FRANZ Beckenbauer, who left a unique imprint on German football as player, captain and coach, has died aged 78, the German football association (DFB) said yesterday.

“Franz Beckenbauer was definitely the biggest German footballer of all time, and above all one of the greatest men who I have known,” DFB vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke said.

Beckenbauer, one of only three men to win the World Cup as a player and as a coach, died on Sunday, the DFB said.

Former captain of the German team in the 1970s, Beckenbauer had in the last years been suffering from health problems and lived mostly withdrawn from the public eye in Salzburg, just across the German border.

Known in football-obsessed Germany as “the Kaiser”, meaning “the Emperor”, Beckenbauer played a central role in some of the country’s greatest sporting achievements, but his legacy was tarnished for his involvement in scandals surrounding Germany’s successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup. – AFP, January 9, 2024.