FRANZ BECKENBAUER
Franz Beckenbauer, World Cup winner as player and coach, dies at 78
Bayern Munich and Germany great Beckenbauer, who was a World Cup winner in 1974 and 1990, has passed away.
Franz Beckenbauer has died at the age of 78, the German soccer great’s family has confirmed.
A statement issued to the German news agency DPA said: “It is with great sadness that we announce that my husband and our father Franz Beckenbauer died peacefully yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family.”
He is survived by his wife Heidi, and his children Thomas, Michael, Joel Maximilian and Francesca Antonie. His son Stephan died in 2015, following a long illness.
Suffered from deteriorating health
Beckenbauer, who won two Ballons d’Or and in 2020 was named in the award’s all-time ‘dream team’, had suffered from numerous health issues in recent years.
In addition to undergoing heart surgery twice and having a hip replacement, he had battled Parkinson’s disease, and revealed in 2019 that he had lost his sight in one of his eyes.
“I had a supposed ocular infarction in one eye,” Beckenbauer told Bunte magazine. “Unfortunately, I can’t see anything with my right eye anymore. And I need to be careful with my heart”.
Member of select World Cup club
Nicknamed ‘Der Kaiser’, the former defender captained West Germany to victory at the 1974 World Cup, and won a hat-trick of European Cups during a 13-year spell as a player for Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
After retiring from playing in 1983, Beckenbauer coached West Germany to World Cup success in 1990.
Along with Brazil’s Mário Zagallo and France’s Didier Deschamps, he is one of only three men who have won the global tournament both as a player and a coach.
Zagallo, who lifted the World Cup as a player in 1958 and 1962, before managing Brazil to the trophy in 1970, died on Friday at the age of 92.
Beckenbauer, whose silverware successes as a coach also include a Bundesliga title and a UEFA Cup during two short spells at the Bayern helm, became president of the Bavarian club in 1994.
He stepped down in 2009, before being named honorary Bayern president later that year.
Beckenbauer: achievements at a glance
As a player:
- 582 appearances for Bayern Munich between 1964 and 1977
- Won four Bundesligas, three European Cups with Bayern
- Also helped Bavarians to four DFB Pokals and a Cup Winners' Cup
- Ended playing career at Hamburg and New York Cosmos
- Won 103 caps for West Germany between 1965 and 1977
- Lifted 1972 European Championship and 1974 World Cup
- Ballon d'Or winner in 1972 and 1976
As a coach:
- Coached West Germany from 1984 to 1990
- Steered Die Mannschaft to 1990 World Cup glory
- Twice Bayern head coach: from 1993 to 1994, and in 1996
- Steered Bayern to Bundesliga and UEFA Cup
- Also won Ligue 1 during stint at French club Marseille
DFB chief lauds Beckenbauer’s “great legacy”
Reacting to Beckenbauer’s death, the president of the German Football Federation (DFB), Bernd Neuendorf, said: “We look at his life’s work with respect and great gratitude. With him we are losing a unique footballer and a lovable person.”
Neuendorf added: “Franz Beckenbauer leaves a great legacy for the DFB and football as a whole.”
Meanwhile, Bayern said in a statement: “The world of FC Bayern is no longer what it used to be - suddenly darker, quieter, poorer.”
Without Beckenbauer, Bayern added, the 33-time German champions “would never have become the club we are today”.
Video - Brazil says final farewell to Seleçao great Zagallo:
