MADRID, 8 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The German soccer icon Franz Beckenbauer, world champion as a player in 1974 and as a coach in 1990, died this Sunday at the age of 78, according to his family.
Known as the 'Kaiser', Beckenbauer is considered one of the world's football legends, for his successes with Germany – a European Championship in 1972 and a World Cup in 1974, and a World Cup as a coach in 1990 – and for his trophies at international level. clubs, mainly with Bayern Munich, an entity with which he won four Bundesliga titles, four German Cups, three European Cups, one Intercontinental Cup and one Cup Winners' Cup.
“It is with deep sadness that we inform you that my husband and our father Franz Beckenbauer passed away peacefully yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family. We ask that you mourn in silence and refrain from asking questions,” the family of the German icon said.
The defender redefined the libero position in the 1960s and 1970s with his characteristic style and leadership, instrumental in Germany's successes during his career. Beckenbauer was capped 103 times, scoring 14 goals, between 1965 and 1977, and in the Bundesliga he played 424 games, scoring 44 goals.
In addition, he was part of Bayern's first golden generation with forward Gerd Müller, winger Uli Hoeness, defender Paul Breitner and goalkeeper Sepp Maier, with whom he reigned in Europe. And he has two Ballon d'Ors (1972 and 1976).
In the final stretch of his career, Beckenbauer played alongside Brazilian legend Pelé at the New York Cosmos, where in 1983 he put an end to his path in football, after a brief spell at SV Hamburg.
A year later he became national coach and, after losing the 1986 World Cup final against Diego Armando Maradona's Argentina, he lifted the World Cup four years later, defeating the 'Albiceleste'.
Beckenbauer was briefly Bayern's coach in the 1990s, president of the club between 1994 and 2009, and main organizer of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He gradually disappeared from the public scene due to his weak state of health.