German and World Cup football legend Franz Beckenbauer has died aged 78.
The German defender – nicknamed “Der Kaiser” because of his sublime talent – was regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
He was also famed for carving out his own role as a sweeper – now often known as a “Libero” – sitting slightly behind his team’s defensive line and sweeping up any man or ball that broke through.
Across a nearly two-decade-long career – much of it spent at his boyhood club Bayern Munich – he won an array of honours, including a World Cup with then West Germany in 1974.
He narrowly missed out on lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy eight years earlier at Wembley, with England clinching an extra-time victory in the 1966 World Cup final.
It was in that final that he was told to man-mark England star Bobby Charlton, pitting two of the world’s greatest footballers one-on-one.
In the end, they cancelled each other out, and it was Geoff Hurst who starred, scoring a hat-trick to help England to a famous victory.
“The message he [Beckenbauer] sent out was: ‘Don’t even try it. Coming out to face me is a waste of your time,” Charlton later said of their match-up.
Franz Beckenbauer, pictured alongside West Germany team mate Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck. Pic: AP
As well as trophies, Beckenbauer also won an array of personal honours, including two European Footballer of the Year awards as a defender – a rarity at the time and still to this day.
After hanging up his boots for the final time, following a short second stint in the US at the New York Cosmos, Beckenbauer turned to management, guiding West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup.
He is one of three men, along with Brazil’s Mario Zagallo, who passed away this month, and France’s Didier Deschamps, to have won the World Cup as a player and as a manager.
After stepping back from the dugout, Beckenbauer took up punditry, including for Sky Germany, as well as taking up executive roles at Bayern Munich and with the Germany Football Association.
It was during his involvement in Germany’s successful 2006 World Cup bid that Beckenbauer became embroiled in controversy, with authorities launching an investigation into fraud and money laundering in connection with the bid.
He was accused by the Swiss Attorney General’s office of paying Qatari former FIFA executive Mohamed bin Hammam £8.4m before the 2006 World Cup.
Beckenbauer and three other men accused in the investigation denied any wrongdoing, and it was later closed without a verdict in 2020 as the statute of limitations expired.
Beckenbauer was immortalised in a film – titled Der Kaiser – made about his life in 2022.
In a statement announcing his death, his family said: “It is with deep sadness that we announce that my husband and our father, Franz Beckenbauer, passed away peacefully in his sleep yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family,” the family said.
“We ask that you be able to grieve in silence and refrain from asking any questions.”
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