German football legend Beckenbauer dies at 78
Franz Beckenbauer, an iconic German player and later coach with a knack for leading his teams to greatness, has died at the age of 78. Beckenbauer, one of only three men to win the World Cup as player and as a coach, was known as the Kaiser, a title that fitted both his stylish and assured playing style and his natural leadership. “He was so elegant he wasn’t really German,” Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, a team-mate and later fellow administrator at Bayern Munich, said in a profile on the Bundesliga’s official website. “He just oozed class and quality.”
Beckenbauer helped establish Bayern as Germany’s strongest club. At international level, he played a key role as Germany became a football powerhouse. Yet his final triumph, leading Germany’s successful organisation of the 2006 World Cup, ultimately cast a shadow over his legacy, when he was implicated in possible corruption in securing the hosting rights. Beckenbauer was born in derelict Munich in 1945, four months after the end of the Second World War. “When I look at my life, I must have been born under a lucky star,” he said looking back.
He was a childhood fan of Bayern’s local rivals, but after an 1860 Munich player slapped him in a youth tournament, he made the fateful decision to switch loyalties. “It wasn’t the hand of God but a slap from an 1860 player,” he said later. While 1860 were selected as founder members of the Bundesliga in 1963, cash-strapped Bayern relied on youth to es-*
cape the regional leagues. Beckenbauer made a scoring debut at 18 as an outside left in June 1963 in the promotion play-offs as Bayern narrowly missed out. He became a regular a month into the next season, scoring 16 goals as they cruised to promotion.
‘I won the World Cup’
By 1966 he was in the West German midfield as they lost the World Cup final 4-2 to hosts England. “I was told to mark what was then the best player: Bobby Charlton. Bobby told me later that (England manager) Alf Ramsey had told him to keep an eye on this young, good-looking German guy,” he said. “England beat us because Bobby Charlton was just a little bit better than me.” As teams switched from a back three to a back four, Beckenbauer dropped into central defense but revolutionized the position. He developed the role of “libero”, sauntering forward to support the attack. With a relaxed swing of either boot, he could shoot from range with power, accuracy and swerve.
Beckenbauer took his revenge on England in Mexico in 1970, scoring the first goal as West Germany came from 2-0 down to beat the holders 3-2 in the quarter-finals. In the semis against Italy, Beckenbauer dislocated his shoulder after West Germany had used their two permitted substitutes. He played in a sling as his team lost 4-3 in extra time in an all-time World Cup classic.