Berlin - German football authorities Wednesday honoured goalkeeper legend Bernd Trautmann for his services to football at a ceremony ahead of an international between Germany and England. Trautmann, 85, was awarded the German Football Federation pin with diamond- its highest award for a person outside the federation - for his "unique services" for German football.
England's former striker Geoff Hurst - whose hat-trick helped England beat West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final - and former German playing greats Lothar Matthaeus and Guenter Netzer were among the dignitaries on hand at the ceremony.
Trautmann, who went by the name of Bert in England, played more than 600 games for Manchester City between 1949 to 1964, after making England his home following his release as a prisoner-of-war.
He was the first foreign player to be awarded the Footballer of the Year award in England, and his honours also include a vote by Manchester City fans as the club's all-time greatest player.
In 2004 he was appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for promoting Anglo-German understanding through football.
German federation president Theo Zwanziger said: "He is a sports personality who had done more than any other to join our two countries together after the war."
Trautmann is best remembered in England for the 1956 FA Cup final when he played on after a serious injury which was later revealed to be a broken neck, helping his side to beat Birmingham City 3-1.
All 74,244 tickets for Wednesday evening's match have been sold, with around 8,000 England fans expected to be in the Olympic Stadium.
Police Wednesday said a group of England fans were involved in an attack on plain-clothes police, believing them to be German fans, in an incident near Alexanderplatz Tuesday night.
Two fans were detained and could be charged with causing a breach of the peace after the police were threatened and a bottle was thrown, police said.
In another incident, five fans were arrested after a brawl and could face charges of assault and breach of the peace.
British hooligan experts are helping German police monitor potential troublemakers. Around 140 England fans were identified as potential hooligans on their arrival at Schoenefeld and Tegel airports and were being closely monitored, police said.
Nine fans were refused permission to leave Britain. German police have also identified 17 fans on a German hooligan-watch list.
Around 1,500 are on duty for the match, but police reported no major incidents by Wednesday afternoon.
Meanwhile English fans from the official England supporters' club joined a group of German fans to lay a wreath in a ceremony at the city's Holocaust memorial.
The action was praised by Tuvia Schlesinger, chairman of Makkabi Berlin, the Jewish sports club in the capital, who said: "I am pleased there are people who remember history."
