Legendary former German soccer player and head coach Franz Beckenbauer has died aged 78. The defender known as "Der Kaiser" is generally considered as one of the best to have ever played the game.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce that my husband and our father, Franz Beckenbauer, passed away peacefully in his sleep yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family," read a family statement. "We ask that you be able to grieve in silence and refrain from asking any questions."
Beckenbauer played for Bayern Munich, Hamburger SV and New York Cosmos (twice) during his playing career and won the FIFA World Cup as a player in 1974 and head coach in 1990. Such was his influence on the game that the sweeping defensive role termed "Libero" was made famous by him.
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Part of the German team which lost to England in the 1966 final at Wembley, Beckenbauer lifted the Jules Rimet trophy on home soil when West Germany hosted the tournament eight years later. Beckenbauer also won a variety of individual awards including the European Footballer of the Year title twice and even had a film made about his life back in 2022.
Along with Brazil's Mario Zagallo and France's Didier Deschamps, he is one of three men to have won the World Cup as a player and then as a head coach. The Brazilian passed away over the weekend aged 92.
