Football fans all over the world know Franz Beckenbauer as “Emperor”. The nickname has been around since 1969 – but it probably only became popular two years later.
It is clear among football fans: “Kaiser” can only mean Franz Beckenbauer. There are different stories about how he got his nickname. However, they don’t necessarily contradict each other.
On June 14, 1969, FC Bayern Munich played in the DFB Cup against Schalke 04. The team from Gelsenkirchen included Reinhard “Stan” Libuda, also known as the “King of Westphalia”. In this game, the Schalke dribbler found his master in Bayern libero Franz Beckenbauer. “If there is a monarchy, then the king of Schalke is the Libuda and then in Bavaria the Beckenbauer is the emperor,” said the then “Bild” reporter Herbert Jung later. The match report about Bayern’s 2-1 win actually had the headline: “Kaiser Franz was angry: I was a gentleman.” The first words of the article were: “Schalke tried to revolt against the Bavarian monarchy. Unsuccessful.”
Franz Beckenbauer and the nickname “Kaiser”
From 1969 onwards the nickname “Kaiser” was in the world. Beckenbauer himself explained it with another anecdote: “We had a friendly game in Vienna, the sponsor was an insurance company. Before the game there was a reception, in the middle there was a bust of Emperor Franz Joseph. Because it wasn’t usual back then, the team There was only one journalist accompanying me, who was also a photographer. And because he was apparently bored, he asked me to stand next to the bust. Then he pressed it, and from that moment on I was Emperor Franz . That’s how easy it is.” The game in question for Austria Wien’s 60th club anniversary took place in August 1971 – more than two years after the meeting between “King” Libuda and “Kaiser” Franz.
The unique career of the “Emperor” in pictures
Beckenbauer biographer Torsten Körner drew the conclusion: Franz Beckenbauer had been nicknamed “Kaiser” since 1969, but it was only the photo with the bust that made him widely known. In Austria, according to the news agency “SID”, there can be confusion when people talk about “Kaiser Franz”: that’s what our southern neighbors also call their ski legend Franz Bracket, 70. He became the Olympic downhill champion in Innsbruck in 1976. But in the rest of the world there is only one “emperor”: Franz Beckenbauer.
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Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
