was an accident, suicide or murder. Austrian writer Friedrich Torberg later dedicated the poem "Auf den Tod eines Fußballspielers" ("On the death of a footballer") to Sindelar. The poem suggested that he had committed suicide as a result of the German Anschluss of Austria in 1938. On the other hand, it has been thought and reported that his death was accidental, caused by a defective chimney. A neighbour had reported a defective chimney in the block a few days before Sindelar's death. However, in a 2000s documentary screened on the BBC, Egon Ulbrich, a lifelong friend of Sindelar, stated that a local official was bribed to record his death as an accident, which ensured that he would receive a state funeral. "According to the Nazi rules, a person who had been murdered or who has committed suicide cannot be given a grave of honour. So we had to do something to ensure that the criminal element involved in his death was removed," he stated. It has also been suggested that Sindelar was killed for his opposition for the Anschluss. The Gestapo notably had a file on him and had kept his café under surveillance. Honours Sindelar was ranked as Austria's best footballer of the twentieth century by the IFFHS, also ranking as the world's 22nd best. His career titles include: Club Austria Wien 1. Liga Winner: 1926 Runner Up: (2) 1925, 1937 Austrian Cup Winner: (5) 1925, 1926, 1933, 1935, 1936 Mitropa Cup Winner: (2) 1933, 1936 International Austria FIFA World Cup Semi-finals: 1934 Central European International Cup Winner: 1931–32 Runner-up: (2) 1927–30, 1933–35 Individual FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 1934 References External links Profile at the official web site of FK Austria Tribute web page Sindelar's play style transformation by arfsh.com Channel 4 News: Matthias Sindelar Player profile – Austria Archive HistoriasDeFútbol. Episodio 2 "Mathías Sindelar, un gol al nazismo" | | 1903 births 1939 deaths People from Jihlava District People from the Margraviate of Moravia Austrian people of Czech descent Austrian Roman Catholics Austrian footballers Austria international footballers 1934 FIFA World Cup players FK Austria Wien players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Austrian football managers FK Austria Wien managers Association football forwards Deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning Death conspiracy theories Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery