German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup both as a player in 1974 and as a manager in 1990, died on Sunday at the age of 78, the German Football Association (DFB) announced on Monday.
Former captain of the West German national team in the 1970s, manager of the Mannschaft from 1984 to 1990, and later an executive at Bayern Munich, Beckenbauer had limited his public appearances in recent years due to his health and was living in retirement in Salzburg, Austria.
“A legend of German and world football. The Kaiser was a great person, a friend of football, a champion, and a true legend. We will never forget you, dear Franz, thank you for everything,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino wrote on Instagram.
In Germany, where he was a particularly remembered figure, the impact of the news was significant. “Franz Beckenbauer was definitely the greatest German footballer of all time, and above that, he was a wonderful man,” said Hans-Joachim Watzke, vice president of the DFB, in a statement.
Bayern Munich, the club of his life where he won three European Cups (now the Champions League), particularly lamented this loss. “The world of Bayern Munich is no longer what it was, suddenly it is darker, quieter, poorer,” the club reacted.
Among the active footballers who paid tribute to him was Argentine star Lionel Messi, who posted a black and white photo of the German footballer with a ball on Instagram, accompanied by the legend “RIP” (Rest In Peace).
The international press also dedicated glowing tributes. The Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport considers him “a football myth,” while the French L’Équipe stated that “he succeeded in everything in his countless lives.”
Withdrawn from Public Life
His poor health meant that in January 2023 he could not travel to Brazil for the funeral of ‘O Rei’ Pelé, with whom he played for a season at the New York Cosmos. In August of the same year, he also missed the traditional annual meeting of the 1990 German World Cup champions.
All of this fueled rumors about his condition. The last time he was seen at a match was in August 2022. He had undergone several surgeries in recent years and a few months ago had lost sight in his right eye.
Born in September 1945 in the working-class neighborhood of Giesing, south of Munich, Beckenbauer learned to play football at the local SC 1906 Munich club, before moving to Bayern after being rejected by 1860 Munich, the other big team of the city at that time.
Bayern Munich was the club of his life throughout ‘three lives’ and five decades: a first as a player in the 1960s and 1970s, a second as a coach in the second half of the 1980s, and a final one as an executive in the 1990s and 2000s.
Three-time European Cup Champion
With Bayern, he won the European Cup of club champions (now the Champions League) in 1974, 1975, and 1976. And with West Germany, he was crowned in the Euro 1972 and the World Cup 1974.
In individual honors, he was particularly noted for the Ballon d’Or in 1972 and 1976, which was especially meritorious for a defender, when traditionally players with an offensive profile are rewarded.
The legend of Beckenbauer was also built on historical images, such as his participation in the semi-final of the 1970 World Cup that West Germany lost against Italy. There he was injured in that ‘match of the century’, when his team had already made the two substitutions allowed at that time, and he finished the match with his arm in a sling.
As a coach, his great moment was the conquest of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, beating Diego Maradona’s Argentina in the final, with whom he had lost the final of the same tournament four years earlier in Mexico.
Face of the 2006 World Cup
In the offices, Bayern was his learning ground, holding the main executive positions before being the main face of the Organizing Committee of the 2006 World Cup.
That tournament is considered a great organizational success for Germany, although a decade later it was overshadowed by suspicions of corruption in obtaining the hosting rights in 2000. Beckenbauer always denied the accusations in this regard.
In the press, he was a columnist for the newspaper Bild for 34 years, until 2016, and his presence was familiar to Germans on television and in advertising, so his farewell leaves generations of fans in the country somewhat orphaned.
