BERT TRAUTMANN A LEGEND OF A MAN AND GOALKEEPER

BERT TRAUTMANN
SECOND FROM THE LEFT

Seventeen Minutes from time into the 1956 FA Cup, Bert Trautmann, became a legend.

Birmingham City striker, Peter Murphy, rushed towards the Manchester City goal and Bert Trautmann the Goalkeeper saved the shot but the knee of Murphy smashed into his head. Trautmann's neck was skewed horribly and he was unconscious.

BERT TRAUTMANN

They revived Trautmann with just  a dab of the 'magic sponge' and he played the game till the end. On top of it all, he made several other great savings and they won 3-1. When he received the winner's medal Prince Philip asked him why his neck was crooked. Trautmann answered, 'stiff neck.

BERT TRAUTMAN ON THE LEFT

Only after three days was the full extent of the 'stiff neck' realized. It showed, on an X-ray, that his second of his vertebrae was split in half. The reason for his survival was, that his third vertebrae had slammed against it and wedged fast. The doctor who saw the X-ray said, "You should be dead."

To win the FA Cup with a broken neck was not his most remarkable thing. Bert Trautmann published a new book about his incredible life. Gorden Banks, England World Cup winning keeper always said Bert Trautmann was his boyhood hero.

Bert Trautmann was a Hitler Youth and paratrooper with the Luftwaffe on the Russian Front and prisoner of war. He was decorated with the Iron Cross (first class) for his bravery.

When City signed Bert Trautmann in 1949 there was a huge protest against the former Nazi. When he left he was a hero.  In 2004 he received an OBE and for sure was the only man who received the Iron Cross and the Order of the British Empire.

Of course, the Cup Final got the headline but the story around that moment was unbelievable. In 1949 when he was signed up for Manchester City around 20,000 people turned up to demonstrate. Eric Westwood, the captain, stated that there will be no war in his dressing room. He too was remarkable because five year ago he fought on the beaches at Normandy

Now, it was up to Trautmann to win the crowd over.  Every Saturday when he went out on the pitch he healed a lot of wounds of the war. He reached out to people by his action, far more than any politician did.

Mike Summerbee joined City in 1965, after Trautmann left, and he stated that Trautmann will always be amongst the best in the game. He is so special because he overcame the hatred towards him as a German. The fans started to respect him for his abilities and also for making this country his.

Bernhard Trautmann was born in Bremen in 1923 and joined the Hitler Youth when he was 10 years old. When asked why he did this he told them that they don't understand the situation which was there. You had to do it; you had no mind or decision of your own. He stated further that his education began in England at the age 22.

When he was 18 he joined the Luftwaffe and trained as a paratrooper. His unit was sent to the Ukraine and they had to make lightening strikes on Red Army supply lines. He excellent got promoted to corporal, then to sergeant and received five medals including the Iron Cross.

When Trautmann was posted to France in 1944, he was fleeing from the American army, jumped of the fence and landed at the feet of a British soldier who said to him, "Hello Fritz, Fancy a cup of tea?"

He was kept in a POW camp in Cheshire, Lancashire and in 1948 was offered repatriation to Germany. He decided to stay, shortened his name to Bert and was working on a farm. On the weekend he went to the local football team St. Helena Town.

Within a year Manchester City, which in the First Division, asked him to join? The hatred for Trautmann was terrible. The fans on the terrace were men who fought five years ago the Nazi and Trautmann was a Nazi. The point also was that he didn't give himself up; he was captured.

Eventually, people realized that he was there and he wanted make a life for himself in England and gradually the huge ill-feeling calm down. The main reason was the way he played. Colin Shindler stated that he idolized him, even as a young Jewish Boy. The reputation grew and the protests turned into admiration. When in 1950 City played Fulham the protesters were all over the terraces. By the end of the game they gave Trautmann a standing ovation.

Mid 1950s Trautmann married a local girl, Margaret Friar, and they had three children. On the pitch he became a legend. The great Matt Busby told his players "Don't stop to think where you're going to hit it with Trautmann. Hit is first and think afterwards. If you look up and work it out, he will read your thoughts and stop it."

In 1956 he was the Footballer of the Year. He was the first goalkeeper to win it. After that came the historical FA Cup Final with which he went into history. By now he was an idol and signed for a long time autograph after the a match When asked why he did that he replied that he received so much forgiveness and friendship therefore he wants to give something back and prove that there are good Germans.

After winning the cup he had a long time to convalescence because of his broken neck. Then tragically his first son John was killed in a car accident at the age of six. The strain on the marriage was too much and it ended in divorce.

Trautmann started playing for Manchester City by Christmas 1956 and at the end he made 508 appearances for the club. There were 60,000 fans at his testimonial match in 1964 with a team made up from Manchester United and City and an international XI which included Stanley Matthews aged 49. The crowd invaded the pitch three minutes before the final whistle.

After a brief spell in club management; he took a job in the German FA helping to promote football in countries like Burma, Tanzania and Pakistan. He retired in 1988 and moved to Valencia,Spain, where he lived till his age of 90 with his third wife.

Bert Trautmann died on 19 July, 2013 at the age of 90. He lived more than full life but always remained a gentleman.  May he Rest in Peace.