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Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Franz Beckenbauer

One of the most formidable players in the history of soccer, Franz Beckenbauer is decidedly a living football legend.

During his playing career, he was nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the field and also as his first name “Franz” is reminiscent of the Austrian emperors.

Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German former professional footballer and football administrator. He helped Germany win almost every major international trophy throughout his glittering career as one of the world’s leading footballers.

Beckenbauer is a larger-than-life person with a sometimes abrasive personality, His success as a footballer, captain, and manager make him an iconic figure in Germany. He is never far from news headlines as he often stirs up strong emotions.

Beckenbauer has been at the centre of German football as a player, commentator, manager, and critic, since the 1960s. He scored four goals at the 1966 World Cup.

He was involved in Germany’s successful bid for the 2006 World Cup.  As chairman of the organizing committee, his success added to his reputation and the awe with which German football fans regard him. Learn the top 10 astonishing facts about Franz Beckenbauer.

 

 

1. Franz Beckenbauer won the World Cup as a Player and Manager

Beckenbauer is one of only two men to have won the World Cup as both a player and a manager (the other being Mario Zagallo) and he is the only one to have done so as both a team captain and a coach.

He was the captain of the West German team when they won the World Cup and the European Championship. He was also captain when his club Bayern Munich won three successive European Cups as well as the European Winners Cup.

In 1984, he was made the manager of West Germany and two years later he took the team to the final, only to lose narrowly to Argentina in Mexico. However, four years later, he managed the unified German side in the World Cup in Italy and beat Argentina 1-0 in the final.

He has the rare distinction of winning the World Cup for his country both as a player and manager. Following the World Cup win, Beckenbauer managed French club Olympique de Marseille for a few months.

2. His Father did not like his affinity for Football

He was born on 11 September 1945. World War II officially ended on the 2nd of September 1945. His parents were Franz and Antonie Beckenbauer. Franz Beckenbauer’s had two sons Franz and Walter. Franz Sr was a postal worker, and the family lived in Giesing, Munich.

At age nine, Franz Beckenbauer discovered football and his first-ever team was SC Munich in 1954. He later joined Bayern Munich in 1959.

Franz Beckenbauer Sr was disparaging about his son’s enthusiasm for football, but nothing deterred the youngster.

In 1963 Franz Beckenbauer was banned from the West German National Youth Team. Issues from his private life involving a pregnant girlfriend surfaced. Coach Dettmar Cramer sorted out the issue, and Beckenbauer was allowed back into the side.

3. Beckenbauer Football Legacy is Larger than Life

 

Oftentimes in sport, there will come along a player who shakes things up and brings about sweeping change to the way the game is played. Former Germany footballer Franz Beckenbauer was, in many ways, one such player.

Beckenbauer could play in central defence, defensive midfield or centre midfield, but he was most effective at playing the sweeper role, a position which he revolutionised.

He had a huge influence on the modern game. He is the acknowledged instigator of the modern-day sweeper, a defensive move in football.

A sweeper was a defender who was given license to break the line and defend higher up the field. Of course, this is easier than it sounds. Knowing when to step up and intercept play requires a degree of anticipation, intelligence and bravery all rolled into one.

4. Franz Beckenbauer was a Successful field Captain

He was the captain and inspiration when West Germany won the World Cup in front of their own fans in 1974 and 16 years later he was the manager when a unified Germany won the World Cup in Italy after edging out the Diego Maradona-led Argentina. 

His tenure as captain of Bayern Munich brought unprecedented success for the club. The club won three straight league titles from 1972 onwards and it was during the same period that he led them to three straight European Cup victories.

Beckenbauer scored 64 goals in total in 439 appearances for Bayern Munich and became known as ‘Der Kaiser’ or ‘the emperor’.

5. Beckenbauer Played in the United States Soccer League with Pele

He left Bayern Munich for the New York Cosmos in the year 1977 and after representing them for four seasons he moved back to Germany with Hamburger SV. Beckenbauer played for two seasons at Hamburger SV and retired after winning the league in his last season.

He was inducted into the US National Soccer Hall of Fame after two stints with the New York Cosmos. Beckenbauer is still a powerful figure in German and international modern football.

In 1977, Beckenbauer nicknamed “the white Pele” by German sports publication Kicker joined the New York Cosmos to play alongside the legendary Brazilian, who had been his hero since the 1958 World Cup. Both players had a successful period during which they lifted the North American Soccer League three times.

6. Beckenbauer Coached FC Bayern Munchen

Bayern Munich appointed him as an interim manager in 1993 and he steered them to a league title at the end of the season. Three years later, the club appointed him as a stop-gap option yet again and that time he guided them to the UEFA Cup.

Franz Beckenbauer was pretty successful as a manager, too. Of course, when you have the audacity to gain five Bundesliga titles, three European Cups, a World Cup, a European Championship and be named to the FIFA World Team of the Century while performing in a role you created, you are establishing an unimaginably high standard for everything you do in your off-field years.

However, Beckenbauer’s larger-than-life personality and stature as one of German football’s greatest leaders ensured that he would be given the opportunity to run his country and indeed the club where he was immortalized, at some stage.

7. Franz Beckenbauer was a High-level Football Administrator

He was President of Bayern for 15 years, Beckenbauer led Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid, then chaired the organising committee. “My role is to be here,” he said.

 With a sponsored helicopter at his disposal, Beckenbauer watched 46 of the 64 matches. The moment the camera found him in the crowd became as standard as the referee blowing his whistle for kick-off.

At Bayern Munich, he remained as the chairman of the advisory board till date after the club turned into a company. Four years late he became the vice president of the German Football Association and helped the country in its bid to host the World Cup.

8. Beckenbauer has had three Partners in his Life

 

Beckenbauer has had three major partners in his life. He wed Brigitte in 1966, and the couple had two daughters until getting divorced in 1990. In 1990, he married Sybille, and the couple separated in 2004. Heidi Burmester is his new partner.

Beckenbauer married Heidi in 2006, and the couple has two daughters (August, born in 2000, and Antonie, born in 2006). Beckenbauer is the father of five daughters. Thomas (1963), his firstborn child, is the result of his early relationship with Ingrid Grönke.

During his marriage to Brigitte, Michael (b.1966) and Stefan (b.1968-d.2015) were born. Stefan Beckenbauer died in 2015 from a brain tumour.

9.  Franz Beckenbauer is Der Kaiser

 

Fans and the media have referred to Beckenbauer as “Der Kaiser” since 1968. To illustrate the root, the following story is stated (even by Beckenbauer himself): Beckenbauer posed for a portrait next to a sculpture of former Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I during a friendly match.

He is also credited with inventing the modern sweeper or libero job. His creation of a modern approach to defending – the libero spot – remains one of his most lasting legacies to the game.

Others, such as Ivano Blason in Helenio Herrera’s famed catenaccio-inspired Inter Milan side of the 1960s, had been used in a free defensive position, but none were as elegant and imaginative as the man who contemptuously strode forward in control.

His title of Der Kaiser was perfectly appropriate for his appearance and style.

10.  Franz Beckenbauer stats

Beckenbauer had appeared in 584 matches for Bayern Munich by the time he retired in 1983. He netted 75 goals during this time frame, which spanned 1963 to 1977.

His decision to move across the Atlantic and join the American Cosmos team provided him with 105 appearances and 21 goals. When he rejoined this team after 3 years, he played in 27 games and netted 2 goals in one season.

An astonishing fact about Franz Beckenbauer’s stats is that during his time in Hamburger SV, he played 38 games in two seasons and didn’t score any goal for the team. Beckenbauer represented West Germany 103 times and netted 14 goals.

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Franz Beckenbauer is a frequent user of social media. On Instagram, he goes with the username “@franzbeckenbauer” with 17.7K followers, and on Twitter, his account name is “Franz Beckenbauer” with 1.1 million followers. His “Franz Beckenbauer” Facebook profile has 380K followers.