The world of football will be mourning the loss of one of its greatest-ever icons, Der Kaiser who was popularly known as the stalwart of German football, Franz Beckenbauer. The man who not only reshaped the contours of the sport at Bayern but went on to grab the world of football by the scruff of its neck and made it into his wheelhouse was respected throughout the globe.
Amongst the overwhelming laurels of Beckenbauer lie the iconic hattrick of European Cups with Bayern Munich in the 1970s and the captaincy of West Germany for the year 1974, the team that went on to grab the ultimate prize. Not only did he win the tournament as the captain of the side but he also bagged the World Cup as a manager 16 years later. Well, after all Der Kaiser certainly lived a legacy of legends.
In a nod to his greatness, we tried to knit a few things that would probably tell you why the King of defenders was always hailed as one of the finest on the field, not only as a footballer but a leader who was respected, adulated and most importantly feared.
It was in May 1964, Beckenbauer was promoted to FC Bayern’s first team. But that certainly wasn’t the start of the folklore called Beckenbauer. He decided to join Bayern because he was disrespected by his opposition, a club that certainly knew that they were going to land him in the following season.
At the age of 12, when he was playing for SC 1906 against TSV Munich, the latter still being the top football club in the city. With the kind of flair that Beckenbauer possessed, it was almost a certainty that Munich would land him. With that being said, a boy from TSV slapped Franz with the referee not seeing that and at that very moment, Franz knew, where he was heading to.
We all call him Der Kaiser but what attributed to him being the one? Though there is no concrete evidence of this, all of it transpired when he went up against King Libuda. Schalke’s Reinhard Stan Libuda was running riots against oppositions at Walstadion. But then arrived Beckenbauer and all they knew was that the King was engulfed in flames.
These are just glimpses of what he was capable of and why he was respected by the world so much. May the King’s soul rest in peace. We at Sportsamaze mourn the loss of an icon. The footballing world bows down to you, Der Kaiser.
