German and world football legend Franz Beckenbauer has died at the age of 78, the German Football Federation announced. Beckenbauer is considered one of the greatest football players in history. He died on Sunday, reports AFP
He is one of three to win the world title as a player and coach. In recent years, Beckenbauer suffered from health problems. In the 1970s, the legendary centre-back captained Germany and led the team to triumph at the European Championship in Belgium in 1972 and the home World Cup two years later. At club level, he won the Bundesliga four times with Bayern Munich, as well as the European Champions Cup three times in a row with the Bavarians. As a coach, he led Germany to the world title in 1990, and also made Bayern the German champion in 1994, and in 1991 became the French champion with Olympique Marseille.
Beckenbauer also lost two World Cup finals - in 1966 as a player and in 1986 as a coach.
Franz Beckenbauer is a two-time Ballon d'Or winner - in 1972 and 1976. On two other occasions, he finished in second place in the prestigious ranking, and once again he was third. He is regarded as the creator of the modern centre-back, who must be able to handle the ball and build his team's attacks in addition to playing in defence.
The Kaiser, as Beckenbauer is nicknamed, is one of the biggest legends in Bayern Munich history. He played a total of 584 games for the club, scoring 75 goals. In the period 1994-2009 he was the president of the club, and in 1998 he became the vice-president of the German Football Federation. He led Germany's successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup. Years later, an investigation into whether Germany used bribes to secure votes for the bid was launched against Beckenbauer, which was dropped in 2021 by the statute of limitations. From 2007 to 2011, he was the vice-president of FIFA.
Beckenbauer has withdrawn from public life in recent years. In 2016 and 2017, he underwent two heart surgeries, and a year later he underwent hip replacement surgery. In recent years, he also suffered from other illnesses. /BGNES
