Franz Beckenbauer

No matter where in the world lists of the most famous German personalities are compiled, his name is almost always included. Even though ‘Kaiser’ is merely a nickname for him and not a title of sovereignty, Franz Beckenbauer ranks alongside Marx and Merkel, Beethoven and Bismarck, Engels and Einstein.

Since 2000, an official poll conducted by the Association of German Sports Journalists (VDS) and the trade journal *Kicker-Sportmagazin* has recognised him as Germany’s ‘Footballer of the Century’. Like no other, he embodies the lightness of being when playing football. After years of already outstanding performances in midfield, he found the ideal position for himself, one in which he was to remain unrivalled. As a libero – a free man behind the defence – he shaped his team’s build-up play with elegance, vision and outside-of-the-foot passes, and – living up to his nickname – developed strategic abilities on the pitch akin to those of a military commander.

He was captain of the 1972 European Championship-winning side and the 1974 World Cup-winning side. After 103 appearances, his successful international career came to an end with his departure from the Bundesliga and his move from Bayern Munich to New York Cosmos. The following years on the American East Coast allowed him to mature further as a person. Upon his return, he won the German championship once more with Hamburger SV. Immediately after retiring as a player, the German Football Association created a new role for him: as ‘team manager’ – as he lacked the necessary licence to be “national coach” – he took charge of the national team from 1984, leading them to runners-up in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and, on the final day of his tenure, to the 1990 World Cup title in Italy. The way he strolled across the pitch at the Olympic Stadium in Rome afterwards, seemingly somewhat detached from the world, had a certain air of lightness about it. Franz Beckenbauer and the lightness of being.