph Stadium, 57,500 spectators):
Argentina (Last Host), Danubian Federation (Host), Ireland (Commonwealth Qualifier), Australia (CQ)
Group B - Prague (Letná Stadium, 24,000 spectators):
Italy (European Qualifier), Sweden, Denmark, France
Group C - Zagreb (Stadion Koturaška, 15,000 spectators):
Germany (Olympic Champion), Spain, USA (North American Qualifier), Switzerland
Group D - Budapest (Sárkány Stadion, 17,500 spectators):
England (1910 Champion), Brazil (South American Qualifier), Scotland (CQ), Netherlands
For the tournament, the Danubian Federation assembled a truly multicultural team, with Austrians, Czechs, Magyars and Croatians playing together in what was hailed as a symbol of the new Federation. The Vienna Stadium was purposely built for the Cup and named in homenage of the recently deceased Emperor. All the other venues were already used by local teams and received many modifications. To accommodate the delegations and visitors, all the hotel beds in the venues were booked in advance by the Organizers.
1914 World Cup Opening match. Danubian Fed. (2) - Argentina (3)
The opening match took place in August 2nd, when 50,000 Viennese saw their multicultural team be defeated 3 - 2 by the last host Argentina. During the following 10 days, all the Group stage matches would take place.
By the end of the week, heavy rainfall and the toll of the matches rendered the fields, particularly Prague's Letná Stadium, into a bog. In this particular case, the Organizers quickly secured a nearby field, at a great price, to hold Group B's 2 final matches: France (1) - Sweden (4) and Italy (3) - Denmark (0). Spectators decided to take the change of scenery with a light mood and these two matches became massive picnics in the open air, while observers attacked the Organizer's lack of foresight on the matter.
1914 World Cup Group Stage
The final stage began after a week of rest, on the 17th. In a tough match, the Danubian squad collapsed under the thrust of a determined Italy. Germany reaffirmed its strong candidacy by defeating a young Brazil and the 1910 champions, England in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Argentina's individual skill sent the collective Swedes home. The final match was held on the 23rd of August, in front of a record crowd of 60,000 spectators, including the Emperor himself and it represented the clash between what was known as football's first schools of play.
Taking the British positional system as a base, the Germans added their own physical roughness and a tight work on tactics and strategy; each player had a defined role in the field, yet they acted as a single collective body when it came to either attacking or defending; therefore journalists called the team Die maschine, or the Machine for its mechanic precision. On the other hand, Argentina relied on the player's individual skill, to both generate opportunities and to dribble in reduced spaces. Soon after the game started, it all devolved into a battle over the muddy field, which helped the German's more physical play, but the Argentines were able to clear the danger, and even threaten the German goal post with some fast counter-attacks. It wasn't until the 68th minute when German striker Gottfried Fuchs was able to score the matches' sole goal, sealing the Machine's one-to-nil victory
1914 World Cup Final Stage
After the match was over, the Emperor himself closed the Tournament and handed the trophy to the victors, under the spectator's thunderous applause.
1914 World Cup Champions - Germany
[-156,000K, +50 prestige to Danubian Federation, +50 prestige to Germany, +30 prestige to Argentina, +15 prestige to United Kingdom]