Bert Trautmann

Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann, OBE (22 October 1923 – 19 July 2013) was a German footballer. He played from 1949 to 1964 for Manchester City as the keeper. Trautmann was almost unknown in Germany, and never played in the national team of his country. But in Manchester, he was one of the most popular players.

Bert Trautmann

Personal information
Full name	Bernhard Carl Trautmann
Date of birth	(1923-10-22)22 October 1923
Place of birth	Bremen, Germany
Date of death	19 July 2013(2013-07-19) (aged 89)
Place of death	La Llosa, Valencia, Spain
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1948–1949	St Helens Town	43	(0)
1949–1964	Manchester City	508	(0)
1964	Wellington Town	2	(0)
Total		553	(0)
Managerial career
1965–1966	Stockport County
1967–1968	Preußen Münster
1968–1969	Opel Rüsselsheim
1972–1974	Burma
1975	Tanzania
1978–1980	Liberia
1980–1983	Pakistan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

Bert Trautmann was born on 22 October 1923. He began playing football at age 10, when he was 18 he had to go to do his military service for the German Nazi-Regime. The paratrooper was first imprisoned by the Soviet, later by the British army. He did not leave Britain after his release, and became a professional football player.

Career

After some time he joined Manchester City. At first, the fans hated the "Nazi boy", but they soon accepted him. He was a leading goalkeeper for ten years in the English first division (which was then the top division). In the 1956 FA Cup final, it the 75th minute, Trautmann was hit by a Birmingham City player. The crash broke his neck, but Trautmann finished the game. It was often called a medical miracle that Trautmann did not die on that day.^[1]

Personal life

Just a few days Trautmann's medical miracle, his five years old son died in a car crash. In 1950 he had married for the first time, and in 1990 he married again. In 2004 he was honored by Queen Elizabeth II.

Death

Trautmann died on 19 July 2013 from probable heart failure after suffering two previous heart attacks. He was 89 years old.^[2]