Facts about Franz Beckenbauer, the Emperor

The highly prominent figure in the exciting and difficult world of soccer was born on September 11th, 1945 in Munich, Germany. Hence,

Franz Beckenbauer’s age

is 75.

Franz Beckenbauer dominated German football in the 1960s and '70s and was arguably the country's greatest footballer. He invented the modern position of the attacking sweeper who initiates the offense from central defense with unique passes and long runs.

Beckenbauer is a two-time recipient of the coveted European Player of the Year (Ballon d'Or) title, in 1972 and 1976. The first interesting fact about Franz Beckenbauer is that he is the only individual in footballing history to have both captained and coached World Cup champion teams, in 1974 and 1990, respectively.

The only other player who was able to be World Cup champions as a player (not as captain, like Beckenbauer) and manager is Brazilian Mario Zagollo.

Because of his classy look, superiority, and stability on the pitch, and perhaps because his first name "Franz" is symbolic of Austrian emperors, he was called Der Kaiser ("The Emperor") soon in his playing days. He is commonly considered as one of the best performers in football history.

Facts about Franz Beckenbauer:

Beckenbauer's reputation throughout his prime years was such that he was cast as the only true player and a "surprise addition" to the German squad in Monty Python's sketch "The Philosophers' Football Match."

Instead of simply playing football during the game between prominent Greek and German philosophers, both of the "stars" walk in circles discussing philosophy, much to Beckenbauer's chagrin.

Franz Beckenbauer early life

The living football legend was born on September 11th, 1945 in Munich, Germany. At age nine, Franz Beckenbauer discovered football and his first ever team was a SC Munich in 1954.

Franz Beckenbauer was the second child of mail carrier Franz Beckenbauer, Sr. and his wife Antonie, and was raised in the postwar wreckage of Munich.

Speaking about

Franz Beckenbauer’s childhood

, it should be mentioned that he went to school in the working-class area of Giesing and decided to play soccer at the age of nine with the SC Munich '06 reserve team in 1954, prompting his father's skepticism of the sport.

Franz Beckenbauer’s parents

allowed him to pursue his football career. 

He idolized 1954 FIFA World Cup champion Fritz Walter and supported regional club 1860 Munich, amid their removal from the top division, the Oberliga Süd. He would afterward confirm, "It was always my dream to play for them."

The fact that he entered Bayern Munich's youth academy instead of 1860 Munich's in 1959 was the product of a controversial Under-14 youth tournament in neighboring Neubiberg.

Beckenbauer and his colleagues were very well informed that their SC Munich '06 club needed the financial resources to continue operating its youth teams, and they had made the decision to join 1860 Munich as a party at the end of the competition.

However, fate stipulated that SC Munich and 1860 would clash in the match, and a sequence of squabbles during the game led to a violent altercation among Beckenbauer and the competing centre-half.

The ensuing animosity had a significant impact on Beckenbauer and his colleagues, who chose to represent Bayern's youth squad rather than the team with which they had previously come to blows.

When it was discovered that his then-girlfriend was pregnant and that he had no desire to marry her when Beckenbauer was 18 years old, he was barred from the West German national reserve team by the DFB and only reappointed just after involvement of the team's manager, Dettmar Cramer.

Franz Beckenbauer personal life

Beckenbauer has had three major partners in his life. He wed Brigitte in 1966, and the couple had two daughters until getting divorced in 1990. In 1990, he married Sybille, and the couple separated in 2004. Heidi Burmester is his new partner.

Beckenbauer married Heidi in 2006, and the couple has two daughters (August, born in 2000, and Antonie, born in 2006). Beckenbauer is the father of five daughters. Thomas (1963), his firstborn child, is the result of his early relationship with Ingrid Grönke.

 During his marriage to Brigitte, Michael (b.1966) and Stefan (b.1968-d.2015) were born. Stefan Beckenbauer died in 2015 from a brain tumor.

The important Fact about

Franz Beckenbauer’s personal life

is that he was previously involved in a financial fraud and tax avoidance case that goes back to 2012. Franz had stressed on honesty in the bidding process for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but it was discovered after a few years that he had been given €5.5 million.

Fans were outraged by the news of treason, and Beckenbauer's reputation as a national hero was reduced to that of a dishonest and a thief in just 11 months.

Beckenbauer was barred from all sports activities for 90 days by the FIFA Ethics Board in June 2014 for reportedly refusing to comply with an investigation into irregularities surrounding the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

He objected to the ban because he had demanded that the questions posed to him be in German and written. Beckenbauer's suspension was removed after he promised to cooperate with FIFA's investigation.

Beckenbauer was charged CHF 7,000 and sent a warning by FIFA's Ethics Board in February 2016 for failure to comply with the investigation in 2014.

Beckenbauer posed as the boss of a Galaxy XI of football stars from around the world in a 2013 commercial for South Korean corporation Samsung, handing

the captain's armband. Beckenbauer is a playable character in EA Sports' FIFA video game series, appearing in FIFA 15 Ultimate Team Legends.

Franz Beckenbauer professional career

The important

fact about Franz Beckenbauer

’s playing style is that he was a dynamic player who began his career as a midfielder but rose to prominence as a central defender.

He is also credited with inventing the modern sweeper or libero job. His creation of a modern approach to defending – the libero spot – remains one of his most lasting legacies to the game.

Others, such as Ivano Blason in Helenio Herrera's famed catenaccio-inspired

side of the 1960s, had been used in a free defensive position, but none were as elegant and imaginative as the man who contemptuously strode forward in control. His title of Der Kaiser was perfectly appropriate for his appearance and style.

He was also the first captain to win the World Cup and Champions League for his country, as well as the European Cup for his team.

He earned the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1967 and three straight European Trophies with

through 1974 to 1976. He had been appointed to the FIFA World Team of the Century in 1998, the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and the FIFA 100 of the World's Best Living Players in 2004.

He had become head coach and future director of Bayern Munich. He was inducted into the US National Soccer Hall of Fame after two stints with the

. Beckenbauer is still a powerful figure in German and international modern football.

He headed the organizing committee and guided Germany's successful campaign to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is now a Sky Germany commentator and a journalist for the newspaper Bild.

In August 2016, it was revealed that Beckenbauer was being questioned for monetary laundering and bribery in connection with the 2006 World Cup.

Franz Beckenbauer club career

Beckenbauer started his career in the first Bayern squad in 1964, at the age of 18, and soon established himself as a top performer - originally in center, then as a libero with attacking power.

The notable fact about Franz Beckenbauer’s career is that he guided the Bavarians into the

for the first time in 1965, and later to four titles, alongside later stars such as Gerd Müller and Sepp Maier.

Beckenbauer accepted a big offer from the United States Football League's "New York Cosmos" after thirteen years with Bayern Munich and defining himself as one of the top players in the game as well as the man who pioneered the sweeper role.

He stayed with the club for the next three years, winning the championship title year after year. Beckenbauer would perform with comfort throughout this period of his profession because soccer was not very common in America at the time.

Beckenbauer returned to Germany and

after three years with the New York Cosmos, where he decided to step down.

He secured another Bundesliga title during his two years with Hamburger SV, and despite his desire to retire in Germany, he returned to the New York Cosmos at the age of 38, where he starred for one year before retirement.

Bayern Munich

On June 6, 1964, Franz marked his Bayern Munich start on the left wing versus Stuttgarter Kickers in the Regionalliga Süd (then Germany's second tier). The team gained advancement to the newly created Bundesliga in his first campaign in the local division, 1964–65.

Bayern quickly established itself as a dominant force in the emerging German league, lifting the German Cup in 1966–67 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1967. For the 1968–69 term, Beckenbauer was named team leader and guided his club to their first league championship.

Around this time, he started playing with the sweeper (libero) position, eventually becoming the most famous exponent of the attacking sweeper game.

Bayern Munich claimed three division championships in a row from 1972 to 1974 under Beckenbauer's leadership, as well as a hat-trick of European Cup victories (1974–76) that secured the club the right to retain the trophy forever.

Fans and the media have referred to Beckenbauer as "Der Kaiser" since 1968. To illustrate the root, the following story is stated (even by Beckenbauer himself): Beckenbauer posed for a portrait next to a sculpture of former Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I during a friendly match.

New York Cosmos

In 1977, the player nicknamed "the white Pele" by German sports publication Kicker joined the New York Cosmos to play alongside the legendary Brazilian, who had been his hero since the 1958 World Cup. Both players had a successful period during which they lifted the North American Soccer League three times.

Despite the fact that Beckenbauer played in front of large crowds in the United States, the European Footballer of the Year for 1972 and 1976 relished the opportunity to escape the strain and burden he had faced in his birthplace.

In 1978, Beckenbauer once said, "Coming to New York was the thing I’ve Ever done." “It's so pleasant here. I go places where no one recognizes me.”

Hamburger SV

The veteran returned to Germany in 1980, however, while age and injuries were catching up on him, he would win the Bundesliga for a fifth and final time during a two-year spell with Hamburg.

Despite his desire to quit in Germany, he returned to the New York Cosmos at the age of 38, there he starred for one year before retirement.

Franz Beckenbauer international career

The fact about Franz Beckenbauer’s international career is that he was born to lead. He was a vital member of the national team's structure and also had a strong hand in developing the first line of Adidas fitness kit after just three years as a regular starter.

He had been a part of the World Cup teams that finished second in 1966, third in 1970, and first in 1974, as well as being appointed to the competition all-star list in each of those years. He also won the European Football Championship in 1972 and came in second place in 1976.

On September 26, 1965, Beckenbauer made his debut for the national team. Beckenbauer played every game during his first World Cup, in 1966. He scored a brace in his first World Cup match, a 5–0 victory over

.

West Germany won their group and then went on to defeat

4–0 in the quarter-finals, with Beckenbauer hitting the game's second goal in the 70th minute. Germans confronted the Soviet Union in the semi-finals.

Helmut Haller scored the game's first goal, and Beckenbauer added the game's second goal, his fourth of the competition. The Soviets scored a late goal but were unable to tie the game. West Germany progressed to the final versus hosts England. In additional time, the English won the final as well as the Jules Rimet Trophy.

The Germans had failed at the finishing line, but Beckenbauer had a memorable competition, placing tied for third among top scorers despite playing in a defensive role. In their country, the squad was greeted as heroes.

West Germany defeated England in the second round in a replay of the 1966 final. In the second half, the English were up 2–0, but Beckenbauer's fantastic score in the 69th minute enabled the Germans rebound and equalize before the end of normal time, allowing them to win the match in additional time.

West Germany made it to the semi-finals, where they would meet Italy in the "Game of the Century." After being injured, his shoulder was dislocated, but he was not dissuaded from finishing the game because his team had already used their two allowed substitutions.

A fact about Franz Beckenbauer’s international career is that he remained on the field with his arm in a sling, dislocated. After additional time, the Italians won 4–3 in this contest. For third spot, Germany beat Uruguay 1–0.

In 1971, Beckenbauer was appointed Germany's captain. West Germany captured the European Championship in 1972, defeating the Soviet Union 3–0 in the final.

West Germany held the 1974 World Cup, and Beckenbauer guided his team to victory, along with a difficult 2–1 success over Johan Cruyff's

.

Cruyff was man-marked so well by Beckenbauer and his teammates that the Dutch were never able to fully use their "Total Football."

Since Brazil kept the Jules Rimet Cup in 1970, Beckenbauer would become the first captain to raise the fresh FIFA World Cup Award.

A notable

fact about Franz Beckenbauer

’s international honor is that West Germany became the first European national team to win both the European Championship and the World Cup at the same time (two other countries have done it since:

in 2000, and

in 2010).

West Germany advanced to the final of the 1976 tournament, where they were defeated by Czechoslovakia on penalties. Beckenbauer was selected to the Tournament Team. Along with his transfer to the New York Cosmos in 1977, Beckenbauer withdrew from international football at the age of 31.

Franz Beckenbauer managerial career

Franz Beckenbauer was pretty successful as a manager, too. Of course, when you have the audacity to gain five Bundesliga titles, three European Cups, a World Cup, a European Championship, and be named to the FIFA World Team of the Century while performing in a role you created, you are establishing an unimaginably high standard for everything you do in your off-field years.

However, Beckenbauer's larger-than-life personality and stature as one of German football's greatest leaders ensured that he would be given the opportunity to run his country, and indeed the club where he was immortalized, at some stage.

The important fact about Franz Beckenbauer’s managerial career is that While your average national legend would have to wait a few years gaining experience in management at ground level before even being given the first-team controls, Beckenbauer cut towards the front of the line, and no one dared to interrupt him.

Beckenbauer was named as head coach of the West German national team to succeed Jupp Derwall upon his returning to Germany. He led the team to the 1986 World Cup final, where they would be defeated by

, led by Diego Maradona.

Beckenbauer led the very last German team without East German players in a World Cup final, victorious 1–0 against Argentina in a replay of the previous World Cup final, in 1990, preceding German reunification.

Beckenbauer is one of only two men to have won the World Cup as both a player and a manager (the other being Mario Zagallo), and he is the only one to have done so as both a team captain and a coach.

Beckenbauer subsequently went into club management, accepting a role with Olympique de Marseille in 1990 but leaving after just a year.

Marseille won the French championship in 1990–91 and finished second in the European Cup in 1990–91. He was the manager of Bayern Munich from December 28, 1993, to June 30, 1994, and again from April 29, 1996, to June 30, the same year.

During his short tenure as manager, he won the Bundesliga title in 1994 and the UEFA Cup in 1996. He became Bayern's club president in 1994, and his intelligent leadership has been accredited with much of the team's subsequent success.

A fact about Franz Beckenbauer’s time as Bayern’s manager is that since the team's agreement to convert from an organization to a limited partnership in early 2002, he has served as chairman of the board of directors.

In 2009, he stepped down as president of Bayern, and was replaced by Uli Hoeneß, the company's long-time managing director. He was named chancellor of the German Football Federation in 1998.

The former German star led Germany's strong campaign to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was a columnist for the Bild-Zeitung and headed the World Cup's organizing committee.

Franz Beckenbauer stats

Beckenbauer had appeared in 584 matches for Bayern Munich by the time he retired in 1983. He netted 75 goals during this time frame, which spanned 1963 to 1977.

His decision to move across the Atlantic and join the American Cosmos team, provided him 105 appearances and 21 goals. When he rejoined this team after 3 years, he played in 27 games and netted 2 goals in one season.

A fact about Franz Beckenbauer’s stats is that during the time in Hamburger SV, he played 38 games in two seasons and didn’t score any goal for the team. Beckenbauer represented West Germany 103 times and netted 14 goals.

Franz Beckenbauer social media

About

Franz Beckenbauer social media

, it is worth mentioning that he is a frequent user of social media. On Instagram, he goes with the username "

" with 17.7K followers, and on Twitter, his account name is "

" with 1.1 million followers. His "Franz Beckenbauer" Facebook profile has 380K followers.

Franz Beckenbauer body measurements

How tall is and how much weighs Franz Beckenbauer? Regarding

Franz Beckenbauer body measurements

, it should be mentioned that he is     5 ft 11 in / 181 cm and weighs 170 lb / 77 kg.

Franz Beckenbauer net worth and salary

It is estimated that

Franz Beckenbauer’s net worth

is around 275 million dollars. Considering that he was active 50 to 40 years ago as a player, this is a high amount of money that top modern players in the game can earn.

The fact about Franz Beckenbauer’s net worth and salary is that wise stock purchases, huge land interests, and lucrative sponsorship deals with CoverGirl cosmetics have all contributed to his success.

He also manages several restaurants in Berlin (the "Fat Beckenbauer Burger" chain), a football team (the "Munich Angels"), his own Vodka (Pure Wonderbeckenbauer - Germany), and is attempting to break into the junior market with a top-selling perfume (With Love from Franz) and a fashion line called "Franz Beckenbauer Seduction."

In 2018, it seemed that the footballer's illustrious career was coming to an end. He was instantly back in control. Beckenbauer is the world's highest-paid footballer (among active and retired ones), earning $96 million between March 2020 and March 2021, almost $60 million more than his nearest competitor.

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