German World Cup-winning captain and coach Beckenbauer dies at 78

Franz Beckenbauer, one of German soccer’s greatest players, who captained the team to World Cup victory in 1974 then won the tournament again as manager in 1990, has died at the age of 78, German news agency DPA reported on Monday.

Beckenbauer was a classy, dominant presence on the pitch for West Germany and Bayern Munich, with whom he won three successive European Cups, and had the nickname Der Kaiser, or “The Emperor”.

Factfile on Franz Beckenbauer

Name: Franz Beckenbauer

Nickname: ‘The Kaiser’

Date of birth: September 11, 1945 (78 years old)

Place of birth: Munich

Nationality: West German/German

Height: 1m81 (5 foot 11 inches)

Sport/position: Football/Libero

Playing career 

Clubs: Bayern Munich (1964-1977), New York Cosmos (1977-1980), Hamburg (1980-1982), New York Cosmos (1982-1983)

Club honours

European Cup (3): 1974, 1975, 1976

Intercontinental Cup: 1976

European Cup Winners’ Cup: 1967

Bundesliga (5): 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1982

German Cup (4): 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971

North American Soccer League (3): 1977, 1978, 1980

Internationals: 103 caps for West Germany, with 50 as captain

International goals: 14

World Cup squads: 1966, 1970, 1974

Debut: Sweden 1 West Germany 2, World Cup qualifier, September 26, 1965

First goal: Netherlands 2 West Germany 4, friendly, March 23, 1966

Last cap: France 1 West Germany 0, friendly, February 2, 1977

International honours

World Cup winner: 1974

World Cup runner-up: 1966

European champion: 1972

Managerial career 

Clubs: Marseille (1990-1991), Bayern Munich (1993-1994, 1996)

Club honours

UEFA Cup: 1996

Bundesliga: 1994

National: 66 matches as coach of West Germany from 1984 to 1990

First match: West Germany 1 Argentina 3, friendly, September 12, 1984

Last match: West Germany 1 Argentina 0, World Cup final, July 8, 1990

International honours

World Cup winners: 1990

World Cup runners-up: 1986

Boardroom career 

Bayern Munich: vice-president, 1991-1994

Bayern Munich: president, 1994-2009

Bayern Munich: chairman of advisory board, 2002-2009

Bayern Munich: honourary president, 2009-20xx

FIFA: vice-president, 2007-2011

German Football Federation (DFB): vice-president 1998-2010

2006 World Cup: president of organising committee

Individual awards 

Ballon d’or (2): 1972, 1976

German Player of the Year (4): 1966, 1968, 1974, 1976

FIFA Order of Merit: 1984

Commanders’ Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany: 2006

Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award: 2007

FIFA Presidential Award: 2012