Remarkably his dissenters soon changed their tone with his stellar performances, in an often struggling Manchester City when he first joined. His bravery to claim a loose ball often at the peril of an oncoming opponent at full speed was admired by many supporters, not only City supporters. It was this technique that gave him a broken neck in the 1956 FA Cup Final and had to play the last 15 minutes as no substitutes were left. Regardless of this event, Trautmann was already seen as a hugely popular figure in English football and by the end of career with City he was lauded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time with 47,000 people attending his testimonial, with estimates at closer to 60,000.