Franz Beckenbauer: Germany's World Cup-winning player, coach

Franz Anton Beckenbauer believed in reincarnation. "Maybe I've been here once before, as a plant or something," he told a Berlin newspaper in 1994. "I've not been able to transport myself back yet but it's something I'd like to do."

Who knows how many lives Beckenbauer had already lived, or as what, before the one which ended on January 7, 2024, after his family informed the German press agency dpa he passed away peacefully on Sunday surrounded by his family. He was 78.

Whatever he had been in a previous life, whatever he had done, it certainly didn't have the impact that Franz Beckenbauer, the German footballing legend (11.09.45 – 08.01.24), had on the world.

"He was a great player, positive, fast and always dangerous. He was the most dangerous player they had. He could do extraordinary things with his pace, control and ability." Those were the words with which the England and Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton described Franz Beckenbauer, his great rival turned great friend.

Indeed, Beckenbauer's skill as a central midfielder turned sweeper, the "Libero" role he is often credited with inventing, is unsurpassed, and he scaled heights that few others in the history of the game can or will ever match:

Five Bundesliga titles, four German Cups, three European Cups, one Cup Winners' Cup, three NASL titles, one European Championship and one World Cup as a player were followed by additional Bundesliga, Ligue 1, UEFA Cup and World Cup triumphs as a coach.

There were individual honors, too: four times Beckenbauer was voted Germany's footballer of the year, twice he won FIFA's Ballon d'Or. No wonder Charlton, England's best player, was ordered to man-mark the man they nicknamed "Der Kaiser" – the Emperor – in the 1966 World Cup final.

But Beckenbauer's seemingly untouchable legacy was indeed tarnished in his later years as his role in the awarding of the 2006 World Cup to Germany came under scrutiny. In 2016, FIFA's Ethics Committee opened an investigation into a dubious payment of €6.7 million ($7.45m), allegedly authorized with Beckenbauer's knowledge, to influence votes on FIFA's Executive Committee.

Suddenly, Germany's "Sommermärchen" – the "summer fairy tale," as the historic World Cup summer became known – took on a darker hue, and Beckenbauer was one of the chief villains.

Nevertheless, despite the allegations, Beckenbauer will be accorded a place in the pantheon of football's greats alongside Johann Cruyff, Afredo di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, George Best, Eusébio, Pele and Diego Maradona.

There is no higher echelon, there can be no greater company.

The boy from Bavaria

Beckenbauer was born on September 11, 1945, in the ruins of post-war Munich and began his career at local side SC 1906 Munich, before moving to Bayern Munich aged 13. Just five years later on June 6, 1964, the 18-year-old Beckenbauer made his debut for Bayern's first team against Stuttgarter Kickers, a game in which he also scored his first goal for the club as Bayern went on to win promotion to the Bundesliga. German and European Cup Winners' Cup successes followed before Beckenbauer, now captain, led Bayern to their first Bundesliga title – and only their second ever German championship – in 1969.

The 1970s would be Beckenbauer's most successful decade as he led Bayern to three consecutive Bundesliga titles in 1972, 1973 and 1974. The third was accompanied by the first of three consecutive European Cup wins – and a World Cup triumph on home turf as Beckenbauer captained West Germany to victory over the Netherlands.

German captain

Beckenbauer's international career had begun nine years earlier in a World Cup qualifier against Sweden in Stockholm on September 26, 1965, a 2-1 win seeing Germany qualify for the 1966 finals in England, where Germany lost in the final to the hosts. It was in that final that Beckenbauer and Charlton famously marked each other out of the game, such was the threat both posed, but Beckenbauer had still enjoyed a good tournament from an individual point of view, finishing third on the top-scorers list from a non-attacking position.

Four years later in Mexico, Germany took revenge on England as a stunning Beckenbauer goal inspired a comeback from 2-0 down to knock out the reigning champions in the quarterfinal. Beckenbauer dislocated his shoulder in the semifinal defeat to Italy but continued to play on with his arm in a sling.

After becoming captain of the national side in 1971, Beckenbauer led West Germany to victory in the European Championships in 1972, an achievement which saw him crowned European Footballer of the Year – only the second German to win the award after Gerd Müller. When West Germany again reached the final four years later, this time losing on penalties to Czechoslovakia, Beckenbauer was named European Footballer of the Year for a second time.

After finally lifting the World Cup in 1974, plus two more European Cups with Bayern in 1975 and 1976, Beckenbauer became the first German player to move to the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1977 – although, with the German tax authorities on his case, the move also had private financial motives. Playing along Brazilian legend Pele, Beckenbauer won three NASL titles with the New York Cosmos and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Beckenbauer moved back to Germany in May 1980, joining Hamburg, with whom he won a fifth Bundesliga title in 1982. Over the course of his career, Beckenbauer played 424 Bundesliga games, 396 for Bayern and 28 for HSV. He finally hung up his boots in 1983 after one final season in New York, before embarking on a career in management when he took over the German national team following a group-stage exit at the 1984 European Championships in France.

Beckenbauer the coach

After leading Germany to the 1986 World Cup final against all expectations, Beckenbauer became only the second man to win the World Cup both as a player and a coach when Germany lifted the trophy at Italia '90. In 2018, Didier Deschamps also achieved the feat when he led France to victory in Russia. In club management, Beckenbauer won a French Ligue 1 title with Olympique Marseille in 1991 and the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 1994, before becoming club president from 1994-2009.

In addition to his role at Bayern, Beckenbauer was also vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB) from 1998 to 2010. It was in this capacity that he led the successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup, a process which has since seen Beckenbauer embroiled in the corruption allegations that threaten to tarnish his legacy in the game.

Enquiries, investigations, accusations - those discussions will rumble on. Today, memories are what matter; memories of a legendary figure, an iconic genius, a true giant of the game, the like of which we are unlikely to witness again.

But who knows? Perhaps we will encounter Franz Anton Beckenbauer again, in some shape or form. He would like to think so, anyway.