European Championship opening on 14 June: Special memory of Franz Beckenbauer

Franz Beckenbauer (1945-2024) will unfortunately no longer be able to experience the 2024 European Championship in Germany. But the football emperor, who died in January, will still play a special role in the opening ceremony in Munich on Friday (June 14). As planned, his widow Heidi Beckenbauer will carry the European Championship trophy into the arena before the German national team’s match against Scotland (9 p.m., ZDF). A video will also be shown to commemorate the exceptional German footballer.

But Heidi Beckenbauer doesn’t have to be alone at this moving moment. She will be accompanied by two famous footballers: Bernard Dietz (76), captain of the 1980 European champions’ team, and Jürgen Klinsmann (59), captain of the 1996 European Championship winning team.

The idea, which is likely to cause great emotions in the Munich Arena on Friday evening, was born in the EURO 2024 GmbH made up of the DFB and UEFA, as “Bild” further reported. Heidi Beckenbauer immediately agreed when she was asked for the special task.

The emperor was 78 years old

Franz Beckenbauer died on January 7th at the age of 78 in his adopted home of Salzburg. He had lived in the city of Mozart since 2005. Born in Munich, he was considered a “shining light” of German football. He celebrated his greatest sporting successes with the national team, of which he was captain from 1971. After winning the 1972 European Football Championship, he won the 1974 World Cup in Germany with the team. He was also successful as a coach and led the national team to the title at the 1990 World Cup in Italy.