The many faces of Franz Beckenbauer

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.