Bayern fans pay tribute to football legend Franz Beckenbauer
January 12, 2024
In a match dedicated to late German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, 75,000 fans watched Bayern Munich defeat Hoffenheim 3-0 at the Allianz Arena. Bayern's players had said they wanted to win for Der Kaiser.
The Allianz Arena was lit up with the words "Danke Franz" ("Thank you Franz")Image: Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images
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Bayern Munich beat Hoffenheim 3-0 on Friday at the Allianz Arena in a Bundesliga match dedicated to the late German football legend Franz Beckenbauer.
Beckenbauer died in the Austrian city of Salzburg on Sunday at the age of 78 and was buried earlier on Friday in a cemetery south of Munich, near where he grew up.
Hours after his funeral in Munich, the stadium was lit up with the words "Danke Franz" ("Thank you Franz") as dozens of former Bayern players gathered in the stands to pay tribute to "Der Kaiser" ("The Emperor").
"It's a great incentive for the team and for me to dedicate the game to him and win," said Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel before the match.
Despite not being thrilled with his side's performance, Tuchel called the night a "football celebration," adding that "it's what Franz Beckenbauer would have wished for."
Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim players pay tribute to football legend Franz BeckenbauerImage: Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images
Remembering football legend
In freezing conditions of -9 degrees Celsius (15.8 degrees Fahrenheit), the 75,000 spectators stood in silence before the match to celebrate the life of one of German football's favorite sons. The minute's silence will be repeated at every Bundesliga match this weekend.
A Beckenbauer banner was displayed on the center circle before the game, and there was warm applause for a video of him shown on the stadium screens highlighting his vast success as well as soup ads during his playing career.
The home team warmed up in Beckenbauer's number 5 shirt. Wearing tracksuits emblazoned with the words "Danke Franz," the Bayern players then took to the pitch to the tune of "Gute Freunde" ("Good friends"), a pop song released by the footballer in the 1960s.
Tributes to German football icon Franz Beckenbauer pour in
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Beckenbauer's stunning career
Beckenbauer made his name at Bayern Munich, helping the club to their first promotion to the Bundesliga before winning league titles and European Cups with the side.
Bayern also helped launch Beckenbauer's stunning career in the German national team, where he won the World Cup both as a coach and as a player. Only three men have achieved that feat.
Allianz Arena will host a public commemoration of Beckenbauer's life on January 19. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed he would be in attendance.
dh/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
The many faces of Franz Beckenbauer
Football legend Franz Beckenbauer has died aged 78. "Der Kaiser" did it all in German and international football. Here is a look back at his five decades in the game.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/I. Fassbender
Franz Beckenbauer dies aged 78
Football legend Franz Beckenbauer, nicknamed "Der Kaiser," passed away in his sleep on January 7, 2024, aged 78. As a player he won Bundesliga titles and European Cups with Bayern Munich, and a World Cup with Germany, before replicating that success as a coach. In his later years, he moved into administration. Here's a look back at his five decades in football.
Image: Frank Hoermann/SVEN SIMON/picture alliance
In the beginning…
In 1965, Beckenbauer made his Bundesliga debut with Bayern Munich. He played in Munich until 1977, helping the club to four Bundesliga titles, four German Cups and three European titles. He then moved to New York, where he spent three seasons with the Cosmos, before returning to West Germany in 1980 to play two years in Hamburg. He ended his playing career with a final season at the Cosmos.
Image: imago/WEREK
Off the field
Advertisers and music producers were quick to recognize Beckenbauer's value as a pitchman. He recorded the single "Gute Freunde kann niemand trennen" (nobody can break up good friends) in 1966. He would go on to appear in ads for everything from instant soup to mobile phone networks.
A cut above
Beckenbauer was famed for his elegance as much as his arrogance on the field - although the latter is more a misreading of his forward-thinking style. His precise and ingenious passes made him world famous. In 1974, he led West Germany to victory in the World Cup final in Munich.
Image: AP
Double take
By 1977, Franz Beckenbauer was so popular that a replica doll of "Der Kaiser" was created and sold in the toy sections of German department stores.
Image: Werek/dpa/picture alliance
A second World Cup title
As a coach, Beckenbauer led West Germany to the final of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, losing to Argentina. Four years later, Beckenbauer's Germany faced Argentina again - in the final of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Germany won, thanks to a penalty converted by Andy Brehme. This made Beckenbauer just the second person (after Mario Zagallo) to win the trophy both as a player and as a coach.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Hellmann
Back to club football
After the World Cup triumph, Beckenbauer moved to club football, first as the coach of Olympique de Marseille, where he won the French title. After just one season, he moved back to Bayern Munich. He had two spells as interim coach at Bayern, winning the Bundesliga title in 1994 and the UEFA Cup in 1996. He also served as Bayern's president from 1994 to 2009.
Image: Paul Mazurek/Getty Images
Golden Touch
From 1998 to 2010, Beckenbauer was one of the vice presidents of the German Football Association (DFB). It was at this time that he was given the task of bringing the 2006 World Cup to Germany - which he did. Long before the scandal that would emerge in late 2015, it seemed like "Der Kaiser" could do no wrong.
Image: Sven Simon/IMAGO
Three-time husband, five-time father
Despite his fast-paced life in football, Beckenbauer managed to marry three times, and father five children. He married his third wife, Heidi, in 2006. In 2015, he was dealt a serious blow with the death of his son Stephan, who succumbed to a serious illness.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Wolfgang Kumm
Successful World Cup bid
Franz Beckenbauer was the president of the committee that succeeded in bringing the 2006 World Cup to Germany. He then became the head of the organizing committee for the tournament. On 1 September 2016, the Attorney General of Switzerland announced that in November 2015 it had opened criminal proceedings related to Germany's successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Fassbender
Criminal proceedings
Beckenbauer faced a criminal investigation on suspicion of financial corruption after prosecutors accused him and three other executives of fraud, criminal mismanagement, money laundering and missapropriation during Germany's bid for the World Cup. His trial ended without a verdict after a statute of limitations expired in April, 2020.
