As a legend in German football, Franz Beckenbauer is known as the "Emperor of Football", and throughout his career, he has won the Bundesliga championship (5 times), the German Cup (4 times), the Champions League (3 times), the European Cup (1972) and the World Cup (1974). Tomorrow, Beckenbauer will celebrate his 75th birthday, and in an interview with Bild, he revealed that he had refused to serve as FIFA president.
During a player's career, they usually make some important decisions. For Beckenbauer, there is nothing to regret in his career, he said: "Are there any regrets? No. I could have tried many careers and even been elected FIFA president, but I turned down the option. Now I just want to say, thank God! ”
"I'm not the kind of person who often looks back on the past and suffers from gains and losses. Sometimes I just think of the house I lived in with my parents, when I was young and we lived in the Kissing area of Munich. Beckenbauer continued. In addition, Beckenbauer also talked about his saddest moments, mentioning his deceased son Stefan.
In July 2015, Beckenbauer's son, Stefan, died of a brain tumor at the age of 46. In response to this, Beckenbauer said: "In my life, I have hardly encountered any difficulties, it seems that I am on the slope, so for such a thing, I seem to suddenly have no resistance." ”
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"That's why fate dealt me such a big blow, when I barely learned how to deal with the more significant difficulties. Stefan's death was the most significant blow I've ever faced in my life, and I don't know if anyone else can be honest with the death of a child, maybe they won't be like me. Beckenbauer continued.
In recent years, Beckenbauer himself has not been in very good health. In 2016 and 2017, Beckenbauer underwent heart surgery and also underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (heart bypass surgery). Last year, Beckenbauer also suffered a blindness. Due to his poor health, Beckenbauer almost completely faded from public activities.
Even if Bayern have a home game, the "Emperor of Football" does not come to the scene every time as before, but beckenbauer was invited to come in the empty game in the second half of the 2019-20 season. Another of his sons, Noel, drove his father from Salzburg to Munich, where Beckenbauer witnessed Bayern's 2-match victory after wearing a mask and goggles.
In an interview with Sport1, German star and beckenbauer's old teammate Sepp Meyer said: "When things don't go well, Franz just wants to be calm, he doesn't need the mercy of others. I didn't spend much time with him during that (sad) time, and when we met again, he didn't complain to me about life, and we were once again talking about happy things together. ”
(Pillar Jun)