On Monday, people from all walks of life in Germany came together to honor the memory of Franz Beckenbauer, known as the “Kaiser.”
At the age of 78, Beckenbauer was a two-time World Cup champion for both his team and his coaching career. The news of his passing was not made public until Monday night.
Due to many health issues, Beckenbauer had mostly withdrew from public life in recent years.
The former midfield player passed away “peacefully” in Salzburg, Austria, according to his family.
In Germany after World War II, Beckenbauer was hailed as an icon of the game and went by the nickname “Der Kaiser,” which translates to “the Emperor.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday, “We’ll miss him.”
Franz Beckenbauer “inspired enthusiasm for German football for generations,” according to Scholz, who called the former midfielder “one of the greatest footballers in Germany.”
Midfielder Lothar Matthaeus, winner of the Ballon d’Or, told Bild that “we will miss him,” echoing the Chancellor.
“The shock is deep, even if I knew Franz wasn’t well.”
During the 1990 World Cup, under Beckenbauer’s coaching, Germany’s captain and talisman was Matthaeus.
“Football and all of Germany are mourning his passing. Both on and off the field, he was among the greatest ever as a coach and player.”
“Everyone who was acquainted with Franz was aware of his greatness and generosity. A dear buddy departed from us.”
In 1990, Rudi Voeller, the sports director of the German FA (DFB) and fellow World Cup winner, expressed his “immense sadness” and said that “he will forever remain a luminous figure.”
Voeller said, “German football loses a great personality”. “I lose a great friend.”
As a ‘libero’, or free center defense, Beckenbauer was hailed by current Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann for “changing the game”.
“He became a free man via his association with the ball.
“On the field, Franz Beckenbauer had a float-like quality. He was exceptional both as a football player and subsequently as a coach.
“Unforgettable”
Beckenbauer’s career is inextricably tied to Bayern Munich, where he began playing in 1958 as a young kid and remained until 1977.
Bayern stated on Monday that “Bayern’s world is no longer what it used to be”, adding that “it is suddenly darker, calmer and poorer”.
One of Bayern’s all-time greats, Beckenbauer had a lifelong bond with honorary president Uli Hoeness, with whom he competed in the 1974 German World Cup team.
Hoeness said on Monday that “Franz Beckenbauer is the greatest personality that Bayern ever had.”
“Incredible as a person, coach, player, and president.
“No one can ever perform at his level… He was a gift to all of us, a buddy, and a special companion.”
Before taking on the position of president from 2002 to 2009, Beckenbauer won championships with Bayern as both a player and a coach. This helped to establish the German behemoths as one of the dominant teams in European football.
The announcement “deeply shocked” longtime Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
“Franz Beckenbauer rewrote the history of German football and left a lasting impact on it.”
“He held individuals in the highest regard… Franz believed that everyone was created equal.
Rummenigge said that the loss was “more than painful” and that “German football is losing the greatest personality in its history.”
According to Jan-Christian Dreesen, the current CEO of Bayern, “the story of Bayern and German football cannot be told without Franz Beckenbauer.”
In 1982, Beckenbauer won the Bundesliga championship while playing for Hamburg, a German team.
According to the team, Beckenbauer “shaped German football and the sport itself for decades in a way that has rarely been seen before.”
Alongside Beckenbauer, Berti Vogts won the 1974 World Cup, and on Monday she told AFP affiliate SID, “it makes me sad we have to part ways so early.”
“We played together at the U18 level, the national team and were at the World Cup.”
Wolfgang Overath, a fellow World Cup champion from 1974, said to SID, “It’s unimaginable that he’s no longer there.”
“He was so large, yet so grounded, that he towered over everyone.” A gentlemanly one.”
“With all the vigor he still had, he phoned me on my birthday three months ago. It ended faster than I had anticipated.”