56 Facts About Bert Trautmann

Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann was a German professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Bert Trautmann was initially sent to occupied Poland, and subsequently fought on the Eastern Front for three years, earning five medals, including an Iron Cross.

Bert Trautmann refused an offer of repatriation, and following his release in 1948 decided to settle in Lancashire, combining farm work with playing goalkeeper for a local football team, St Helens Town.

Bert Trautmann's neck was noticeably crooked as he collected his winner's medal; three days later an X-ray revealed it to be broken.

Bert Trautmann played for Manchester City until 1964, making 545 appearances.

In 2013, Bert Trautmann died at home near Valencia, Spain, aged 89.

Bernhard Carl Bert Trautmann was born on 22 October 1923 in Walle, a working class area in west Bremen, living with his father, who worked in a fertiliser factory by the docks, and his mother Frieda.

Bert Trautmann had a brother, Karl-Heinz, three years his junior, with whom he enjoyed a close relationship.

Bert Trautmann took to playing for the football club with enthusiasm, but the YMCA activities did not interest him to the same extent.

At the onset of the Second World War, Bert Trautmann was working as an apprentice motor mechanic.

Bert Trautmann joined the Luftwaffe as a radio operator in 1941.

Bert Trautmann first served in Occupied Poland, although being stationed far behind the front line meant experiencing prolonged bouts of monotony; consequently, Trautmann and the rest of his regiment resorted to sports and practical jokes to pass the time.

One such practical joke involving a car backfired on Bert Trautmann, resulting in a staff sergeant burning his arms.

Bert Trautmann was court-martialled over this incident and sentenced to three months in prison.

At the start of his confinement, Bert Trautmann came down with acute appendicitis, and spent the remainder of his sentence in a military hospital.

Over-winter hit-and-run attacks on Soviet Army supply routes were the unit's main focus and in spring, Bert Trautmann was promoted to Unteroffizier.

Bert Trautmann won five medals for his actions on the Eastern Front, including an Iron Cross First Class.

Bert Trautmann was imprisoned near Ostend, Belgium, then transferred to a transit camp in Essex, where he was interrogated.

Bert Trautmann was downgraded to non-Nazi "B" status, after which he was taken to Fort Crosby in Hightown near Liverpool where he stayed for a short while working on local farms and mixing with the locals; from here he was sent to PoW Camp 50 in Ashton-in-Makerfield in Lancashire between St Helens and Wigan, where he stayed until 1948.

However, in a match against amateur team Haydock Park, Bert Trautmann was injured while playing centre-half.

Bert Trautmann swapped positions with goalkeeper Gunther Luhr, and from that day forward played as a goalkeeper.

On 7 October 1949 Bert Trautmann signed for the club as an amateur and turned professional shortly after.

Bert Trautmann became the first sportsman in Britain to wear Adidas, thanks to his friendship with Adolf Dassler.

Bert Trautmann continued to receive abuse from crowds at away matches, which affected his concentration in some early games; in December 1949, he conceded seven goals at Derby County.

City's match against Fulham in January 1950 was Bert Trautmann's first visit to London.

The damage caused to the city by the Luftwaffe meant former paratrooper Bert Trautmann was a target of hatred for the crowd, who yelled "Kraut" and "Nazi".

At the final whistle, Bert Trautmann received a standing ovation, and was applauded off the pitch by both sets of players.

The offer was refused; the club responded that they thought Bert Trautmann to be worth twenty times more.

The system depended on maintaining possession of the ball wherever possible, which required Bert Trautmann to make use of his throwing ability.

Two days later, Bert Trautmann stepped out onto the Wembley pitch for the match that would gain him worldwide acclaim.

Manchester City held on for the victory, and Bert Trautmann was the hero because of his spectacular saves in the last minutes of the match.

Bert Trautmann admitted later that he had spent the last part of the match "in a kind of fog".

Bert Trautmann's neck continued to cause him pain, and Prince Philip commented on its crooked state as he gave Trautmann his winner's medal.

Bert Trautmann attended that evening's post-match banquet despite being unable to move his head, and went to bed expecting the injury to heal with rest.

Bert Trautmann struggled to regain his form in the remainder of the season, leading to calls from some fans and media for him to retire.

Bert Trautmann captained a combined Manchester City and Manchester United XI that included Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, against an International XI that included Tom Finney, Stanley Matthews and Jimmy Armfield.

Bert Trautmann met with the German national coach, Sepp Herberger, in 1953, who explained that travel and political implications prevented him from selecting a player who was not readily available, and that he could only consider including Bert Trautmann if he were playing in a German league.

Bert Trautmann captained the League against the Irish League, and played against the Italian League.

Stockport was a struggling lower league club with a small budget, and Bert Trautmann's appointment was an attempt to improve its image.

Bert Trautmann's first posting was in Burma, where he spent two years as the national coach, qualifying for the 1972 Olympics, and winning the President's Cup, a tournament contested by Southeast Asian countries, later that year.

Bert Trautmann found it difficult to accept criticism, and allowed only close friends to suggest changes to his game.

Bert Trautmann occasionally dwelt on mistakes to the detriment of his concentration, a tendency his friend Stan Wilson called "picking at daisies".

In November 1995, Bert Trautmann returned to Maine Road to open the rebuilt Kippax Stand.

Bert Trautmann was portrayed by German actor David Kross in the 2018 biopic The Keeper.

In 1997, Bert Trautmann received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Bert Trautmann was appointed an honorary OBE in 2004 for his work in Anglo-German relations, and received the award at the British Embassy in Berlin, making him possibly the only person to have won an OBE and an Iron Cross.

Bert Trautmann continued to follow Manchester City and visited Manchester to watch them play, with his last visit in April 2010.

Bert Trautmann married a St Helens woman, Margaret Friar, in 1950, but they divorced in 1972.

Bert Trautmann had a daughter from a previous relationship, from whom he was estranged for many years.

Bert Trautmann reunited with his daughter in 1990, and with her mother, Marion Greenhall, in 2001.

Bert Trautmann married Ursula von der Heyde, a German national, while living in Burma in the 1970s, but divorced in 1982.

From 1990, Bert Trautmann lived with his third wife Marlis in a small bungalow on the Spanish coast near Valencia.

Bert Trautmann later helped found the Trautmann Foundation, which continues his legacy by fostering courage and sportsmanship.

Bert Trautmann died at home in Spain on 19 July 2013 at the age of 89.

Bert Trautmann had suffered two heart attacks earlier in the year.

Joe Corrigan, a former Manchester City goalkeeper, said Bert Trautmann was "a fantastic man and was one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time".