![]() ![]() The World Cup win secured Beckenbauer's status as a bona fide superstar. "Beckenbauer showed his genius," wrote Italian newspaper Il Giorno after the final. But there was plenty of his customary skill on the ball, too, of course. Playing as a sweeper, in a role that he had helped to revolutionise over the course of a few years - he was a deep-lying playmaker rather than the last line of defence - Beckenbauer even headed the ball out of his box a few times, despite a famous reluctance to do so that some (jokingly) ascribed to his being worried about his hair. In the Munich final, Beckenbauer starred as "the rook in the battle," as the German TV commentator would have it. He had already led the national team to a first European championship win two years earlier and his club side Bayern Munich to the first of three European Cup triumphs in the 4-0 replay against Atletico Madrid in May 1974. The 2-1 win over Johan Cruyff's Netherlands marked the pinnacle of a golden era for German football - Beckenbauer's era. The defeat had hurt too much.įour years later, the man dubbed Der Kaiser for his regal playing style on the pitch would lift the World Cup trophy as captain in his hometown of Munich. London's Evening Standard praised him as a "wounded, beaten but proud Prussian officer." He had no time for the praise, however. The Azzurri ended up going through to the final, thanks to Gianni Rivera's goal in the 111th minute that clinched a 4-3 win, but Germany, and Beckenbauer in particular, had won many plaudits. Beckenbauer struggled on with his right arm fixed to his body by tape and his hand on the German FA badge just below his heart, through 50 more thrilling, exhausting minutes. ![]() The Bayern Munich player, then still a central midfielder and only 24 years old, had suffered a dislocated shoulder after a foul from Italy's Pierluigi Cera in the 70th minute. Veteran striker Uwe Seeler, of Hamburg, was the official West Germany skipper during the tournament, but the elegant, effortless Beckenbauer had become the team's fulcrum at his second World Cup. That much had become clear during the 1970 World Cup semifinal against Italy in Mexico City's Azteca stadium, a match that would later be widely described as "the game of the century" as well as "the most wonderful, dramatic and fabulous game of all time" by the Mexican newspaper Excelsior. 1.įranz Beckenbauer didn't need the captaincy armband to be a true leader on the pitch. 18-29, ESPN FC will reveal its 10-man shortlist of the finest skippers to have graced the game before conducting a vote for the winner. Who is the greatest captain of all time? From Aug. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser ![]()
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