Attentive readers will recognise the title of this article. Last year, the exhibition of the same name was on display at Sparkassenplatz for four weeks. Given the complexity of Leopold Stastny’s life story – he managed FC Wacker Innsbruck from 1965 to 1968 – the organising team, led by the Innsbruck City Archives and fairplay, had already considered continuing the project at that time.
There were two main reasons why it made sense to stage the exhibition once again in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Firstly, Leopold Stastny, as head coach of the national team (1968–1975), laid the foundations for the Austrian team’s two World Cup appearances in 1978 and 1982; secondly, the family emigrated to Canada in the 1950s, where Stastny also passed away in 1996.
We are delighted that last year’s exhibition is now having an impact that extends across the Atlantic:
On the one hand, we (with thanks to the Innsbruck City Archives), in collaboration with the Austrian Embassy in Ottawa and the Austrian Cultural Forum, have succeeded in producing an adapted English-language version of the exhibition, which is currently on display at the Austria Vancouver Club under the title “Leopold Stastny – Survivor, Visionary, Legendary Football Manager & Immigrant in Canada”.
At the same time, last year’s German-language exhibition, organised in collaboration with Olympiaworld, is on display once again in Innsbruck as part of the public viewing event at the ice rink. Minor errors have been corrected and an additional panel on the family’s emigration history has been added. It explains why Leopold ended up in Innsbruck in particular and how the Stastnys came to settle in Canada.
Venue: Olympiahalle, Innsbruck
Opening hours: 11 June – 19 July 2026, from approximately 1 hour before kick-off for the matches being shown
*Article written by Joachim Bürgschwentner (Innsbruck City Archives)
