There are many ball kings, but there is only one emperor.
He is the captain of the World Cup, the coach of the World Cup, the helmsman of German football, the writer and the master of German football history. His achievements surpassed Pele, Maradona, Cruyff and Messi. His name is Beckenbauer, and he has an even louder title - the Emperor of Football.
On January 7, in Munich, where Beckenbauer has witnessed countless glories, the first man in the history of German football officially bid farewell to his beloved football and homeland.
On September 11, 1945, a boy was born to the family of the postal warehouse manager in Munich, Franz Beckenbauer. Due to his busy parents, Beckenbauer's favorite thing to do at the time was street football. At the age of 18, Beckenbauer gave up his job as an insurance salesman to devote himself to football, despite the opposition of his family.
It was this stubbornness and choice that completely changed the history of German football.
From the beginning of joining the Munich Academy, Beckenbauer began his magnificent life. In his first season, he played as a left winger at Bayern Munich, and in just one year he managed to promote the Bundesliga side with his technical and attacking performances. At the same time, 20-year-old Beckenbauer was also selected for the national team.
In German football in the 60s, Bayern was just an obscure team. More often than not, it was the Germans who were left with Beckenbauer to shine.
In 1966, at the age of 21, Beckenbauer ushered in his first World Cup, and his left-footed world wave against the Soviet Union in the semi-finals made Yashin, the best goalkeeper in history, his backdrop.
Four years later, Mexico faced Italy in the semi-finals. In the 60th minute, with a dislocated shoulder, Beckenbauer rejected the coach's decision to make a substitution when the team was in urgent need of substitutions. He used his iron willpower to fight the Italian walls for 120 minutes, and finally hated again.
Only after the phoenix is burned in the fire can it be reborn. Since then, Beckenbauer has revolutionized himself. No longer playing as a midfielder, no longer staying in one position, but becoming a free man, retreating, attacking, and becoming a true hexagonal all-round warrior. Due to his long stay in the back line in the late period, people gave the position a resounding name "Scavenger".
This transformation turned the gears of fate, and fully activated Beckenbauer's talent on the defensive end and his talent on the offensive end. In the 73-75 season, he led Bayern to three consecutive Champions League titles. In the 1974 World Cup final, he defeated Cruyff in the final and won the Hercules Cup. During this period, he won the Ballon d'Or twice, becoming the first person in football in the 70s.
After retiring as a player, Beckenbauer transitioned into coaching. After losing to Maradona in the summer of Mexico, he learned the hard way. In Italy in 1990, in the face of the old rival Argentina, Beckenbauer's modified troika was unstoppable, making the arrogant Argentines bow their heads, and Maradona's tears became the most beautiful commentary of Beckenbauer's coaching career.
Six years later, Beckenbauer transformed again and became at the helm of Bayern Munich and German football. He led the reform of the club's shareholding system, built the Allianz Stadium, and bid for the 06 World Cup. At the turn of the century, in the face of the declining German football, he proposed a youth training reform, planting the genes for a successful revival 10 years later.
Originally, there was no god in the world, but Beckenbauer made himself a god. A god who does the best in players, coaches and managers.