Franz Beckenbauer is dead. The German football legend died on Sunday at the age of 78, as his family announced to the German Press Agency on Monday.
“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.”
Beckenbauer is considered the greatest German football legend, he was a sporting “lightning figure”: he became world champion as a player and coach, and he brought the 2006 World Cup to Germany.
World Cup title in 1974 as the crowning glory Playing career
Legend has it that Beckenbauer only came to FC Bayern as a junior player because of a “Watschn”. Beckenbauer was actually supposed to switch to rival 1860. But when he and his club played against the “Lions”, an opponent slapped him. “To the club”says Beckenbauer, “I’m not changing”.
Instead, he went to Bayern and quickly rose to become a top performer. Among other things, he won four national championship titles and was a three-time winner of the European Cup and World Cup winner.
With his elegance and lightness on the field, he redefined the role of the libero and crowned his career by winning the home World Cup in 1974. Two years earlier he had already led the German European Championship winning team. Beckenbauer was the “best of his time”.
World Cup title as team boss in 1990
After a few years in the USA with Cosmos New York, where he played in a legendary team with Pelé, Beckenbauer returned to Germany and won another championship title with Hamburger SV in 1982. After the preliminary round exit at the 1984 European Championships, he became team boss at the DFB even without a coaching license and led the national team straight into the 1986 World Cup final against Argentina (2:3). Four years later, they took revenge against Diego Maradona & Co. with the World Cup triumph in Rome.
Beckenbauer then resigned – not without first announcing that this team would be invincible for years to come. This was a heavy burden for his successor Berti Vogts. Beckenbauer returned to FC Bayern as a coach when his Munich team was in crisis in the mid-1990s.
Taufiig Khalil, Sportschau, January 8th, 2024 5:30 p.m
Allegations about the 2006 World Cup award
The DFB used his charisma and reputation in its bid for the 2006 World Cup. The “summer fairy tale” became Beckenbauer’s highlight as an official. In terms of sport, the home World Cup was a complete success with a narrow semi-final defeat and third place.
Later, the “summer fairy tale” also cast shadows on the shining figure Beckenbauer; it involved millions in payments relating to the awarding of the tournament. The transfer of the equivalent of 6.7 million euros first to Qatar to the official Mohamed bin Hammam and then via the World Cup organizing committee and FIFA back to lender Robert Louis-Dreyfus also put Beckenbauer in distress, including investigations into suspicion of infidelity Switzerland.
The proceedings against him were separated from those against the other accused in the summer of 2019. Ultimately, like the case against three close companions from the summer fairy tale era, it came under the statute of limitations. Former top German politicians defended Beckenbauer in the scandal surrounding the 2006 World Cup.
It was only when the “Summer Fairy Tale” trial was discontinued in March 2020 due to the statute of limitations that Beckenbauer no longer had to fear legal consequences. He was never proven to have committed any wrongdoing.