For Franz Beckenbauer’s 80th birthday: his legacy is still noticeable

No live switch to the villa in Salzburg, no mild smile under white hair, no “yes mei” or “Yes, good, uh …” in the microphone. Franz Beckenbauer would have celebrated his 80th birthday today. It is the first round anniversary that is celebrated without him – the “emperor” died on January 7 of last year. And yet: his present cannot be driven out. His inheritance is in the game, in the movement, in the rhythm of a sport that he shaped – just like German society. Beckenbauer was a figure, as it rarely found in post -war history: charming and light -footed, of natural authority, at the same time the child of the people and darling of the tabloid press. Franz Beckenbauer is not dead. He just is no longer there. And his legacy is still noticeable.

It was as if football suddenly started to think. Born in Munich in 1945, Beckenbauer grew up in post -war Germany – in Giesing, not exactly the most elegant district of Munich. When he first entered FC Bayern Munich training ground in 1959 as a youth player, everything changed. He treated the ball as if he were a teammate, not an object to be tamed. Beckenbauer played passports by outside and crossed the opposing rows as if it were walking over a freshly cooked parquet floor. The Libero – until then a interceptor in the background – became the first free thinker on the pitch. Not just a position, but an idea: that you can also lead out of the depth without roaring. That elegance is not the opposite of effectiveness, but its crowning glory. The result: Already in his first season as a professional, he and Gerd Müller (1945-2021) helped FC Bayern to promote the first Bundesliga and today’s status as a world brand.

Munich 1974. Rome 1990. Two data and two World Cup trophies with which the “Emperor” will remain close to the connection forever. The first time he dueled with his Dutch counterpart Johan Cruyff (1947-2016). In the World Cup final, he broke out in conjunction with his defense colleagues very unpretentiously against the angry oranje attacks. The second time after the end of the game, he freaked out despite a 1-0 win against the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals to stroll alone over the lawn of Rome after the final victory. So he showed his highly ambitious and thoughtful side. Internally, Beckenbauer was known as a meticulous worker – because of the fact that everything had fallen. Nevertheless, the intuitive capture of moods, tensions and talents was perhaps its greatest strength. What remains are legendary sayings such as “It goes out and plays football!”, With which Beckenbauer sets a counterpoint to today’s world analysis. Lightness and joy are always the top priority.

In the summer of 2006, Germany was on another planet – a friendly, open, high summer football resort and a real world host. And Beckenbauer was his face. He was not a functional, but the good spirit that floats from stadium to stadium with the helicopter to make sure of the joy and lightness of people. Beckenbauer was binding, charming and inviting. Without it, the World Cup would probably not have taken place in Germany. Or, if so, without this face that opened doors at the FIFA bosses, where others only wore files. The fact that doubts about the cleanliness of the application later became loud is part of the late narrative. But the picture remains: Beckenbauer in a custom suit, flanked by children’s swarms and officials, an emperor without a crown. And a country that saw himself again and dealt with its national colors and its identity as relaxed as before and after.

In recent years it has become quiet about him – not just for health reasons. The Causa World Cup 2006, the proximity to dubious figures in the FIFA cosmos, the questions that never followed clear answers – all of this did not destroy the myth, but damaged. At the latest since the first public allegations in October 2015, this “yes, but …” has been in the room when it comes to Beckenbauer. Beckenbauer stayed loyal here too: he did not answer with justifications or with a admission of guilt. His father’s heart was already heavily attacked: on July 31, 2015, his son Stephan died. The year 2015 turned the nation’s low -footed, light -footed Libero a withdrawn, sick man: heart surgery, six bypasses, eye infarction, Parkinson’s. Football fans, whom Beckenbauer had accompanied by the decades, broke the heart of their suffering heroes. On January 7, 2024, Beckenbauer’s lifestyle went out.

Review of Beckenbauer’s legacy preserves the mirror to the nation. How does Germany deal with its big heroes, for example with Boris Becker (57)? How much is it surprising that you too are “only” people? Franz Beckenbauer was called “Emperor” because he embodied something that was strange to the Germans for a long time: a form of sovereignty that did not seem strained. Beckenbauer was never a patriot in the classic sense – but a German character, as one sometimes wanted it: cosmopolitan, successful without losing grace. Much of him lives on in his children – a look at the (25) is enough. And he leaves the cornerstones of his life: joy, lightness and also a trace of nonchalance à la Monaco Franze. Beckenbauer’s ascent from Giesinger post -war child to the people’s hero is incomparable until today. And with 80 the century footballer and person might advise us: “Dare to go out more outside!” In order to relieve us of the new life: “Let’s get out and play football!”