Franz Beckenbauer, a German football icon and Bayern Munich legend, has passed away at 78 years old. One of the best German players to have ever graced the beautiful game, Beckenbauer was widely regarded as football’s most complete player ever.
Born in 1945 into a bombed-out Munich after the Second World War, the young boy named Franz Anton Beckenbauer was destined to be signed by the biggest football club in Munich at the time, TSV 1860 Munich. Playing for his neighbourhood side SC 1906, a 12-year-old Beckenbauer was hit in the face after complaining about a TSV 1860 player’s incessant fouling. That slap changed Football History. In 1958, Beckenbauer instead joined the smaller club in his hometown, FC Bayern Munich, a club in the 2nd division of Bundesliga, the German football league.
Beckenbauer would write one of the most legendary success stories in football history, turning this small club from Bavaria into a first into a national giant, then into a global one. Since being appointed as captain in 1971, Beckenbauer led Bayern to 4 national titles and 3 consecutive European cup titles, becoming one of 6 teams to ever have done this coveted feat in the entirety of football history.
In 1971, Beckenbauer was also appointed as the captain of West Germany’s national team. He led the German team ‘Die Mannschaft’, winning the European championship in 1972 and the world cup in 1974. Afterwards, Beckenbauer was called ‘Der Kaiser’ by the German Newspapers, which translates to ‘The Emperor’.
Much of Beckenbauer’s on-field success can be attributed to the way he revolutionized the center-back position. As a sweeper or a ‘libero,’ Beckenbauer paved the way for the modern ball-playing defender, moving up the pitch to break up opponents’ attacks, spraying passes all over the field and hurling himself into attacks when needed.
Towards the end of his career he transferred to the New York Cosmos to dominate American football clubs together with Pelé, then came back to Germany and won the Bundesliga with Hamburg.
Franz Beckenbauer is one of the 3 people to ever win the football world cup as player and as manager, solidifying his presence as a force to be reckoned with in the managerial role when he led the German national team to victory on the ultimate global stage in 1990.
Beckenbauer’s death comes a little under three months after the passing of Sir Bobby Charlton. The pair were, completely coincidentally, given the responsibility by their respective managers of man-marking the other in the 1966 World Cup final. It led to both delivering muted displays at Wembley but, overall, there was no doubting their outstanding contributions to their countries and to football as a whole.
Beckenbauer will forever be heralded as a hero in his native Germany. For leading from the front during several of the nation’s finest footballing moments, turning Bayern into a European powerhouse during his playing days and reinventing a seemingly inflexible role, ‘Der Kaiser’ etched his name into the football history books as one of the greatest players of all time.
Penned By:
Rtr. Aditha Abeynayake
Editorial Committee Member 23.24
