MADRID, 14 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The former German footballer and coach Franz Beckenbauer, who died on January 8 at the age of 78, was honored this Friday at the Allianz Arena in Munich during the opening ceremony of the men’s Euro Cup, just before the match began between the teams from Germany and Scotland within Group A.
Bernard Dietz and Jürgen Klinsmann, respective captains during Germany’s conquests in the 1980 and 1996 Euro Cups, accompanied Franz Beckenbauer’s wife, Heidi, on the pitch of the Munich stadium.
The three carried the Henri Delaunay Cup, a trophy that will be awarded to the winners in Berlin on July 14 after the final of this EURO. Thus, the Allianz Arena ensured that Germany’s three successes in the history of this continental tournament were represented.
Beckenbauer, an international football legend and key figure in the conquests of ‘Die Mannschaft’, captained the Federal Republic of Germany to glory at the 1972 EURO and also the 1974 World Cup as a player; He also led them to achieve their third World Cup title, in 1990, as a coach.