Alexander Popovich
Alexander Popovich (born 18 July 1891 in Vienna; died 7 September 1952 in Vienna) was an Austrian football player and coach. The defender was the first Austrian footballer to reach 30 international caps.
Career
Popovich began his career as a youth player at Wiener AC. He quickly rose to the reserve team. When a promised appearance in the first team failed, he left the club and joined Viktoria, where he played for a year before moving to the Vienna Cricket and Football Club. At that time he was still playing as a winger, but the Cricketers soon recognized his talent as a defender. In 1910 he became one of the founding members of Wiener Amateur SV and quickly became a regular starter for the new club. He played continuously in the First Division until 1922. In 1920, he commuted between Vienna and Prague, playing simultaneously for the Amateurs and DFC Prague.
Successes came towards the end of his career. He won the Cup with the Amateurs. In the 1922-23 season he became champion with SK Rapid Wien. 1923-24 he won the double with Amateur SV.
International
Although he only played for a smaller club, Popovich became one of the long-serving pillars of the Austrian national team. From his debut on 10 September 1911, in a 2-1 victory over Germany, he played a then-remarkable 33 international matches until 1923. His last match was a 2-4 loss versus Sweden on 10 June 1923.
International statistics
Appearances and goals by national team and year
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Austria |
1911 | 1 | 0 |
| 1912 | 1 | 0 |
| 1913 | 1 | 0 |
| 1914 | 1 | 0 |
| 1915 | 3 | 0 |
| 1916 | 4 | 0 |
| 1917 | 7 | 1 |
| 1918 | 4 | 0 |
| 1919 | 2 | 0 |
| 1920 | 3 | 0 |
| 1921 | 5 | 0 |
| 1923 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 33 | 1 |
- Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pesser goal.
Manager
The defender ended his career at WAC. He went to Berlin to Hertha BSC. He became German runner-up as coach in 1927. Then he coached SC Minerva 1893. From 1941 to 1943 he coached Lazio Rome. In the 1945/46 season he was coach of FC Bologna and later AC Pro Sesto.
Trivia
In the 1910s and 1920s, he was active as an ice hockey goalkeeper alongside football. He played for Wiener Eislauf-Verein, with whom he won numerous championships.
