Bert Trautmann: Remembering the legend of Man City when the movie "The Keeper" hits the British cinemas



[ad_1]

The largest shopping centerThe legend of Manchester City, Bert Trautmann, has been immortalized in the biopic "The Keeper", telling the fascinating and inspiring story of his life, ranging from German prisoner of war to the icon of English football, and release in some British cinemas today (April 5).

Trautmann, who unfortunately died in 2013 at the age of 89, is portrayed by David Kross, the actor describing his character as a "very modest and polite man" as well as "without fear and without ambition".

Bernd Trautmann

The life of Trautmann, born Bernhard, began in 1923 in the German industrial city of Bremen. He excelled in the sport from an early age, including football and handball, and joined the organization that became known as Hitler Youth in 1933, at the age of 10 years.

As a teenager, he joined the German armed forces in 1941 and trained as a paratrooper. While World War II was already raging, Trautmann was first stationed in Poland and, after a three month imprisonment for making a joke, later in Ukraine.

The eastern front was brutal and the Trautmann unit was badly hit. It was at that time that he received the Iron Cross, one of the many military medals that he received.

There are stories that he was captured by Soviet and French forces, escaping both times. He would also have escaped the capture of an American soldier before falling on a British soldier. The legend says, "Hello Fritz, do you want a cup of tea? were the words that greeted him.

BERT TRAUTMANN

This third capture was the last of Trautmann. He was imprisoned by the British in Belgium and was then transferred to Esbad before joining a prisoner of war camp located in Cheshire, in northwestern England.

Initially, his captors regarded Trautmann as a "Category C" prisoner, a Nazi. This is the result of his past of Hitler Youths and his badociated indoctrination from an early age, plus the fact that he had joined the Nazi war effort as a volunteer. Eventually considered a less significant threat, he was demoted to "B", prompting a move to a POW camp near Liverpool, then a final one in Lancashire.

It was by staying in these two camps that Trautmann began to work and mingle with the local population, many of whom were wary of a former German soldier, even though the war was over. He also continued to play football and later joined the St. Helens Amateur Club in 1948, after rejecting the offer of repatriation to Germany to continue his new life in England.

A chance to join Manchester City appeared in 1949, although Trautmann still had to face prejudices and skepticism from a German living in England at that time. Supporters of the city threatened to boycott the club, as well as demonstrations and disgust from further afield.

Bert Trautmann

But Trautmann is high above him. He continued to do what he was good at and received a standing ovation from London fans during a particular match against Fulham in 1950, his first visit to the capital and a match where the abuses had been particularly strong until that his quality of purpose shines through. .

After five and a half seasons of exceptional performances, during which he narrowly missed a match, Trautmann, who was known for stopping the shot and distributing the ball to his teammates by throwing him, became the first German to play in the tournament. The final of the FA Cup in 1955 as City faced Newcastle at Wembley. Losing a player injured in the days leading up to the substitutes, City lost 3-1.

However, Trautmann returned to the FA Cup final a year later, in 1956, for which he became the most famous and earned his legendary status in the annals of English sport.

Final of the Cup of England

Two days before the Cup final, this time against Birmingham, Trautmann was elected "FWA Footballer of the Year" by the English journalist. The first goalkeeper to win, he was the only Irish or non-British player before Dutchman Frans Thijsen in 1981.

Rebounding after his defeat in 1955, City won the final 3-1. But unbeknownst to the time, Trautmann played the last 15 minutes of the match with a broken neck after a collision with Birmingham striker Peter Murphy. He was stunned and in pain, but rather than leaving his team short, the goalkeeper continued, even making late decisive stops to preserve the club's lead.

It was only three days later, having attended the banquet of the winners, unable to move his head and having been turned away by a hospital presuming that it was nothing serious and that he was soon to subside, Trautmann learned how dead he was.

Trautmann's neck

An X-ray at his home in Manchester revealed that the collision had fractured five vertebrae around his neck and that he had cracked one. It is only because one of the loose bones stalled against another, preventing further damage from being caused, that the injury is not fatal.

Trautmann finally returned to action in the middle of the following season. Although no longer at his best, he was back to playing virtually every game for City through the 1958/59 season and continued to do so until 1962. At this point, Trautmann had 38 years, and he finally retired in 1964, playing only two extra games out of level.

Off the field, Trautmann had married Margaret in 1950. They met in St Helens when they pbaded from prisoner of war to footballer and their relationship is a central theme of "The Keeper".

CITY-NEWCASTLE FBL-ENG-PR-MAN

The couple had three children, one of whom, John, died in a car accident at the age of five in 1956, while Trautmann was recovering from his broken neck. He and Margaret were divorced in 1972, with Bert later stating that his wife's painful struggle to cope with the heartbreaking loss of their son had contributed to the breakdown of the marriage.

Once the enemy, a pariah who was heckled and feared, Trautmann was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005. If you can, go see "The Keeper".

[ad_2]
Source link