Germany’s late World Cup-winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer will be honoured by UEFA at the Euro 2024 opening ceremony in the Munich Football Arena on Friday, European soccer’s governing body said.
Beckenbauer, one of his country’s greatest players, captained West Germany to a European Championship triumph in 1972 and a World Cup success in 1974 before winning the World Cup again as manager in 1990. He died in January aged 78.
The opening ceremony will see Beckenbauer’s wife Heidi carry the Henri Delaunay Cup – the tournament’s championship trophy – along with Germany’s two Euro-winning captains Bernard Dietz and Juergen Klinsmann.
This will ensure “all three of Germany’s UEFA Euro triumphs are reflected,” UEFA said in a statement on Tuesday.
The venue of the ceremony is also home to Bayern Munich, the club where Beckenbauer played for over a decade, winning three successive European Cups from 1974 to 1976.
The opening ceremony will precede Germany’s opening match in the tournament against Scotland in Group A.
Two football greats that the world cannot forget so soon
As football greats, they both achieved a rare feat that underscored their greatness. Brazil’s Mario Zagallo, who died on January 5, aged 92, and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer, who died on January 7, aged 78, won the World Cup as players and as managers. Only one other person, France’s Didier Deschamps, has such a record.
Zagallo won the prestigious title as a player in 1958 and 1962, and as a manager in 1970. He also won the 1994 FIFA World Cup as assistant manager, making him the only one who had won the championship as a player and as a manager more than once.
He joined Brazilian side Flamengo as a teenager in 1950, joined Botafogo in 1958, and played for the club until his retirement in 1965. As a forward, he was skillful and adaptable.
He was a member of the Brazilian squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, and scored a goal in Brazil’s 5-2 win against the host country in the final. In 1962, he was in the Brazil team that successfully defended their World Cup title in Chile, beating Czechoslovakia 3-1 in the final. They became the second team to win the World Cup twice consecutively, after Italy in 1934 and 1938. No country has repeated the feat since Brazil did.
He started his managerial career at Botafogo in 1966, after he retired as a player. Shortly before the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, he was appointed as manager of the Brazil national team, which was a testimony to his managerial distinction. He proved to be the best man for the job, and led Brazil to their third title, becoming the first person to win the World Cup as a player and as a manager. He was 38 at the time, and also became the second youngest coach to win the World Cup.
Nicknamed ‘The Professor’ during his coaching career because of his expertise, he received the FIFA Order of Merit for his contributions to football, in 1992, the highest honour awarded by the international football governing body. He was named the 9th Greatest Manager of All Time by World Soccer Magazine in 2013.
Beckenbauer was nicknamed der Kaiser, “The Emperor.” He made his mark as a central defender, and was credited with the invention of the role of the modern sweeper, which requires versatility. He recreated the role, and became a model of the attacking sweeper.
He joined German club Bayern Munich in the mid-1960s. During his time there as a player, the club won the European Winners’ Cup in 1967, three league championships in a row, 1972 to 1974, and also the European Cup three times, 1974 to 1976. He was the first player to win three European Cups as captain of his club, and was twice named European Footballer of the Year. He later became manager, and then president of the club. He also played for US club New York Cosmos, and was inducted into the US National Soccer Hall of Fame.
He played for West Germany in three FIFA World Cups and two European Championships. After lifting the World Cup as captain in 1974, when host West Germany defeated the Netherlands 2-1, he won the trophy again as a manager in 1990, when his country beat Argentina 1-0 in Italy. He was the first man to win the title as team captain and as manager. He was also the first captain to win the European Championship at the international level, and the European Cup at the club level.
Named in the World Team of the 20th Century in 1988, the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002 and the Ballon d’Or Dream Team in 2020, Beckenbauer was listed in the FIFA 100 world’s greatest living players in 2004.
They will be remembered for their pure passion for football, exemplary professionalism and uncommon successes.
He won the World Cup as captain of West Germany in 1974 and lifted the trophy again as manager in 1990.
Beckenbauer, who was primarily a defender, played 582 times for Bayern Munich and won the German top flight as both as a player and a manager.
Nicknamed ‘Der Kaiser’, as a player he also won the European Championship in 1972, as well as the Ballon d’Or twice.
A statement from his family to German news agency DPA read: “It is with deep sadness that we announce that my husband and our father, Franz Beckenbauer, passed away peacefully in his sleep yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family. “We ask that you allow us to grieve in silence and refrain from asking any questions.”
Bayern, Germany’s most successful club, said: “The world of FC Bayern is no longer what it used to be – suddenly darker, quieter, poorer.”
They added that without Beckenbauer “Bayern would never have become the club it is today”.
Playing as a midfielder, Beckenbauer man-marked Sir Bobby Charlton in the 1966 World Cup final, which England won 4-2, before shifting to his iconic position as a defensive sweeper.
He also scored four goals at the 1966 World Cup, aged just 20, and won the award for the tournament’s best young player.
He went on to play 103 times for West Germany.
Beckenbauer is one of only three men to have lifted the World Cup as both a player and a manager, along with Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and France’s Didier Deschamps.
Zagallo died last week at the age of 92.
As a player at Bayern, Beckenbauer won four league titles and was captain for the German giants’ three European Cup wins in 1974, 1975 and 1976. He also won the Bundesliga with Hamburg in 1982.
Uli Hoeness, Bayern’s honorary president and a former team-mate, described Beckenbauer as the “greatest personality the club has ever had”.
“As a player, coach, president, person: unforgettable. Nobody will ever reach him,” Hoeness said. “People can say they saw football in Franz Beckenbauer’s time. He was a friend to me, a unique companion – and a gift to all of us.”
Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann said: “For me, Franz Beckenbauer was the best footballer in German history.
“His interpretation of the role of the libero [sweeper] changed the game. This role and his friendship with the ball made him a free man.
“Franz Beckenbauer was able to float on the lawn. As a footballer, and later also as a coach, he was sublime – he stood above things. When Franz Beckenbauer entered a room, the room lit up.”
After leaving Bayern, Beckenbauer played for the New York Cosmos, where he and Brazilian great Pele were the poster boys of the burgeoning North American Soccer League.
He retired in 1983 and less than a year later, with no managerial experience, was named West Germany manager.
Beckenbauer led his country to the 1986 World Cup final in Mexico before winning the trophy four years later, as his team beat England in the semi-final and gained revenge on holders Argentina in the final.
Former England striker Gary Lineker, who played in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, said: “Very sorry to hear that Franz Beckenbauer has died.
“One of the absolute greats of our game. Der Kaiser was the most beautiful of footballers who won it all with grace and charm. RIP.”
Bayern Munich and Germany forward Thomas Muller said: “One of the greatest footballers in the club’s history has unfortunately left us.
“Rest in peace, Emperor Franz. We will never forget what you have done for football in Germany.”
German legend Franz Beckenbauer, widely regarded as one of football’s greatest players, has died aged 78.
He won the World Cup as captain of West Germany in 1974 and lifted the trophy again as manager in 1990.
The former defender also played 582 times for Bayern Munich, again winning the German top flight as both as a player and a manager.
Nicknamed Der Kaiser, as a player he also won the European Championship in 1972, as well as the Ballon d’Or twice.
A statement from his family to German news agency DPA read: “It is with deep sadness that we announce that my husband and our father, Franz Beckenbauer, passed away peacefully in his sleep yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family.
“We ask that you allow us to grieve in silence and refrain from asking any questions.”
Playing as a midfielder, Beckenbauer man-marked Sir Bobby Charlton in the 1966 World Cup final, which England won 4-2, before shifting to his iconic position as a defensive sweeper.
He also scored four goals at the 1966 World Cup, aged just 20, and won the award for the tournament’s best young player.
He went on to play 103 times for West Germany.
As a player at Bayern, he won four league titles and was captain for the German giants’ three European Cup wins in 1974, 1975 and 1976. He also won the Bundesliga with Hamburg.
“The Bundesliga family is devastated to learn of the death of Franz Beckenbauer. A true icon, then, now, and always. RIP, Der Kaiser,” the league said.
