Germany is in mourning… and Munich bids farewell to “Kaiser” Beckenbauer.
All official and sports websites in Germany are mourning the death of “Kaiser” Franz Beckenbauer on Sunday evening at the age of 78, at which time many Munich residents gathered on the street “Sabiner Straße”. , where the headquarters of the Bayern club are located, despite the difficult climatic conditions and bitter cold, to be a football legend of the country and an inspiration for many generations.
At a time when German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier insisted that no one had succeeded in building German football like the legendary Beckenbauer, all the icons of the game in the country and the world mourned the great star immortalized by countless achievements. Bayern Munich's stars “The Czar kicks from the Allianz Arena.
Steinmeier Beckenbauer mourned: “We have lost the most popular and outstanding representative of German sports worldwide. We will never forget him.”
He added: “He made football history as a player and coach for the national team. He is an exceptional role model. Through his leadership style and playing philosophy, Ferns has made the national team an exceptional ambassador for our country around the world… We will always be grateful to him for that.” He concluded. : “In 2006 the fairy tale of our country cannot be imagined without him.”
Star Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Beckenbauer's former colleague and former CEO of Bayern Munich, said German football fans should fill the halls of the Allianz Arena to salute the Kaiser, who has died aged 78.
Beckenbauer was Germany's first truly international sports star, winning World Cup titles as a player and coach in 1974 and 1990 respectively, and became part of the country's social fabric during a highly successful career on the 50-over-50 field. years.
Considered one of the greatest players of all time, Beckenbauer made 103 international appearances and led West Germany to the World Cup in 1974, two years after winning the European title. He was also the chairman of the organizing committee for the 2006 World Cup held in Germany.
Rummenigge, who played alongside Beckenbauer at Bayern Munich in the 1970s, said: “The whole football world and beyond is sad for our friend Ferns.”
Rummenigge captained West Germany under coach Beckenbauer at the 1986 World Cup, where they lost to Argentina in the final. He said: “As a thank you and in memory of him, Bayern should organize a ceremony in his honor at the stadium that would not have been there without him.”
Beckenbauer was part of the great Bayern Munich team that won three consecutive European Cups from 1974 to 1976. He became the team's coach and club president after his playing career, turning the German champions into one of the most successful and prestigious brands in European football.
Under Beckenbauer, Bayern left the old Olympiastadion and moved to the Allianz Arena in 2006. The stadium ceremony was not the only suggestion to recall the nickname “Kaiser”, a nickname he earned due to his style of play and vision of matches.
His colleague, 1974 World Cup winner Berti Vogts, suggested naming the German Cup the Beckenbauer Cup. He explained: “Maybe the German Football Association should consider, for example, naming the German Cup after Beckenbauer… It's important that future generations don't forget it.” Football is his name.
The most prominent stars of Beckenbauer's next generation, such as 2014 World Cup winners Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger, also paid their respects to the German Kaiser. Social media site “X” (formerly Twitter): “He's the best personality in football.” “For all of German football, Beckenbauer was ahead of his time as a player.”
For his part, Schweinsteiger wrote: “Thank you for everything, Kaiser, I will never forget you!” “Calm down, Ferns.”
Lahm, director of the European Championship, Euro 2024, recalled Beckenbauer's memories and achievements when he was the head of the organizing committee for the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany: “The 2006 World Cup was a fairy tale. A self-critical nation taught itself to love itself again. Without it this great social success would not have been possible. Ferns and I are forever grateful to him for allowing me to be a part of it. Swiss Gianni Infantino, president of the International Football Federation (FIFA), paid tribute to Beckenbauer: “A legend of German and international football…Kaiser was a truly wonderful man, a friend of football, a true hero and legend. Dear Ferns, we will never forget you.
For his part, Slovenian Aleksandar Ceferin, president of the European Union (UEFA), said: “The football world mourns the loss of Czar. His versatile playing styles and mobile roles between midfield, ball control and brilliant vision. Football was reshaped in his era.
He added: “His leadership skills were strongly demonstrated by captaining the German national team and Bayern Munich during the most successful seasons and he continued his success in his coaching career. Beckenbauer's legacy as one of the greatest players in history. Football is undeniable. Farewell to a legend.”
On a popular level, low temperatures (minus 8 degrees) did not prevent Munich residents from placing flower bouquets at the Bavarian club headquarters, as Beckenbauer achieved his amazing achievements in the world of football by winning European champion clubs. Cup (now European Champions League) three years in a row (1974, 1975 and 1976). 45-year-old and Bayern fan Bogdan Bikoć recalled Beckenbauer's achievements in front of the Bavarian club's headquarters: “In 1990, when he became a world champion coach, takes advantage of you, these seconds, these minutes, are mine. Childhood memories with the legend. . “This is what I remember from my childhood.”
He continued: “Without him, Bayern wouldn't exist. It's hard to imagine Bayern without him. It's clear that Bayern will continue without Beckenbauer, but things will be a little different.”
A bouquet of flowers and a candle were placed at the entrance of the club where Beckenbauer rose to the ranks of the world's elite teams in the sixties and seventies with “Gunner” striker Gerd Müller and goalkeeper Sepp Meyer. An administrator with Uli Hoeneß and Rummenigge in the nineties and the first decade of the decade.
The “X” site (formerly Twitter) and the club's official website were shrouded in black to mourn the passing of “The Kaiser”, while, in an emotional moment, 75,000 spectators will say goodbye to the club icon when Bayern host their opponents, Hoffenheim, at its “Allianz Arena” on Friday evening. “On the field.
The date and place of Beckenbauer's funeral have not yet been determined, but he “rested in peace” surrounded by his family on Sunday evening in the Austrian city of Salzburg, where he had chosen to live near the Kitzbühel ski resort, home to a local golf course. .
Some consider the “Allianz Arena” a legacy of Beckenbauer, who was the club's president at the time and decided to build and own the Olympic Stadium (along with Munich 1860) instead of staying at it. 1972 Olympic Games.
Yesterday, German newspapers devoted their front pages to the death of “Kaiser”, and “Bild” published a group of photos summarizing his career: a photo of him lifting the World Cup in a West German jersey in 1974, on the lawn of the Olympic Stadium in Rome after being crowned the second world coach, the third He had a special poster. In the 2006 World Cup, Germany hosted thanks to his efforts.
For its part, the newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung” prefers to highlight Beckenbauer's lesser-known nickname, “Lecht Gestalt”, meaning “shining personality”, instead of “Kaiser”, as he was called during the 1969 German Cup final. Against Schalke, he gained international fame after a photograph he took in Vienna in 1971 next to a statue of Emperor François-Joseph I of Austria.
Behind this hard-to-translate word is the idea that the greatest German football player in history and even the best German sportsman drew attention wherever he was and inspired everyone, especially German football.
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