Franz Beckenbauer

Franz Beckenbauer

Beckenbauer with West Germany in 1975
Personal information
Full name	Franz Anton Beckenbauer
Date of birth	(1945-09-11)11 September 1945
Place of birth	Munich, Germany
Date of death	7 January 2024(2024-01-07) (aged 78)
Place of death	Salzburg, Austria
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1951–1959	SC 1906 München
1959–1964	Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1964–1977	Bayern Munich	427	(60)
1977–1980	New York Cosmos	80	(17)
1980–1982	Hamburger SV	28	(0)
1983	New York Cosmos	25	(2)
Total		560	(79)
International career
1964	West Germany Youth	3	(3)
1965	West Germany B	2	(0)
1965–1977	West Germany	103	(14)
Managerial career
1984–1990	West Germany
1990	Marseille
1993–1994	Bayern Munich
1996	Bayern Munich
Medal record Men's football Representing  West Germany (as player) FIFA World Cup Winner 1974 West Germany Runner-up 1966 England 1970 Mexico UEFA European Championship Winner 1972 Belgium Runner-up 1976 Yugoslavia Representing  West Germany (as manager) FIFA World Cup Winner 1990 Italy Runner-up 1986 Mexico UEFA European Championship 1988 West Germany
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Franz Anton Beckenbauer (German pronunciation: [fʁants ˈʔantoːn ˈbɛkn̩ˌbaʊɐ] ^ⓘ; 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024) was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed der Kaiser ("the Emperor"),^[1][2] he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the European Champions Cup, and the Ballon d'Or.^[3] Beckenbauer was a versatile player who started out as a midfielder, but made his name as a central defender. He is often credited as having invented the role of the modern sweeper (libero).^[4]

Twice named European Footballer of the Year, Beckenbauer appeared 103 times for West Germany, playing in three FIFA World Cups and two European Championships. He is one of three men, along with Brazil's Mário Zagallo and France's Didier Deschamps, to have won the World Cup as a player and as a manager; he lifted the World Cup trophy as captain in 1974, and repeated the feat as a manager in 1990.^[5] He was the first captain to lift the World Cup and European Championship at the international level and the European Cup at the club level. He was named in the World Team of the 20th Century in 1998, the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020, the IFFHS All-time Men's Dream Team in 2021, and in 2004, was listed in the FIFA 100 of the world's greatest living players.^[6][7]

At club level with Bayern Munich, Beckenbauer won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1967 and three consecutive European Cups from 1974 to 1976. The latter feat made him the first player to win three European Cups as captain of his club. He became team manager and later president of Bayern Munich. After two spells with the New York Cosmos he was inducted into the US National Soccer Hall of Fame.^[8]

Beckenbauer led Germany's successful bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup and chaired the organizing committee. He worked as a pundit for Sky Germany, and for 34 years as a columnist for the tabloid Bild, both until 2016.^[9] Beginning August 2016, he was investigated for fraud and money laundering in connection with the 2006 World Cup.^[10] The investigation was closed without a verdict in 2020 as the statute of limitations expired.^[11]