German football legend "Kaiser" Franz Beckenbauer, world champion as a player in 1974 and as a coach in 1990, died on Sunday at the age of 78, according to what the German Football Association announced on Monday to Seed Agency, one of the branches of Agence France-Presse.
Beckenbauer, captain of the West German national team in the 1970s, coach of Die Mannschaft between 1984 and 1990, and a former Bayern Munich manager from the 1990s withdrew from the public eye in the wake of health issues.
Beckenbauer had a strong presence on the field with the West German national team and Bayern Munich, with whom he won the European Cup three times in a row, and he held the title of Kaiser.
Franz Beckenbauer in brief
Below is an overview of the German football legend:
- He was born on September 11, 1945 in Munich (Germany).
- He died on January 7, 2024, at the age of 78
- Length: 1.81 m
- When he was a player, he was a libero.
- He defended the colors of Bayern Munich (1964-1977), New York Cosmos (1977-1980 and 1983), Hamburg (1980-1982).
- After finishing runner-up in 1966, he played a part in West Germany's victory in the 1974 World Cup.
- As a participant, he helped his nation win the 1972 European Nations Cup.
- He led his team, Bayern Munich, to win the European Club Cup in 1974, 1975 and 1976.
- He led his team, Bayern Munich, to win the Intercontinental Cup in 1976.
- He won the West German Championship with Bayern Munich in 1969, 1972, and 1973-1974, then with Hamburg in 1982.
- He won the West German Cup four times with Bayern Munich in 1966, 1967, 1969 and 1971.
- He led his American team, the New York Cosmos, to win the US Championship three times in 1977, 1978, and 1980.
- In 1972 and 1976, he took home the European Ballon d'Or twice.
- German Player of the Year was given to him in 1966, 1968, 1974, and 1976.
- Between 1965 and 1977, he participated in 103 international games, captaining 50 of them, and scored 14 goals in that time.
- From September 1984 to July 1990, he served as the West German national team's coach. During that time, he guided them to the World Cup final match in 1986 and the World Cup victory in Italy in 1990. Then he moved on to coach Marseille in France and Bayern Munich, where he later became its president.