From Happel to Trauner: Which Austrians shaped Feyenoord

A look at the history books might suggest that Feyenoords Club colors red and white have something to do with Austria. Rotterdam is truly a good ground for Austrian footballers and coaches. Quite the opposite to players from Germany.

Feyenoord was Dutch champion 16 times, six of these titles were won under an Austrian coach. The most famous is of course Ernst Happelwho, in addition to two championship titles with Feyenoord, also won the European Cup, the predecessor of the Champions League (1970). It was the club’s first international title, which was immediately followed by winning the World Cup.

Wödmasta & Little Dombi

But there were red-white-red success coaches in Rotterdam even before “Wödmasta” Happel. The first was Richard Kohn, who fled the Nazis after winning the championship with Bayern in 1932 and came to the Netherlands via Switzerland. He led Feyenoord to two championship titles in a total of three terms (1936 and 1938). Kohn – also known as “Little Dombi” – is said to have also worked as a masseur and physiotherapist at the club. A club chronicle from this time talks about the “greatest coach” who “taught Feyenoord to play football”. He died in 1963 in Rotterdam, where a street was named after him, the Richard Dombistraat. By the way, it’s right behind the stadium and if you turn left, you come straight into Ernst Happelstraat.

From 1961 to 1963, Franz Fuchs sat in the coaching bench at Feyenoord – and celebrated his greatest success in Rotterdam with the championship title. The same applies to Wilhelm “Willy” Kment. The former Wiener Sport-Club player even led Feyenoord to a double in 1965.

In the gaming sector you can’t ignore Franz Hasil. In 1969 Happel brought him from Schalke to Feyenoord. As a playmaker, he led the team to the championship, European Cup title and World Cup. Shortly after Hasil’s departure, Willi Kreuz held the red-white-red flag high in Rotterdam from 1974 to 1978. He scored 64 goals in 154 games for Feyenoord, but was denied a title.

Also worth mentioning are Frenkie Schinkels, who grew up in Feyenoord’s youth ranks, and Volkan Kahraman, who played for the team. Gernot Trauner currently represents the Austrian colors, has already won a championship and a cup title with Feyenoord, and is continuing the successful red-white-red tradition. For a long time, the German language was not an advantage in Rotterdam. In 1940 the German Luftwaffe attacked Rotterdam and destroyed the center. Even 30 years later, the city’s residents had not forgotten this.