Saturday, May 10, 2008

It will be two years since I started to find myself supporting the German national team when the European Championships begin early next month. But in between those times, there were twice where I actually did questioned myself whether did I do the right thing. Yes, the thought did came to me twice. Germany's neighbour (and Euro 2008 co-host) Austria was once like almost at the top of the world in football but it soon died out when Anschluss came about where Austrian-born players have to play for Germany. There was once where Austria got the better of its bigger neighbour during the 'Miracle of Cordoba' in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina where the two nations were up against each other but since then, it's not the same. I actually first came across the story of Austria being once a power in world football on the FIFA website last year. I actually wondered how many knew Austria actually once have the bragging rights. Not Germany.

Weeks ago out of the blue, I decided to read the story of Bert Trautmann given I remembered my first memory of him was over here. The UEFA Magazine article appeared days ahead of England and Germany in an international football friendly at the new Wembley. When I was reading the Wikipedia entry and I read the part that he couldn't be selected for the German national team for the 1954 World Cup was because he was playing outside of Germany and of the political implications given Trautmann was playing in England (and relations between the two nations was at a low after the war ended), I questioned myself again. The 1954 World Cup might had been the first major footballing honour for a country trying to build itself after the war it started and the final against Hungary was eventually dubbed as 'The Miracle of Bern' back in Germany (given it formed the catalyst of the wirtschaftwunder or 'economic miracle') but, Bert Trautmann was not part of it (he did revealed he was alright about not being selected for the Mannschaft though).The first words Bernhard Carl Trautmann heard when he was trying to escape from his captors after the war was when an English soldier greeted him with - 'Hello Fritz, fancy a cup of tea?'. Long before he had to fight to gain acceptance in his adopted country of the United Kingdom where his famous football career began, the Bremen-born Trautmann was part of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. The son of Carl (who worked in a fertiliser factory by the docks) and a housewife mother Frieda, young Trautmann had a keen interest in sports where he did played football, handball and völkerball (which is a form of dodgeball). He later joined the YMCA and football club Blau und Weisse. He enjoyed his football but not to the same extent with the activities at the YMCA and in 1933 (he was 10 by then), joined a new organisation the Jungvolk, a precursor to the Hitler Youth. At the onset of the Second World War, he was working as an apprentice motor mechanic.When the war came, he was initially a radio operator with the Luftwaffe. But then he did not show an aptitude for radio work during his training and became a paratrooper instead. It was only when he was despatched to the Russian front, realising the horrors of the war. And he survived where his fellow comrades did not. As a reward for his actions in his unit, he won five medals including an Iron Cross First Class. And was promoted as a sergeant. Trautmann later on became part of the unit which was stationed in France in preparation for the Allied invasion of Normandy (and survived). In 1944 he was one of the few survivors of the Allied bombing of Kleve, and with no unit by this time, decided to head home to Bremen. During then, German soldiers without valid leave papers were being shot as deserters and so he sought to avoid troops from either side. A few days later, he was being captured by two American soldiers in a barn and after deciding he had no useful intelligence to give them, the soldiers marched him out of the barn with his hands raised and fearing he could be executed, Trautmann fled.It was after he had gained enough distance from his captors, he jumped over a fence, only to land at a feet of a British soldier who greeted him with the now-famous line of "Hello Fritz, fancy a cup of tea?". Trautmann later on confirmed that was really what the soldier was asking him. By that time (it was May 1945), the war was coming to an end and Trautmann did not attempt to escape this time. He was being interrogated in Essex. Initially classified as a category 'C' prisoner by his captors (which meant that he was regarded as a Nazi), soon he was downgrade to non-Nazi 'B' category whereupon he was brought to PoW Camp 50 in Ashton-in-Makerfield, a small town between St Helens and Wigan, where he stayed until 1948. Football was a source of recreation for the prisoners-of-war and it was in a match against amateur team Haydock Park, he picked up an injury while playing centre-half (the position he had played all along). He asked the then-goalkeeper Gunther Luhr to swap positions with him and from then on, played as a goalkeeper ever since. It was during that time he was being called 'Bert' given of the English having difficulties pronouncing his abbreviated name of 'Bernd' (his original name is Bernhard).In 1947, Trautmann turned down an offer of repatriation and stayed in Britain, working on a farm and later on subsequently did bomb disposal work at Liverpool. He also played amateur football for the Liverpool County Combination club St Helens Town. Over the course of the 1948-49 season, his reputation as a goalkeeper steadily rose and soon crowds came to see him in action. As the following season commenced, a number of clubs showed an interest in signing him and Manchester City was the first to offer him his contract and on 7 October 1949, signed on to the club as an amateur, turning professional shortly after. But soon it was made known Manchester City had signed a former member of the Luftwaffe, the backlash began. Trautmann was a German as well, and many season ticket holders were furious and various groups in Manchester even bombarded the club with letters of protest. There were even demostrations being held as well. Not only because of Trautmann's nationality the City fans were furious about, given he was also replacing the recently retired Frank Swift, who was also one of the greatest goalkeepers in the club's history (and for England as well where Swift was considered among the best).Bert Trautmann might had privately expressed doubts of signing for Manchester City, his new team-mate and City captain Eric Westwood (who was a Normandy veteran), made a public display of welcoming Trautmann to the club by announcing - "There's no war in this dressing room". The German's popular predecessor Frank Swift had even told him to ignore what the people were saying about him. Trautmann made his debut against Bolton in November and after a competent display in his first home match, fans discovered how good he was and club protests shrank. But during away matches, he continued to receive abuses and it affected his concentration in some of his early matches. It was only in January 1950 that City was playing away at Fulham was then Trautmann got a taste of how the British public really saw him. With Fulham being located in London, it's also where majority of the British press were based and several sportswriters were watching the German in action for the first time. It never helped City was struggling in the league at that time as well and Trautmann became a hate figure among the crowd and abuses being thrown at him. But the final scoreline was only...a 1-0 defeat. Upon the final whistle, he received a standing ovation, and was applauded off the pitch by both sets of players. Manchester City continued to struggle throughout the season and it was relegated to the second division.The club returned to the top flight after only a season in the second division and in the years to come, Trautmann had establised himself as one of the best keepers in the league. It was in 1952, his fame spread to his native Germany and Schalke was interested to sign him. City flatly refused the Gelsenkirchen-based club's offer with them responding that they thought he was worth 20 times more (Schalke was offering 1,000 pounds initially). Anyhow in the mid-50s, City manager Les McDowall introduced a new tactical system which later became known as the Revie Plan after Don Revie, who played the centre-forward role. The system depended on maintaining possession of the ball wherever possible, which required Trautmann to make use of his throwing ability. In Bert Trautmann's time, goalkeepers usually kick the ball as far as possible downfield after making a save. Trautmann was influenced by Hungarian goalkeeper Gyula Grosics, sought to start attacks by throwing the ball to a wing-half. The Revie Plan was instrumental in Manchester City reaching the 1955 FA Cup final against Newcastle and nerves affected the City players which eventually saw them runners-up behind Newcastle. But though the loss in the 1955 FA Cup final, City has another strong season in the 1955/56 season (finishing fourth in the league, reaching the FA Cup final again).A few days before the FA Cup final against Birmingham, Bert Trautmann had been awarded the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year and thus making him the first goalkeeper (and also the first German, many years before incumbent Bayern Munich coach Juergen Klinsmann took the honours when he was at Tottenham Hotspur) to win the award. The 1956 FA Cup final was when Trautmann finally became well-known. In the 75th minute Trautmann, diving at an incoming ball, was knocked out in a collision with Birmingham's Peter Murphy in which he was hit in the neck by Murphy's right knee. Trautmann carried on, dazed and unsteady on his feet (the event replayed). For the remaining 15 minutes he defended his net, making a crucial interception to deny Murphy once more. Manchester City held on for the victory (it was already 3-1 to City by then), and Trautmann was the hero of the final due to his spectacular saves in the last minutes of the match. When he went to receive the winner's medal, Prince Philip commented on his crocked neck and Trautmann was unable to move his head during the post-match banquet. He went to bed that same night, expecting the injury to heal with rest but the pain did not recede and the following day, went to the hospital. As a result of that, he had to miss a large part of the 1956/57 season and Jack Savage deputised during his absence.At the start of December, Bert Trautmann played two reserve matches but lacked the confidence. On 15 December, he was estored to the first team for a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but conceded three goals. He continued to struggle for form in the remainder of the season, leading to some calls from fans and media for him to retire. As Trautmann was not fully recovered from his injury, others criticised the club for believing Trautmann had been forced to play. The following season, City eventually had the dubious honour of only the English club to date to both score and concede 100 goals. At the end of the season, Trautmann only kept two clean sheets. Despite that, he has always been considered one of the leading goalkeepers of his era but the fact that he was playing outside of Germany and in England and with the political implications involved, he was not selected for the German national team under then-coach Sepp Herberger in 1963. Germany won their maiden World Cup the following year (or 'The Miracle of Bern' and it was even being immortalised into a film in 2003). Trautmann's international football experience came in 1960, when the Football League decided to include non-English players to represent the Football League in representative matches for the first time. Trautmann captained the League against the Irish League, and also played against the Italian League.In his testimonial match in 1964, close to 60,000 came to see him in action (the official report states as 47,000). Tratumann captained a special joint Manchester City & Manchester United XI that included Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, against an England team that included Tom Finney, Stanley Matthews and Jimmy Armfield. After leaving Manchester City, he played briefly for Wellington Town and though age has disminished his abilities, his debut still proved that he can draw the crowds. However, he was being sent off in his second match, and never played again. A couple of months later (as he was pondering his future career plans), he became Stockport County general manager. Following a disagreement with the club chairman in 1966, he resigned and in 1967, returned to his native Germany and coached lower division clubs. After this, the German Football Association (DFB) sent him as a development worker to countries without national football structures. He first went to Burma then Tanzania, Liberia, Pakistan and Yemen until 1988, settled down in Spain (near Valencia, to be exact). He married thrice and with his first wife, had three children, all sons, though his firstborn son who was killed in a car accident a few months after the FA Cup Final in 1956, aged five. According to him, the death of his son proved too much which resulted in the breakup of his first marriage.Anyhow, he had helped founded the Trautmann Foundation which aims to use his example to improve Anglo-German relationships through football. In 2004, he was being awarded Order of the British Empire for promoting Anglo-German understanding through football. Considering how the usual cliches still exists between England and Germany (especially how the English look at the Germans) and it even translates to their famed football rivalry, keeping the Trautmann legend alive is all the more worthwhile.Bernhard Carl Trautmann might had been very famous in his adopted country of England but back in his native Germany, it's not really the case. It could had been him being among the heros of 'The Miracle of Bern' in the 1954 World Cup but he was not playing in Germany at that time. That was the second time I asked myself for almost two years now - Did I do the right thing, being a supporter of the German national team. To think of it now, I think I am almost becoming sick hearing about 'The Miracle of Bern' time and again especially with the European Championships co-hosting by Austria and Switzerland (Bern is the capital of the latter) is coming in less than a month from now. If Trautmann was part of the winning 1954 World Cup squad, I would had think differently. Long before there was Juergen Klinsmann (Tottenham Hotspur), Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal), Markus Babel (Liverpool), Dietmar Hamann (Liverpool, Manchester City) and the like playing in England, Bert Trautmann was the first-ever German footballer over there. The number of foreigners playing especially in the Premier League might had been getting a lot of stick nowadays, but one can never underestimate the spirit of Bert Trautmann given in his playing days, he never once retaliated when the English taunted him given of his nationality.