OBITUARY
Franz Beckenbauer: German World Cup winner dies aged 78
Defender won World Cup as a player in 1974 and as manager in 1990, and died ‘peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his family’
Beckenbauer celebrates beating Holland in the 1974 World Cup final in Germany
WEREK/DPA
Franz Beckenbauer, Germany’s football great who lost out to England in the 1966 World Cup final before later winning the tournament as both player and manager, has died aged 78.
Beckenbauer, nicknamed “Der Kaiser” or “The Emperor”, was a hugely influential presence on the pitch as a ball-playing defender or “libero” — the sweeper behind the defensive line — for West Germany, and later as the country’s head coach.
The former England striker Gary Lineker described Beckenbauer as “one of the absolute greats of our game”, adding: “Der Kaiser was the most beautiful of footballers who won it all with grace and charm.”
He had been struggling with ill health in recent years and his family said in a statement to the Germany news agency
