By Oliver Trust
BERLIN: Even for Franz Beckenbauer, it remained a secret what he thought when walking alone over the pitch of the Rome Olympic Stadium on July 7, 1990, with the winner’s medal for the Fifa World Cup dangling around his neck, reported Xinhua.
The German football icon had just become the third in football history to win the World Cup as a player (1974) and coach 16 years later, like Brazilian legend Mario Zagallo, and the current French coach Didier Deschamps.
“Honestly, I don’t know. Sadly enough, I can’t remember, no matter how hard I try,” the three-time Champions League winner, six-time German champion, and three-time German Cup winner said.
Now, one of football’s first superstars, better known as “The Kaiser” (The Emperor), has died in his home at Kitzbuhel, Austria, at the age of 78.
Brazilian legend Pele, who died in 2022, once called Beckenbauer a close friend and stated: “Beckenbauer was one of the best I ever saw play.”
The German called the Brazilian genius “the most wonderful player and human I met”. Both played for one season together for Cosmos New York in 1977 after Beckenbauer had spent one year in Hamburg.
From the early years of his career in Bayern’s shirt (582 games), the former German international turned into a stylish team captain, inspirational manager, and statesman-like administrator.
As a last favour for German football, he toured the globe for several months to secure the 2006 Fifa World Cup for his home country as Germany’s influential ambassador.
The 1972 European Champion twice won the Ballon d’Or and Germany’s top flight as a player and coach.
