The German football legend Franz Beckenbauer is dead. He died on Sunday at the age of 78, as his family announced to the German Press Agency on Monday. Beckenbauer had been in poor health for a long time and had completely withdrawn from the public eye in recent years.
Beckenbauer won the World Cup with Germany as a player in 1974 and as a coach in 1990. He began his career as a professional footballer with FC Bayern Munich, with whom he won national and international titles. Beckenbauer later played in the USA for Cosmos New York and for the Hamburger Sport-Verein (HSV). In addition to the national team, Beckenbauer also worked as a coach at FC Bayern, where he later became president.
Beckenbauer was considered the shining light of German football and was nicknamed “Kaiser” during his career. The affection was explained by his unparalleled elegance as a footballer and later by the fact that he also seemed to succeed in everything playfully as a coach and official.
However, large shadows were cast on his reputation by the millions in payments that flowed around the awarding of the 2006 World Cup to Germany. Beckenbauer had brought the World Cup to Germany – the tournament, also known as a “summer fairy tale”, subsequently came under criticism because of the monetary payments.
Source: Stern
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