Ernst Stojaspal

Ernst Stojaspal (14 January 1925 – 3 April 2002) was an Austrian professional footballer. He was born in Vienna. He was a forward or attacking midfielder noted for his prolific goalscoring record and technical ability.

Club career A prolific striker, the left-footed Stojaspal played for Austria Wien for 10 years, winning three league titles and two domestic cups. Also, he topped the final goalscoring charts five times. After the 1954 World Cup, he moved abroad to play for Racing Strasbourg, AS Béziers, AS Monaco, Troyes AC and FC Metz in France. Stojaspal scored 481 goals in 413 games for Austria Wien and scored 674 goals in his career, both including friendlies.

In 2001, he was chosen in Austria's Team of the Century.

International career Stojaspal made his debut for Austria in December 1946 against Italy and was a participant at the 1954 FIFA World Cup where he scored three goals in four matches. The third-place playoff against Uruguay proved to be his final international game. He earned 32 caps, scoring 14 goals. He was also part of Austria's squad for the football tournament at the 1948 Summer Olympics, but he did not play in any matches.

Retirement Stojaspal later worked as a football coach and led some French clubs, most notable AC Ajaccio. He died in Moulins-lès-Metz, France.

Honours Austrian Football Bundesliga: 1949, 1950, 1953 Austrian Cup: 1947, 1948 Austrian Bundesliga top goalscorer: 1946, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1953