Franz Beckenbauer: World Cup-winning captain and manager dies, as football pays tribute

German and World Cup football legend Franz Beckenbauer – widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time – has died at the age of 78.

The sublimely talented defender won an array of trophies and honours across his glittering career, including a World Cup with West Germany as both a player and a manager, and two Ballon d’Or awards.

He was also famed for carving out his own role as a sweeper – sitting slightly behind his team’s defensive line and sweeping up any man or ball that broke through.

Former England striker Gary Lineker, paying tribute to Beckenbauer, described him as “one of the absolute greats of our game”.

“Very sorry to hear that Franz Beckenbauer has died. Der Kaiser was the most beautiful of footballers who won it all with grace and charm. RIP,” he wrote in a post on X.

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Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton also paid tribute, writing: “Very sad to hear that the great Beckenbauer has sadly passed away.

“He was a fantastic player reaching world-class status. RIP legend.”

Bayern Munich – Beckenbauer’s boyhood club where he spent much of his career both on and off the pitch – also paid tribute.

“The world of FC Bayern is no longer what it used to be – suddenly darker, quieter, poorer,” the club said in a post on X.

“The German record champions mourn Franz Beckenbauer, the unique Der Kaiser, without whom FC Bayern would never have become the club it is today.”

Clash of the Titans with Charlton

Across a nearly two-decade-long career on the pitch – much of it spent with Bayern – Beckenbauer won an array of trophies, including four Bundesliga titles and three European Cups.

But it was performances on the international stage that many football fans will remember, including lifting the European Championship in 1972 and the World Cup with West Germany in 1974.

He narrowly missed out on the Jules Rimet Cup eight years earlier at Wembley, with England clinching an extra-time victory in the 1966 World Cup final.

It was during that final that Beckenbauer, not yet at the peak of his powers, was told to man-mark England star Sir Bobby Charlton, pitting two of the world’s greatest footballers together.

In the end, such were both their talents, they cancelled each other out, and it was Geoff Hurst who starred, scoring a hat-trick to help England to a famous victory.

“The message he [Beckenbauer] sent out was: ‘Don’t even try it. Coming out to face me is a waste of your time,” Charlton later said of their match-up.

As well as trophies, Beckenbauer won an array of personal honours, including two European Footballer of the Year (now the Ballon d’Or) awards as a defender – a rarity at the time and still to this day.

He remains the only defender in history to win the award twice.

Beckenbauer also finished runner-up twice and placed third in 1966 – won that year by his World Cup final nemesis, Charlton.

From pitch to the boardroom

After hanging up his boots for the final time – following a short second stint in the US at the New York Cosmos – Beckenbauer turned to management, guiding West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup.

He was one of three men, along with Brazil’s Mario Zagallo, who passed away this month, and France’s Didier Deschamps, to have won the World Cup as both a player and as a manager.

He also had two stints as manager of Bayern, winning the Bundesliga title in his first and the UEFA Cup in his second.

After stepping back from the dugout, Beckenbauer entered into punditry, including for Sky Germany, as well as taking up executive roles at Bayern Munich and with the Germany Football Association.

It was during his spearheading of Germany’s successful 2006 World Cup bid that Beckenbauer became embroiled in controversy, with authorities launching an investigation into allegations of fraud and money laundering in connection with the bid.

He was accused by the Swiss Attorney General’s office of paying Qatari former FIFA executive Mohamed bin Hammam £8.4m before the 2006 World Cup.

Beckenbauer and three other men accused in the investigation denied any wrongdoing, and it was later closed without a verdict in 2020 as the statute of limitations expired.

Beckenbauer was later immortalised in a film – titled Der Kaiser – made about his life in 2022.

Tributes paid to football legend

In a statement announcing his death, his family said: “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,” the family said.

“We ask that you be able to grieve in silence and refrain from asking any questions.”

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Scotland and Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish paid tribute on Monday night, writing in a post on X: “It fills me with deep sadness to hear about the passing of Franz Beckenbauer, a true icon of the game.

“It was a privilege to share one of my proudest moments with him when he presented my 100th cap for Scotland. My thoughts are with him and his family at this time. RIP Der Kaiser.”

Tributes also flooded in from outside the footballing world, including from Adidas, the German athletics brand which made the iconic kits of the German national team throughout Beckenbauer’s time as a player and manager, wrote: “Franz Beckenbauer: a football poet, gracefully weaving his artistry into the romantic fabric of the beautiful game.”

Germany’s ambassador to the UK, Miguel Berger, also wrote on X: “One of German football’s all-time greats, Franz Beckenbauer, has passed away.

“The legendary footballer, revered in Germany as “Der Kaiser”, won the World Cup as player in 1974 and again as manager in 1990. May he rest in peace.”