SK Rapid Wien

Rapid Wien

Full name	Sportklub Rapid Wien
Founded	1899
Ground	Gerhard Hanappi Stadium (capacity: 18,400)
Chairman	Rudolf Edlinger
Manager	Peter Schöttel
League	Austrian Bundesliga
2010/11	Austrian Bundesliga, 5th

S.K. Rapid Wien is a well-known Austrian football club. Rapid Wien was founded in 1898 and is one of the top Clubs in Austria. The Club is playing in Vienna. Rapid is Austria's most successful side with 32 championships to its credit, as well as a German title captured when the country was part of Germany.

History

The 1. Arbeiter FC in 1898

The club was founded in 1898 as First Workers' Football Club of Vienna but was renamed in S(port) K(lub) Rapid Wien on 8 January 1899. The first coulors were red and white, which are still in use today in away matches.

During the years before World War II Rapid was one of the most successful clubs in Europe. During the years before the Second World War Rapid won the Vienesse Championship 16 times. In these years there was no austrianwide Championship because professional football was only played in Vienna. 1930 Rapid won the Mitropacup versus Sparta Praha (2:0; 3:2)(La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale), one of the first international competitions in Europe. In these years also the rivalry with the other great club of Vienna, FK Austria, started and is still existing. Rapid was the club of the working class while supporters of FK Austria were more middle class.

Supporters of SK Rapid during an awaymatch in Salzburg

Rapid is said to be the club with the highest numbers of fans. Almost since the beginning of the clubs history the fans announc the last 15 minutes with claping of their hands, the socalled "Rapidviertelstunde". Often Rapid won a match in this last minutes of a match with the support of the fans.

Hanappi-Stadium, named after the architect and former player of Rapid Gerhard Hanappi- homeground of SK Rapid

SK Rapid was only two times champion in the decade since 2000. The greates success was the victory over the Premier League club Aston Villa in the last qualifing round for the UEFA Euroleague 2009 and 2010. They played in the group stage two times but could not reach the next round.

Current squad

As of 12 July, 2011

No. Position Player 3 DF Jürgen Patocka 4 DF Thomas Schrammel 6 DF Mario Sonnleitner 7 MF Stefan Kulovits 8 MF Markus Heikkinen 9 FW Hamdi Salihi 11 MF Steffen Hofmann (captain) 14 DF Markus Katzer 15 FW Atdhe Nuhiu 16 MF Boris Prokopič 17 DF Christian Thonhofer

No. Position Player 20 FW René Gartler 21 MF Christoph Saurer 22 DF Ragnvald Soma 23 MF Thomas Prager (on loan fromFC Luzern) 24 GK Helge Payer 27 DF Harald Pichler 28 FW Christopher Trimmel 30 FW Guido Burgstaller 31 GK Lukas Königshofer 33 FW Deni Alar 36 DF Michael Schimpelsberger

Famous players

• Josef Bican
• Franz Binder
• Robert Dienst
• Ernst Dokupil
• Toni Fritsch
• Gerhard Hanappi
• Ernst Happel
• Andreas Herzog
• Josef Hickersberger
• Alfred Körner
• Robert Körner
• Hans Krankl
• Max Merkel
• Erich Probst
• Karl Rappan
• Josef Uridil
• Walter Zeman
• Zlatko Kranjčar
• Antonín Panenka

Honours

• National Austrian Championship (16): 1951, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1995–96, 2004–05, 2007–08

• Viennese Championship (16): 1912, 1913, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1929, 1930, 1935, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1948

• 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)

• German War-time Championship: 1941

• German War-time Cup: 1938

• Mitropa Cup: 1930, 1951

• Intertoto Cup: 1992, 1993

• Cup Winners' Cup Runners Up: 1985, 1996

Gallery

• 

  First Squad 2010/11

• 

  Steffen Hofmann celebrating the championship 2008

• 

  Supporters SK Rapid

• 

  Rudolf Edlinger chairman