Franz Anton Beckenbauer, known in the world of football as “Der Kaiser”, is a legendary figure in the history of the sport. Beckenbauer’s journey from his beginnings at Munich’06 to becoming a global football icon is quite simply extraordinary. He started out as a striker and developed into a central defensive midfielder. Beckenbauer’s remarkable career includes a golden era with FC Bayern, triumphs at the German and European Championships, and the unique distinction of being the only person to have won a FIFA World Cup as both a player and a coach.
Childhood and youth
Content Summery
Franz Beckenbauer was born in Munich on September 11, 1945.
He began his football career in the children’s team Munich’06 at the age of 8. He initially played in the center forward position, but as he grew older, he was retrained as a central defensive midfielder.
When Franz was 14 years old, Munich’06 was on the verge of bankruptcy and the young player had to look for a new club.
Together with some of his teammates, Franz decided to move to the city’s leading club, 1860 Munich. But the case intervened: Shortly before the planned transfer, there was a match between Munich’06 and 1860 Munich that ended in a banal brawl.
Beckenbauer did not share something with his teammate and was punched in the face. After this incident, Franz decided to turn down a move to 1860 Munich and became a player of yet not-shining Bayern.
Debut in profi football
On September 2, 1964, Beckenbauer played his first game for Bayern Munich’s team in the Regionalliga Sued against Stuttgarter Kickeri in the position of left midfielder. That season, FC Bayern easily finished first and raised up the Bundesliga. Beckenbauer played 31 games that season and scored 16 goals (5 – penalties)
In 1965, the 20-year-old was called up to the German national team for the first time.
The golden era of Bayern and World Cups
Franz spent most of his remarkable career as a central defender, also known as a libero. In the late 1960s, Franz won several titles with FC Bayern.
- German champion (1968/69)
- German Cup Winner (1966, 1967, 1969)
- Winner of the 1966/67 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (they defeated Scottish Rangers 1-0 in the final)
Franz also played for the German national team at the 1966 World Cup in England. Beckenbauer showed his goal-scoring qualities: he scored two goals in the opening game against Switzerland (5:0), one in the quarter-final against Uruguay (2:0), and one in the semi-final against the USSR (2:1). The Germans lost the final of this Mundial in a memorable match against England (4:2 in extra time)
The early 1970s were very successful for Franz Beckenbauer and Bayern overall, with Beckenbauer winning 10 trophies (for the club and the national team) between 1970 and 1977
- German champion (3 times)
- German Cup (1 time)
- European Champions Cup (3 times)
- Intercontinental Cup (1 time)
- European Champion (1972)
- World Champion (1974)
Beckenbauer played 440 Bundesliga games and was known as a master of combination football. He was often involved in the attacking play. Franz gave himself completely to the game and did not tolerate simulations. Paul Breitner said in an interview with Bild newspaper that Franz often raised his voice after the game against some players who, in his opinion, “was doing his time on the pitch, rather than play football”.
New York Cosmos
in 1977, the 32-year-old defender moved to the United States to join the New York Cosmos. Everyone knows that football was becoming popular in the United States at the time, partly due to the invitation of outstanding players, and Pelé himself played for the “Cosmos” alongside Beckenbauer.
But few people know that these two great footballers only played together for the club for one season, after which Pelé left the team. That season, the Cosmos became champions for the first time, something that was not possible before Beckenbauer’s arrival, and after the Brazilians’ departure, Cosmos became US champions two more times in three seasons. You can try to become successful like Cosmos by playing Deutsche online casinos. Here is the list of places on this website. In 1983, Beckenbauer returned to New York for one more season, where he would finish his professional career. Beckenbauer played a total of 132 games for the North American club, scoring 23 goals.
1980-1982 Hamburg
At the end of his career, Beckenbauer returned to Germany for two seasons. In his second season, “Kaiser Franz” helped Hamburg, which was experiencing its “golden” period, to win the championship title it had just lost.
Beckenbauer was already 37 years old, he was no longer as fast, but his clever play never waned, and the knowledge that the Kaiser himself was on the pitch gave his teammates confidence and demoralized his opponents.
End of the career
in 1983, Beckenbauer returned to New York for one more season, where he ended his professional career. Beckenbauer played a total of 132 games for the North American club and scored 23 goals. In total, Beckenbauer played 754 games in his career and scored 98 goals.
After finishing his career, Franz Beckenbauer tried his hand at coaching and was once again successful. As a coach, Franz won the following titles
Olympique Marseille
- French champion 1991/92
Bayern Munich
- German Champion 1993/94
- UEFA Cup 1995/96
German national team
- World Champion 1990
Franz Beckenbauer Net Worth
According to sources, the legend of German football is worth $10 million. However, although he has held a distinguished career for decades, he has been linked to fraudulent dealings and money laundering.
Franz Beckenbauer’s illustrious football career, spanning 1964 to 1983, transitioned seamlessly into coaching and administrative roles, including stints with Bayern Munich, Olympique Marseille, and the German national team. The New York Times reported his substantial earnings in the ’70s, reaching $2.8 million with the Cosmos. In 2016, controversy arose over $6 million payments from Oddset and the German Football Association, leading to fraud charges and scrutiny of a $250,000 benefit to the Maltese Football Association for World Cup hosting support. Despite denial and subsequent clearance by the German Football Association in 2015, Beckenbauer’s legacy has weathered allegations of impropriety.