FA Cup Curiosities

The world’s oldest football tournament is almost synonymous with the classic underdog story. It seems that every year another group of part-time tradesmen from the Midlands manage to topple a team of professionals expensively assembled from across the globe. While the romance of this narrative makes the competition compelling in its own right, there have also been some remarkable episodes down the years which have only served to enhance the cup’s legend. In the wake of Arsenal being crowned FA cup champions last weekend , we thought we’d take a quick look back at a some of the cup’s more interesting stories.

For instance, in the 1956 cup final Manchester City fielded a German goalkeeper by the name of Bert Trautmann. Bert had been a pilot in the Luftwaffe during the Second World War and had even been awarded an Iron Cross for bravery on the Eastern Front. Towards the end of the war he was transferred to the Western Front where his regiment was captured by British forces and subsequently transferred to a prisoner-of-war camp in Lancashire. On his release, Bert decided to stay in England rather than return to his native Germany. He made such an impression as the goalkeeper of his local football team that he was quickly scouted by Manchester City FC. On hearing of the club’s new German signing, 20000 supporters actually turned out to protest and vent their disgust. However Bert quickly managed to win them over with his excellent performances between the sticks. No performance was more outstanding than the famous 1956 FA cup final when, with 15 minutes of the match remaining, Bert made a diving save that saw him collide head-first with one of the opposition forwards. Although clearly in agony, Bert stoically managed to see out the rest of the game, making a number of crucial saves to ensure his side won the cup. An X-ray three days later would reveal that the hardy German had played the closing stages of the game with a broken neck, giving considerable weight to the old commentator’s adage that ‘they just don’t make them like they used to’.

Perhaps even more extraordinary is the story of Fabrice Muamba, a young footballer who back in 2012 collapsed on the pitch during an FA cup game between Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur. He suffered a huge cardiac arrest and lay slumped on the White Hart Lane turf as doctors frantically attempted to resuscitate him. By incredible fortune, one of London’s leading cardiologists just happened to be in the stadium that night as a supporter. Recognising the gravity of the situation he leapt from the stands onto the field of play in order to tend to the stricken footballer. Muamba’s heart failed to beat for an astonishing 78 minutes before the team of doctors were finally able to jolt it back to life with a series of defibrillator shocks. Given that Muamba was effectively dead for over an hour his recovery is regarded as nothing short of miraculous. As Chris Kamara would say – Unbelievable Jeff!

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