Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics
At the XI Summer Olympics in Berlin in 1936, a competition was held in football.
At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, football was not part of the programme, as it was difficult to determine who was an amateur and who was a professional due to the increasing professionalisation of football. However, since football generated the highest number of spectators and the organizers needed the income, it was decided to include a tournament in the program again. Of the 16 participants, four took part with their amateur national team or amateur players, namely Great Britain, Austria, Hungary and Italy. However, unlike Austria and Hungary, FIFA counts these matches as senior internationals. China and Japan were the first two Asian teams to play outside Asia, with Japan surprisingly beating Sweden in the last 16. The best South American teams at the time, Uruguay and Argentina, who were still the Olympic champions in 1928, did not take part. Instead, Peru, third in the 1935 South American Championship, made their first appearance in international matches outside South America.
The German team was one of the favourites, as they had only lost one home match since 4 December 1932. In the first match, Luxembourg was also defeated 9:0, but in the second match against the later bronze medal winner Norway already came the end for the German team. For Norway the third place is the best result at a major men's football tournament. Olympic champions were Italy, but no players from the 34-man world championship team were in the squad. However, Sergio Bertoni, Alfredo Foni, Ugo Locatelli and Pietro Rava also became football world champions with Italy two years later.
The venues were the Berlin Olympic Stadium, the Post Stadium, the Mommsen Stadium and the Hertha-Platz at Gesundbrunnen. With 95,000 spectators each for the semi-final between Italy and Norway and the bronze medal match between Norway and Poland in Berlin's Olympic Stadium, there were the highest crowds for Olympic football matches until 24 October 1968. Then the record was beaten in the match for third place between Japan and Mexico. The referee of the final was the later DFB president Peco Bauwens.
A ball of the competitions can be seen in the German Leather Museum.
The tournament
| 1936 Olympic Football Tournament | |
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| Number of nations | 16 |
| Olympic Champion | Italy 1861 |
| Venue | Berlin |
| Opening match | August 3, 1936 |
| Final | August 15, 1936 |
| Games | 16 |
| Gates | 78 (⌀: 4.88 per game) |
| Viewers | 484,500 (⌀: 30,281 per game) |
| Top scorer | AItalian |
| Sent off | 1 (⌀: 0.06 per game) |
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Round of 16
| Date | Game | Result | Stadium | Viewers | ||
| August 3, 1936 | Italy 1861 | - – | United States 48 | 1:0 (0:0) | Post Stadium | 9.000 |
| August 3, 1936 | Norway | - – | Turkey | 4:0 (1:0) | Mommsenstadion | 8.000 |
| August 4, 1936 | Japan Japan | - – | Sweden | 3:2 (0:2) | Hertha Square | 5.000 |
| August 4, 1936 | German Reich NS | - – | Luxembourg | 9:0 (2:0) | Post Stadium | 12.000 |
| August 5, 1936 | Poland 1928 | - – | Hungary 1940 | 3:0 (2:0) | Post Stadium | 5.000 |
| August 5, 1936 | Austria | - – | Egypt 1922 | 3:1 (2:0) | Mommsenstadion | 6.000 |
| August 6, 1936 | United Kingdom | - – | China Republic 1928 | 2:0 (0:0) | Mommsenstadion | 8.000 |
| August 6, 1936 | Peru 1825 | - – | Finland | 7:3 (3:1) | Hertha Square | 2.500 |
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Quarterfinals
| Date | Game | Result | Stadium | Viewers | ||
| August 7, 1936 | Italy 1861 | - – | Japan Japan | 8:0 (2:0) | Mommsenstadion | 8.000 |
| August 7, 1936 | Norway | - – | German Reich NS | 2:0 (1:0) | Post Stadium | 55.000 |
| August 8, 1936 | Poland 1928 | - – | United Kingdom | 5:4 (2:1) | Post Stadium | 6.000 |
| August 8, 1936 | Peru 1825 | - – | Austria | 4:2 n. V. (2:2; 0:2) | Hertha Square | 5.000 |
*After the score was 4-2, Peruvian fans stormed the pitch. Austria then protested against the result and justified this with the storming of the pitch, which according to the Austrians had already taken place at 2:2. The protest was upheld and a replay was ordered, but it never happened as Peru withdrew all their Olympians in protest. Austria thus reached the semi-finals without a fight.
Semifinals
| Date | Game | Result | Stadium | Viewers | ||
| August 10, 1936 | Italy 1861 | - – | Norway | 2:1 n. V. (1:1; 1:0) | Olympic Stadium | 95.000 |
| August 11, 1936 | Austria | - – | Poland 1928 | 3:1 (1:0) | Olympic Stadium | 82.000 |
Bronze game
| Norway | Poland | ||||||
| Norway |
| Poland | |||||
| Henry Johansen - Nils Eriksen, Øivind Holmsen - Frithjof Ulleberg, Jørgen Juve, Rolf Holmberg - Reidar Kvammen, Magdalon Monsen, Alf Martinsen, Odd Frantzen, Arne Brustad | Spirydion Albański - Władysław Szczepaniak, Antoni Gałecki - Wilhelm Góra, Franciszek Cebulak, Ewald Dytko - Walerian Kisieliński, Michał Matyas, Teodor Peterek, Hubert Gad, Gerard Wodarz | ||||||
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Finale
| Italy | Austria | ||||||
| Italy |
| Austria | |||||
| Bruno Venturini - Alfredo Foni (C) | Eduard Kainberger (C) | ||||||
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Medal Ranks
| Rank | Medalists |
| Gold | Giuseppe Baldo, Sergio Bertoni, Carlo Biagi, Giulio Cappelli, Alfredo Foni, Annibale Frossi, Francesco Gabriotti, Mario Giani, Carlo Girometta, Adolfo Giuntoli, Ugo Locatelli, Libero Marchini, Alfonso Negro, Mario Nicolini, Lamberto Petri, Achille Piccini, Sandro Puppo, Pietro Rava, Luigi Scarabello, Corrado Tamietti, Paolo Vannucci, Bruno Venturini... |
| Silver | Franz Fuchsberger, Max Hofmeister, Karl Kainberger, Eduard Kainberger (TW), Martin Kargl, Josef Kitzmüller, Ernst Künz, Anton Krenn, Adolf Laudon, Franz Mandl, Klement Steinmetz, Karl Wahlmüller, Walter Werginz |
| Bronze | Arne Brustad, Nils Eriksen, Odd Frantzen, Sverre Hansen, Rolf Holmberg, Øivind Holmsen, Fredrik Horn, Magnar Isaksen, Henry Johansen (TW), Jørgen Juve, Reidar Kvammen, Magdalon Monsen, Alf Martinsen, Frithjof Ulleberg |
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Questions and Answers
Q: Who won the 1936 Olympic football tournament?
A: Italy won the 1936 Olympic football tournament.
Q: Why were Italy considered the favourites to win the tournament?
A: Italy were considered the favourites to win the tournament because they had won the FIFA World Cup in 1934.
Q: Which nation was the host of the 1936 Olympic football tournament?
A: Germany was the host nation of the 1936 Olympic football tournament.
Q: How well was Germany doing at the tournament before they were beaten in the quarter-finals?
A: Germany had only lost at home once in three years before being beaten in the quarter-finals.
Q: How many people watched the bronze- and gold-medal games of the 1936 Olympic football tournament?
A: A combined total of 195,000 people watched the bronze- and gold-medal games of the 1936 Olympic football tournament.
Q: How popular was football in the 1936 Summer Olympics?
A: Football was popular enough in the 1936 Summer Olympics to attract nearly 200,000 spectators to the bronze- and gold-medal games.
Q: Did the host nation of Germany win any medals in the 1936 Olympic football tournament?
A: Germany did not win any medals at the 1936 Olympic football tournament as they were beaten in the quarter-finals.
