SK Rapid Wien
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Full name | Sportklub Rapid Wien | ||
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Nickname(s) | Die Grün-Weißen (The Green-Whites), Hütteldorfer | ||
Founded | 1899 | ||
Ground | Gerhard Hanappi Stadium | ||
Capacity | 18,500 | ||
Chairman | Rudolf Edlinger | ||
Manager | Peter Schöttel | ||
League | Austrian Football Bundesliga | ||
2010-11 | 5th | ||
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The Sportklub Rapid Wien (English: Rapid Vienna) is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times. It also prides itself as the only team from the former Ostmark, part of the German Reich, to win the German war-time league in 1941 – during World War Two. The Rapid squad is often known as the "Green-Whites" for its team colours or as Hütteldorfer for the location of the Gerhard Hanappi Stadium, which is in Hütteldorf, part of the city's 14th district, Penzing.
History
SK Rapid Wien was founded in 1898 (en:First Workers' Football Club of Vienna). The team's original colours were red and blue, which are still often used in away matches. On 8 January 1899 the club was re-named, taking on its present name of Sportklub Rapid Wien, following the example of Rapide Berlin. In 1904, the team colours were changed to green and white.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Rapid_1898.jpg/300px-Rapid_1898.jpg)
One of the best teams in early European football, Rapid became a dominant force during the years between the world wars, when Austria was one of the leading football nations on the continent. After the Anschluss of Austria to Germany in 1938, Rapid played in that country's Gauliga Ostmark along with clubs such as First Vienna and Admira Vienna (playing then as Wacker Wien and Admira Wien). Rapid would be the most successful of these clubs. They won the Tschammerpokal, predecessor of today's German Cup, in 1938 with a 3–1 victory over FSV Frankfurt, and topped that with a German Championship in 1941 by defeating Schalke 04, the most dominant German club of the era. The team was able to overcome a 3–0 Schalke lead to win the match by a final score of 4–3 through strength and endurance – the traditional virtues of Rapid players known as the Rapidgeist or "Rapid Spirit".
Almost since the club's beginnings, Rapid fans have announced the last fifteen minutes of the game by way of the legendary "Rapidviertelstunde" – rhythmic clapping at home or away no matter what the score. The first mention of the practise goes back to 1913, and in 1919 a newspaper wrote about the fans clapping at the beginning of the "Rapidviertelstunde". Over the decades, there were many instances where Rapid managed to turn around a seemingly hopeless situation by not giving up and, with their fans' support, fighting their way to a win just before the final whistle.
Although Rapid is by far the most popular club in Austria, other teams like Red Bull Salzburg or FK Magna are able to spend significantly more money every year as they are owned by investors/billionaires. Rapid is trying to compensate for this lack of financial funds by supporting young and talented players.
Rapid were involved in a controversial episode in 1984 when they eliminated Celtic from the European Cup Winners Cup last 16. Strikes from Brian McClair (32 mins) Murdo MacLeod (45+5 mins) put Celtic 2–0 ahead at half time. After the interval Tommy Burns (68 mins) scored a controversial third goal to put Celtic 4–3 up on aggregate. With 14 mins left of the match, Rapid conceded a penalty, after Reinhard Kienast punched Burns on the back of the head whilst a corner kick was being taken. Rapid players, opposing the decision, crowded around the referee and linesman, close to the Celtic fans. Rapid defender Rudolf Weinhofer then fell to the ground, and claimed to have been hit by a bottle thrown from the terracing. TV pictures showed clearly that the bottle which was thrown onto the pitch did not hit the player. After a delay of some 10 minutes, the penalty was taken by Peter Grant, and he struck it wide. The match finished 3–0, giving Celtic a 4–3 win on aggregate. However, Rapid appealed to UEFA for a replay, and both teams were fined. The replay appeal was turned down initially, but Rapid appealed for a second time. On this occasion, Rapid's fine was doubled but UEFA also stipulated that the game be replayed 100 miles away from Celtic Park. The game was held on 12 December 1984 at Old Trafford, Manchester and Rapid won 1–0 through a Peter Pacult strike.
Stadium
Rapid Wien now plays at the Gerhard Hanappi Stadium which was opened on 10 May 1977 in a game against FK Austria.
Honours
Rapid Vienna is Austria's record titleholder, winning these a total of 32 times to date. The wins of the German Championship and German Cup were possible due to Austria's annexation by Germany on 12 March 1938, during which many other Austrian clubs were banned.
- National Austrian Championship (32): 1912, 1913, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1929, 1930, 1935, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1948, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1995–96, 2004–05, 2007–08
- Austrian Cup (14): 1919, 1920, 1927, 1946, 1961, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1976, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1995
- Austrian Supercup: 1986, 1987, 1988, 2008 (Unofficial edition)
- Mitropa Cup: 1930, 1951
- Intertoto Cup: 1992, 1993
- Cup Winners' Cup Runners Up: 1985, 1996
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/SK_Rapid_Wien_-_Teamphoto_2010-11.jpg/250px-SK_Rapid_Wien_-_Teamphoto_2010-11.jpg)
Current squad
- As of 16 July, 2011
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Retired numbers
5 – Peter Schöttel
Notable players
Managers since 1910
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SK Rapid Wien II Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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See also
References
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)