Against All Odds

Indeed, that he ever played the game at all was down more to the fact he was captured during World War Two and held as a prisoner of war where his natural sporting ability emerged and changed his life, and destiny, forever. Blond-haired and athletic, Trautmann was enlisted in the Hitler Youth programme as a youngster and he was eventually trained as a paratrooper and sent to fight in Russia as the global conflict raged. He spent three years locked in some of the most hostile conditions imaginable before being eventually captured by the Russians.

He managed to escape, but later was caught again by the allied troops and believing he was about to be executed. he was surprised instead to be greeted by his British captors with the words, "Hello Fritz, fancy a cup of tea? " Instead of the ultimate punishment, he was sent to a PoW camp at Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Wigan, where Trautmann excelled during football matches played during the fitness sessions.

Fate was set to play a huge part in his future when, despite his obvious ability as an outfield player, he was forced to keep goal after picking up an injury and swapped positions for the remainder of the game. Trautmann immediately looked at home – a natural, even. He would later claim his training as a paratrooper made it easy for him to perform acrobatic dives because he knew how to fall to the ground without injuring himself – that, plus his fearless nature made him an outstanding prospect, if not a little rough around the edges.

After the War ended, Trautmann felt so at home in England he declined the offer of repatriation upon his release to instead begin a new life in the country he had until recently been fighting against. He married a local girl not long after and was not perturbed about being a German in a sleepy English town so soon after the conflict. He began working on a farm and later worked with a bomb disposal unit in Liverpool, putting his knowledge and expertise to great use.