UEFA Champions League (UCL)
On June 11th, the Champions League final day, the annual football event, is just around the corner!
The UEFA Champions League, known as the world's most competitive football tournament, is also the world's most prize money sporting event, with more than 1 billion viewers per edition.
When it comes to football, many people's first reaction is to be a sassy striker or a strategic midfielder, often ignoring the goalkeeper who sticks to the goal.
René Ikita's Scorpion Swing Tail
World-class saves are often more ornamental than shots that go through the 100 steps.
In the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Guillermo Ochoa, who was jokingly called "Wu Zhenyu of Mexico" by netizens, was praised by netizens for his saving ability and was repeatedly searched on Weibo.
Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who looks like actor Wu Zhenyu
The biggest contributor to the last Champions League winner Real Madrid was goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
In the 1970 World Cup, England goalkeeper Banks became famous for saving Pele's header, a fully stretched save that is now revered by fans as the "Banks save".
Banks said Bert Trautman profoundly influenced his saving style.
The legendary goalkeeper he calls not only has superb skills, but also has a different ups and downs, with a legendary life.
Marcus S. H. Rosenmiller's "Fireball"
German director Marcus H. Rosenmiller based on the life experience of Bert Trautman and produced the sports biopic "Fireball".
Phoenix TV Movie Channel will broadcast "Battle Fireball" on June 25th at 21:15 / June 26th at 17:05, so stay tuned!
Bert Trautman
Bert Trautmann was born in 1923 in the workers' district of Bremersie, Germany.
In 1941, when he reached his age, Trautman volunteered to join the Imperial Air Force.
He fought on the Eastern Front for three years, took five or six medals, especially an Iron Cross, and rose to the rank of sergeant.
Bert Trautman's papers
With Germany's defeat imminent, Trautman wanted to flee back to his hometown of Bremen, and in order to survive, he crossed barbed wire, but was eventually caught.
After being captured, Trautman was transferred to a prisoner-of-war camp near Manchester, where he had the opportunity to play football.
Coincidentally, the local St Helens amateur team faced relegation, investors were about to divest, and the team urgently needed to change.
Fragment of "Fireball"
Trautman's superb penalty throwing ability was picked up by the team manager.
His debut was so impressive that he turned the team around and even investors asked: Who's the Bloody Goalkeeper? (Who is this goalkeeper?) ）
Fragment of "Fireball"
But outside the game, malicious attacks against Trautman followed, represented by the manager's daughter, Margaret.
Fragment of "Fireball"
This hatred is not unfounded, since the withdrawal of the Anglo-French army from Dunkirk, Germany has begun to bomb Britain with impunity, of which the six-month-long bombing of London was the most brutal, killing more than 40,000 citizens in London alone.
Fragment of "Fireball"
In order to avoid the bombing of the Germans at night, the British government adopted night light control, requiring that lights are prohibited at night, including car lights and signal lights. The British: "God bless the British government, not to let the car accidents caused by the driving lights are much more terrible than the German planes." ”
But in the follow-up contact, Margaret found that Trautman was not a crazy monster, but like everyone, he was an ordinary person who did things honestly and treated others kindly.
Fragment of "Fireball"
Gradually, they fell in love with each other, and after he decided to stay in England and make up for his sins in World War II with his practical actions, they married.
Trautmann never concealed his status as a German soldier, and when asked whether he was just for the murder of Jews, he always calmly replied:
"As an ordinary soldier, I can only carry out the orders of my superiors; But after the war, I realized how stupid and ashamed I was for what I had done, that I would never forgive myself for my previous actions, and that I would do everything in my power to atone for my sins."
As a talented goalkeeper, his approach is naturally to make the best saves.
But as Margaret said to Trautman at the beginning:
Do you think if you come here and play twice, everything will be forgiven and forgotten?
For his wife Margaret, who gets along day and night, it is easier to find the sincerity and remorse in Trautman, and for more people, understanding is impossible, and invective is the most gentle greeting to a German Nazi, how to give the opportunity to understand.
In 1949, the main goalkeeper of Manchester City, then the first division of England, retired, and they were eager to choose a successor to Trautman.
Manchester City's influence is far from comparable to that of St Helens, the media here is quite developed, and there is a Jewish community in the city.
Fragment of "Fireball"
The media dug up Trautman's dark history: he voluntarily signed up for the Hitler Youth and was awarded the Nazi Iron Cross of Honor during World War II.
Four years after the end of World War II, Britain was still devastated, and Manchester City's signing of former German Nazi soldiers was a decision to deceive their ancestors.
Fragment of "Fireball"
First the Jewish community in Manchester was angry, then Manchester City season ticket holders threatened to leave Maine Road empty, and 20,000 fans surrounded the club, chanting "Nazi devils go home".
Local newspaper coverage of Bert Trautman's arrival at Manchester City
Trautman recalls: "When I went to the race, the average attendance was 450, and when I left, it went up to 6,000. ”
Many players have experienced booing, generally limited to ball skills, and when abuse rises to family hatred, love and forgiveness come to naught.
Fragment of "Fireball"
Trotman, who is under great pressure, chooses to endure all this in silence, knowing that football can finally wash away his sins.
Of course, the damage caused by war is eternal, but choose to continue to maintain hatred, or choose to let go, let go of mustard, and make up for mistakes?
Luckily, there are people willing to try the latter.
Ahead of Trautman's game, the Manchester City boss told everyone in the dressing room:
"In the dressing room, there is no war."
Fragment of "Fireball"
When Margaret faced the provocation of the people, her words made everyone at the scene speechless.
"I know him not because he is a soldier, but as a man, and you come together to destroy a broken man, not to help find a future, because it's easier than forgiveness, and you are not much better than the person you abuse. I am proud that I am the wife of Bert Trautman. ”
Fragment of "Fireball"
Altman, a highly prestigious rabbi (teacher of Jewish jurisprudence) in Manchester, published an open letter in the Manchester Evening Chronicle:
"Both of my parents died in the genocide, but Trautman should not be punished. If this goalkeeper from Germany is a decent person, I would say it doesn't hurt anyone. Everything should be judged on its own merits. ”
Altman's open letter
Obviously, this signing is not just an act of sports, it contains forgiveness and love.
At that time, Manchester City even had a very difficult relegation, away to the giants Fulham, the media generally expected Manchester City to suffer a crushing defeat, but under Trautman's save, Manchester City only lost 0-1.
As soon as the final whistle blew out, Trautman received a standing ovation from the audience.
Fragment of "Fireball"
Trautman did not flinch, becoming more and more good at the goalkeeper position, and his excellent performances began to change the attitude of the fans who had abused him.
At amateur club St Helens Club, Trautman gained love and rediscovered himself, while at Manchester City, he gained respect.
Fragment of "Fireball"
Beyond the movies
Bert Trautman
Goalkeeper Bert Trautman
Due to space limitations, the film only shows the story of Trautman after he first entered Manchester City.
However, the all-time Trautman, hailed as one of Manchester City's greatest legendary goalkeepers, led Manchester City to a glorious era.
Now that Manchester City have won the Premier League this season and will also compete for the Champions League on June 11, these two matches represent the highest temple of football, and Manchester City is already the only superclub.
In Trautman's 15-year career, he played 545 games for Manchester City.
He was the first person in England to use a hand-tossed ball to attack directly, which became an integral part of City's attack, and City reached the 1955 FA Cup final.
His pinnacle battle is also introduced in the movie, but the historical facts are more legendary.
Bert Trautman "broken neck" moment
With 17 minutes left in the 1956 FA Cup final, Birmingham striker Peter Murphy rushed to the downed Trautmann and hit the German goalkeeper's neck with his right knee.
He endured the intense pain, gripped the ball firmly in his hand, and then stuck to the goal, saving a few threatening shots.
With his brave performance, Manchester City won the FA Cup, and the Queen personally presented him with the award.
After the victory, he left the arena with the help of his teammates
A few days later, Trautman felt that the pain was still abated, so he went to the local hospital in Manchester for a check-up and found a neck fracture, and he would surely die later.
With the good story of "broken neck goalkeeper", he was awarded the English Footballer of the Year, the first player in history to win the honor of Footballer of the Year as a goalkeeper and the first non-British player.
The British press rushed to cover the saga
In the following years, he played in the English League as captain of Manchester City, playing in several international friendlies.
Manchester's arch-rivals Manchester United manager Sir Busby once told his team:
"When you face that German penalty, don't think about how to score, kick it out first. I see that guy can read minds at all, and I can see where you're going to kick. ”
Even Lev Yasin, the world's number one goalkeeper at the time, said:
"There are only two super goalkeepers in the world, one is me and the other is the German who plays for Manchester - Bert Trautman."
In 1964, Trautman celebrated his farewell game at Manchester City, with around 60,000 spectators coming to the stadium to witness the legendary goalkeeper's curtain call.
Goalkeeper Bert Trautman
In 2005, Trautman was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame, and the same year, he was inducted into the German Football Hall of Fame.
He also shines with the brilliance of humanity off the field.
In the post-war restoration of Anglo-German relations, Trautman became a bridge between the two countries because of his special status.
At that time, many German footballers with Nazi backgrounds suffered white eyes.
Fritz Walter, the architect of the Bernese miracle in the 1954 World Cup final, also served as a paratrooper in the Nazi German army and later tried to join Atletico Madrid in Spain, but failed.
And after Trautman, Europeans gradually began to accept the Nazis of yesteryear.
Rahn, another regular player of the 1954 FIFD Germany, joined the Dutch side Twente in 1960.
Trautman was also the first player to sign for Adidas on an English football pitch, bringing the German brand to the UK.
After his retirement, he established the Trautman Fund, which was dedicated to promoting football and post-war exchanges between Britain and Germany.
At the same time, he also made a speech against the Nazis and called for peace on the occasion of the anniversary of the Holocaust every year, in order to arouse people's appreciation of peace and hope that the people of Europe would not be involved in the whirlpool of war again.
Elderly Bert Trautman
He is also active in the "Football in Third World Countries" project, serving as the national team coach in Myanmar, and was responsible for setting up coaching training courses and carrying out a series of football infrastructure work.
With the support of various parties, he led the Myanmar team to win many events such as the President's Cup, the championship of the Southeast Asian Games and so on.
After two years in Myanmar, he travelled to Tanzania, Liberia, Pakistan, Yemen and Malta to sow football seeds in those countries.
It was not until 1988 that Trautman retired and unburdened himself to enjoy his old age.
Bert Trautman was awarded the Order of Merit of the British Empire
In 2004 , Trautman was awarded the Order of Merit for his contributions to football and Anglo-German relations.
As a footballer, most of the people who can receive this honor are legends in English football, such as Clough, who created the miracle of Nottingham Forest, Liverpool's famous coach Shankley, Arsenal's professor Wenger and so on.
At the ceremony, Trautman also met with the Queen of England, who quipped to him: "Mr. Trautman, I remember you, do you still have a pain in your neck?" ”
Bert Trautman meets the Queen
It is worth mentioning that he is the only odd person in history to receive both the Order of the British Empire and the German Cross of the Iron Cross.
On July 19, 2013, Trautman died of a heart attack.
Before a match, the club paid tribute to the most famous "fighter" in the history of football and war.
Manchester City players don Bert Trautman's shirt as a salute
To thank Trautman for his great contribution to Manchester City, the club not only erected a statue of him, but also named the "Bert Trautman Award" for the team's best goalkeeper.
A goalkeeper statue of Bert Trautman on display in the Manchester City FC Museum
Although this is a story about the legendary football goalkeeper, it is not limited to this, director Rosenmiller introduced in an interview:
"Through this film, I hope children can see how sportsmanship allows people to move beyond hatred and bring each other back together."
One of the reasons why football has become the number one sport in the world is its inclusiveness.
It is a movement that can really be regardless of your background, class, wealth, appearance, height, gender, nationality, religion, and people can enjoy the blood, cruelty, romance, and heroism.
In pursuit of the ultimate in football, the prestigious Fédération Internationale de Football (FIFA) appealed:
"Football to football, politics to politics".
However, the Russian-Ukrainian war has made this sentence a laughing stock.
FIFA announced on February 27, 2022 that the Russian national team is prohibited from singing the national anthem and displaying the national flag during the competition, and can only participate under the name of the Russian Football Union (RFU).
At that time, Russia was in the World Cup European play-offs, and opponents Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden all refused to play.
Just a day later, FIFA and UEFA issued a joint statement banning the Russian national team from participating in various international football competitions such as the World Cup in Qatar.
English football club Chelsea, known as the "Iron Blues"
Even more ironically, Russian-born Roman Abramovich was forced to sell his English Premier League team, Chelsea Club, in March 2022 because European and American countries launched sanctions against Russian billionaires.
Abramovich is deeply respected by Chelsea fans and players, and when he was in the turmoil, coach Thomas Tuchel said: "Even if it's by bus, I take the players to the pitch. ”
Since his arrival, Chelsea have won 21 titles in 19 years: 5 Premier League titles, 2 Champions League titles, 1 Club World Cup, 2 Europa League titles, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 5 FA Cups, 3 League Cups and 2 Community Shields, achieving a Grand Slam.
Chelsea has been the business he has grown and expressed his reluctance in a statement: "It has been the honour of my life to be part of Chelsea Football Club. ”
Trophy won by Chelsea during the Abramovich era
Abramovich promised to set up a charitable foundation to donate all proceeds from the sale of the team to the Ukrainian population affected by the war.
But then Abramovich, identified by the British government as one of 7 business oligarchs close to Putin, froze all his assets.
Compared to Abramovich, the German men in Manchester City are so lucky.
Bert Trautman with his wife Margaret Flair
This is a story of forgiveness and love, and it ends best in Margaret's words:
“
"You come together to destroy a broken man, not to help find a future, because it's easier than forgiveness, and you're not much better than the one you abuse.
I am proud that I am the wife of Bert Trautman. ”
”
Text|Tea
Edited by Fore Magic Song, Tea