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Just over a year after the passing of Brazilian icon Pelé, world football is mourning his former team-mate and fellow legend of the global game, German great Franz Beckenbauer.
Beckenbauer died on Sunday, aged 78.
The Bundesliga family is devastated to learn of the death of Franz Beckenbauer. A true icon, then, now, and always. RIP, Der Kaiser. ???? pic.twitter.com/zE2CcggVNd
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) January 8, 2024
Widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game, Beckenbauer, nicknamed Der Kaiser (the Emperor), had South African icon Jomo Sono as one of his team-mates at New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League in the 1997 squad.
Alongside Sono, who wore jersey number 22, and Pelé in squad number 10, Beckenbauer (jersey number 6), helped Cosmos to the league championship during the season they played together.
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Beckenbauer’s links with South African football did not end there.
During his time as an administrator, the former Bayern Munich FC president had his fair share of controversies.
In 2004, he was forced to issue a statement that reaffirmed his support for the South African bid to stage the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
This after media reports that Beckenbauer was not in favour of a World Cup hosted on African soil.
He was one of the officials investigated over suspected corruption linked to the awarding of the 2006 World Cup, which South Africa lost by just one vote.
Beckenbauer led the German committee that won his country the right to host the global spectacle. His trial ended in 2020, without a verdict.
Rich football legacy
But all these did not take away the rich legacy Beckenbauer left behind as a player, and later as a coach.
Among his biggest achievements, Beckenbauer won the World Cup as a player in 1974, and later as a coach in 1990 - a feat also only attained by Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and France’s Didier Deschamps.
Beckenbeur also attained this achievement as a player and coach with Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich.
He remains the only defender to win the Ballon d’Or twice, in 1972 and 1976.
In a statement paying tribute to their legend, Bayern Munich wrote on platform X (formerly Twitter):
Fifa president Gianni Infantino described Beckenbauer as “a legend of German and world football”.
Said Infantino:
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin also paid tribute: “His unparalleled versatility, graceful transitions between defence and midfield, impeccable ball control and visionary style reshaped the way football was played in his era.”
