Bernd Trautmann, an important and well respected ambassador for German football, has passed away. He had heroic status, especially in England.

Trautmann had great influence in improving the reputation of German football.

He played 545 matches for Manchester City, although tens of thousands originally demonstrated against his transfer there. He conquered the hearts of the fans with his fair and engaging character. His love of “The Beautiful Game” was well known and in the 1956 Wembley cup final he played until the very end in spite of a broken neck and being in a lot of pain (at that time there were no substitutes) and he eventually received the cup from the hands of the Queen. This remains an unforgettable memory of this special man. He was honoured with many awards including “The Order For The British Empire “and the “Walther Bensemann Prize” of our partner, the German Academy of Football Culture. For us he counts as one of the leading football ambassadors of our country. He died on the 19th of July at his home close to the city of Valencia aged 89. We send our sincere condolences to his family.

Here you can find an article of our partner “kicker Sportmagazin”.

Roland Bischof  

– Initiative GERMAN FOOTBALL AMBASSADOR