In 1974, Hoeneß and Beckenbauer became world champions together as Bayern stars. They later led the record champions to several titles over decades.
Bavaria’s Honorary President Uli Hoeneß found moving words for his long-time companion at the memorial service for the late Franz Beckenbauer. Hoeneß seemed very emotional during his speech and was visibly fighting back tears.
- In Munich: The farewell was so emotional for Beckenbauer’s family
“58 years ago I was in Birmingham as an exchange student. That’s when I saw Franz as a player for the first time. And I thought to myself: ‘If you can play with him, that would be the greatest thing,'” Uli Hoeneß began his speech a. He later succeeded and both played together for many years at both FC Bayern and the German national team.
Hoeneß continued: “He was always a person who was modest. When I no longer knew where to put the ball on the pitch, he was safe with Franz. We played together for many years, we won a lot together. But we also Lost one or two games.” What was important, according to Hoeneß: “You could learn from Franz not only on the football field, but everywhere in life.”
The former boss of the German record champions emphasized that Beckenbauer’s great ability was to take care of others. “He was our captain. If you had a problem, you went to Franz. He was always there for others, he never bucked up and kicked down, but the other way around,” said Hoeneß. And: “He was generous to no end.”
According to Hoeneß, Beckenbauer’s masterpiece, who became world champion both as a player and as a coach, was achieved when he brought the World Cup to Germany in 2006. “He worked his ass off for years, traveling to the farthest corners of the world to get the votes for a vote for Germany. We are here in the Allianz Arena, one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world. It would never have been built, “If Franz hadn’t brought the World Cup to Germany,” Uli Hoeneß explained clearly.
And concluded with the moving words: “Now you’ll be dead for twelve days, Franz. To be honest, I miss you a lot. Rest in peace.”