The Life of Franz Beckenbauer by Mallory Hass
Franz Beckenbauer, a German soccer legend, passed away at the age of 78 on January 7, 2024. He was born in 1945 in Munich and ended up passing in his birthplace. Beckenbauer was said to have led the West German national team to two World Cup victories, as well as returning to be their head coach and lead them to many more victories in 1990.
Beckenbauer was given the nickname, “Der Kaiser,” which translates to “The Emperor,” because of his outstanding versatility as a defensive player. He began his professional career as a midfielder, but he later transitioned to play a center defensive position. He is often given credit for, more or less, inventing the role of the sweeper position in modern-day soccer. A sweeper is the last person before the goalie who plays on the defensive line. Their job is to remain in a specific “zone” of the field that is close to the goal and to rid this zone of the ball, should the ball enter it.
He was married to Heidi Beckenbauer when he passed. He had several children: Stephan, Thomas, Francessca, Joel, and Michael Beckenbauer.
Franz Beckenbauer played professional soccer from the age of 19 to 38. He played on numerous professional teams, including the New York Cosmos, Bayern Munich, Hamburger SV, and the German National Futball team.
Over the course of his fütball career, Franz earned multiple awards for his outstanding ability. Some of these include the Ballon d’Or, which he received multiple times, the Ballon d’Or dream team (team award), different Bambi awards, and also the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award, which is held by other world-renowned athletes such as Tom Brady, Niki Lauda, and Pelé. To receive any of these awards is beyond impressive and says so much about the athletic ability of Franz Beckenbauer. However, to receive the Ballon d’Or award multiple times is extremely difficult. Only 10 athletes have won this award multiple times since it was first established in 1956. Among these athletes is Messi, who has received 10, Ronaldo (5), and Michel Platini (3).
Overall, the legendary Franz Beckenbauer will be very missed and fondly remembered in the world of International fütball.
Beckenbauer was given the nickname, “Der Kaiser,” which translates to “The Emperor,” because of his outstanding versatility as a defensive player. He began his professional career as a midfielder, but he later transitioned to play a center defensive position. He is often given credit for, more or less, inventing the role of the sweeper position in modern-day soccer. A sweeper is the last person before the goalie who plays on the defensive line. Their job is to remain in a specific “zone” of the field that is close to the goal and to rid this zone of the ball, should the ball enter it.
He was married to Heidi Beckenbauer when he passed. He had several children: Stephan, Thomas, Francessca, Joel, and Michael Beckenbauer.
Franz Beckenbauer played professional soccer from the age of 19 to 38. He played on numerous professional teams, including the New York Cosmos, Bayern Munich, Hamburger SV, and the German National Futball team.
Over the course of his fütball career, Franz earned multiple awards for his outstanding ability. Some of these include the Ballon d’Or, which he received multiple times, the Ballon d’Or dream team (team award), different Bambi awards, and also the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award, which is held by other world-renowned athletes such as Tom Brady, Niki Lauda, and Pelé. To receive any of these awards is beyond impressive and says so much about the athletic ability of Franz Beckenbauer. However, to receive the Ballon d’Or award multiple times is extremely difficult. Only 10 athletes have won this award multiple times since it was first established in 1956. Among these athletes is Messi, who has received 10, Ronaldo (5), and Michel Platini (3).
Overall, the legendary Franz Beckenbauer will be very missed and fondly remembered in the world of International fütball.