Walter Zeman (1 May 1927 - 8 August 1991) was an Austrian football goalkeeper and an integral part of the second Austrian Wunderteam of the 1950s.

Walter Zeman
Zeman in 1953
Personal information
Full name Walter Zeman
Date of birth (1927-05-01)May 1, 1927
Place of birth Austria
Date of death August 8, 1991(1991-08-08) (aged 64)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Wienerberg
Vienna
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1942–1944 FC Wien
1945–1961 SK Rapid Wien 235 (0)
1961–1962 SAK 1914
International career
1945–1960 Austria 41 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Austria
FIFA World Cup
Third place 1954 Switzerland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Zeman began his youth career at local club SV Wienerberger, but he soon moved on to FC Vienna. In 1945 Zeman joined Rapid Vienna and also won his first cap for the Austria national football team. With Rapid, Zeman won eight Austrian league championships, one Austrian Cup, and the 1951 Zentropa Cup.

For the national side Zeman competed at the 1954 FIFA World Cup in which Austria progressed to the semi-finals before being defeated by West Germany. In total Zeman won 41 caps for Austria, and is often regarded as Austria's second greatest keeper after Rudi Hiden. Throughout his career, he earned the nicknames the Tiger of Budapest and the Panther of Glasgow, for his international performances. He was named Austria's Sportsman of the Year in 1950, and was included in the FIFA World XI in 1953, and also[1]

References

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  1. ^ "Saving grace: Europe's favourite goalkeepers". UEFA.com. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
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