About the death of football emperor Franz Beckenbauer: a Munich resident in heaven

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Once upon a time there was a libero in football. The free man behind the defense. He was a cleaning lady. But also the first strategist. A man with defensive qualities and at the same time an eye for building up the game.

There is actually only one libero in football. THE libero. And his name is Franz Beckenbauer. When he stroked the ball forward from defense in his shorts, it was done with an elegance never seen before or since by a defender in football. It’s as if God invented this position for Franz.

Now this free spirit from the Free State of Bavaria has died. Beckenbauer died in his second home, Tyrol, after a long, serious illness at the age of 78. After Pelé (the king) and Diego Armando Maradona comes Emperor Franz the Third, who has shaped football over the past century. Together with the Brazilian Mario Zagallo, who died a few days ago, and the Frenchman Didier Deschamps, Beckenbauer is the only one who has become world champion as a player and as a coach.

The boy from the working-class district of Munich

Franz Beckenbauer was born nine days after the end of the Second World War in the working-class Giesing district of Munich, the second son of postal secretary Franz and his wife Antonie. The magazine “Spiegel” once summarized Beckenbauer’s dishwashing career as follows: “An instinct, a talent for certain movement sequences that is difficult to define, brought him to the ball at an early stage, kept him there and thus kept him away from middle and higher school or vocational training turned him into an artist as a minor and catapulted him into the circus dome of professional football, which was covered in money and glamour.

Franz grew up in Giesing with his older brother Walter. He doesn’t have the glamor of Günter Netzer. He, the down-to-earth man, comes across as somewhat sedate and civil servant-like. Somehow he remains a naive big child all his life, for whom happiness seems to just fall into his lap. But it is also part of his life that he has flawlessly stepped into every misstep. When criticism arose about the World Cup in Qatar a few years ago, Beckenbauer said: “I have not seen a single slave in Qatar. They are all walking around freely, not chained or tied up.”

That’s how he was, Franz.

Beckenbauer started playing football for SC Munich in 1906. In 1958 he wanted to move to the great Munich of 1860. Due to a dispute with a player, he made a different decision at short notice: he moved to Bayern. It was more of a relegation at that time, as Bayern was still in the shadow of the Munich Lions in those years. But not least thanks to Beckenbauer, the hierarchy in Munich football is changing and Bayern is experiencing its great revival. They become the leading and defining force in German football. For Beckenbauer, 1974 was the most successful year of his career. He becomes champion with Bayern, wins the European Cup and becomes world champion in his own country with Germany. More is not possible.

Social progress and luxurious life

And he climbs the social ladder parallel to his dream career. Not least thanks to his manager Robert Schwan, the cash register is ringing. The commercialization of football is really fueled by the Beckenbauer/Schwan duo. Beckenbauer lives in a ten-room villa in Grünwald. His teammate Gerd Müller, who lives in a fairly modest house, just shakes his head about it. «Why do I need ten rooms. “I can only be in one room at a time,” he says.

But these were also the years when Beckenbauer made a fool of himself with some of his performances. In 1973 the movie “Libero” was released. A flop like no other. His first album a few years earlier was more successful. ‘No one can separate good friends’ enters the charts at number 31. His first commercial for a soup manufacturer is also legendary. “Power on the plate – Knorr on the table”. Beckenbauer receives approximately 10,000 francs for this. It is also compensation for the fact that he has to be called a soup nut here and there.

In 1977, Franz Beckenbauer ‘escaped’ to New York Cosmos in the US. His marital crisis was an ongoing topic in Germany; a divorced captain of the national team was a social problem at the time. His move from Munich’s Olympic Stadium to the American football province is worrying for football Germany. But Beckenbauer became US champion alongside Pelé in 1977, 1978 and 1980 and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Overtures by star dancer Nureyev

And he is also part of the better society of New York. His neighbor is the dancer Rudolf Nureyev, the biggest star of classical ballet. One day this Beckenbauer invites you to a restaurant. Suddenly Franz feels Nureyev’s hand on his knee and realizes the intentions of the appointment. Beckenbauer clarifies the matter with the legendary sentence: “You, Rudolfo, let it go. I come from the other faculty.”

In the autumn of his career, Beckenbauer returned to the Bundesliga and played for HSV. Before returning to New York and ending his great career on September 12, 1983. A career that he continues seamlessly at an official level. As team boss, he led Germany to the title in Italy in 1990. And ultimately becomes a figure of light. Franz, the lucky one.

Happiness is fleeting. And continues to leave him. Beckenbauer was also the driving force behind the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The big World Cup had to be the crowning glory of his work. The fact that it is a purchased summer fairy tale casts a huge shadow over his work. It is the darkest chapter in his great history.

Son Stephan (†) once played for Grenchen

Beckenbauer was also very close to Switzerland. At a young age he moved his place of residence and his tax residence to Sarnen in the canton of Obwalden. His son Stephan Beckenbauer once played for FC Grenchen. He died at the age of 46 due to a brain tumor.

A brilliant career, three marriages, five children, plus headlines like no other. Franz Beckenbauer left a deep mark and will go down as one of the most influential figures in football history.

‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ is the name of a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It’s about gullibility and uncritical acceptance of so-called authorities. Perhaps this suits Franz Beckenbauer perfectly. Even an emperor goes without clothes.

In the popular satirical play “A Man from Munich in Heaven” the main character is Archangel Aloisius. Now Archangel Franz comes along. The light figure now shines in a different place.

Source : Blick