FIFA World Cup Legends Player Profile: Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer also known as “Der Kaiser” in football fan circles and was perhaps the greatest German player to ever have played football. Franz earned his fame as a defender playing in the unique position he created himself and named “Libero”. His elegant style, sophisticated approach to the game and sports man-ship led the media and the fans to dub him as “The Kaiser” which can be translated into “the emperor”. Born in the bustling city of Munich in Germany, Beckenbauer played his youth football for the city’s famous club of Bayern Munich, despite being a childhood fan of 1860 Munich which is a rival club in the city.
Beckenbauer has been voted time and again as one of the best footballers ever to play the game. In a poll conducted by International Federation of Football History & Statistics, he finished third to Pele and Maradona for the ‘World’s Footballer of the Century’ title. He played a total of 104 times for West Germany out of which 18 were FIFA World Cup matches. He scored a total of 14 goals for his national team, out of which 5 were in the FIFA World Cup finals from 1966-1974.
Beckenbauer played in the defensive sweeper role also known as the Libero. He is known to have been the inventor of the position itself which requires tremendous amounts of stamina as Libero’s are defenders who have a dual role of bringing the ball out of defense to initiate quick counter attacks as well as support midfield and attack in controlling possession of the football. Beckenbauer excelled in this role and guided West Germany to success both in the FIFA World Cup as well as in the European Championships.
Beckenbauer played in his first FIFA World Cup game in 1966 against Switzerland. In the 5-0 over the Swiss, Beckenbauer scored twice for West Germany. In the quarter final against a talented Uruguay side Beckenbauer scored the second goal for his side in a 4-0 win. West Germany then progressed to the semi-finals to play against the Soviet Union. Beckenbauer again stepped up to the stage and equalized for West Germany after the Soviets had taken the lead. The Germans then progressed onto the final against the host nation England, Beckenbauer was unable to pull off any heroics in the final which ended in a controversial victory for the English through a couple of extra time goals. Nonetheless Beckenbauer had announced his arrival on the global scale with a remarkable tournament and some absolutely game changing performances through the FIFA World Cup of 1966.
The 1970 FIFA World Cup was Beckenbauer’s second World Cup for West Germany. His performances in the 1966 World Cup had established him as one of the leading talents of world football and now he had to live up to the expectations that were associated with him. Beckenbauer and West Germany had a terrific start to the tournament; they won their group games to set up a mouth watering clash with the English in the quarter finals. The match started in a disastrous manner for the Germans, as they quickly went down by two goals. Led by Beckenbauer’s relentless attacks towards the English penalty area and his quick passing link ups with the midfield, Germans fought their way back to a historic 3-2 win over the English in the extra time of the match, with Beckenbauer scoring for West Germany in the 68th minute of normal time. West Germany went on to face Italy in the semi finals but lost after a thrilling game which ended 4-3 after extra time. Beckenbauer played through the match despite fracturing his arm during the match as West Germany had already made their allotted two substitutions. This heroic effort by the young German defender earned him more recognition and honor with football pundits and fans alike.
In 1974 the FIFA World Cup was hosted on Beckenbauer’s home soil for the first time and in 1971 Beckenbauer had been appointed as the captain of the West German national football team. Beckenbauer led his side to victory against the favorites Holland in the final, who had earned over many neutrals to their side because of their “total football” philosophy. The Dutch maestro Johan Cruyff was the superstar of the tournament till the final and was expected to put in a match winning performance for the Dutch who had looked as champions throughout the competition but Beckenbauer wasn’t having any of the hype. His partners in the West German defense and the captain himself did a terrific man marking job on Johan Cruyff. In doing so West Germany won out eventual winners of the FIFA World Cup 1974 after defeating Holland 1-0 in the final. Beckenbauer became the first man from West Germany to lift the trophy and bring World Cup glory to German soil.
The legend that is Beckenbauer will be forever remembered. A few players change the game in ways in which Beckenbauer did. He not only brought fantastic talent to the football field but also changed the game in terms of positions and tactics. It is not every day that players invent new positions for themselves in football and it is not every day that one leads his country to World Cup glory, then again it is not every day that Franz Beckenbauer is born.
Tags: