Death of Franz Beckenbauer: Gaëtan Huard recounts his time at OM

Gaëtan Huard, you worked with Franz Beckenbauer during his time at OM between 1990 and 1991. What memories do you have of him?

What are your personal memories of Franz Beckenbauer?

GH: At the time, I wasn’t playing because I was coming back from an injury. But I was part of the group. Some days before matches, he would knock on my bedroom door: ‘Gaëtan, golf?’. We were going to play together. When I think about it today, I still can’t believe it. He wore his heart on his sleeve and always smiled. He also happened to ride bullfights with us and he very, very rarely went in the middle. He always had this agility with his outside feet: tock, tock, tock… It was going very fast and he made you run. He saw before receiving and didn’t even control the ball. It was great, great class.

In Marseille, he failed to register for the long term.

GH: On this point, I have mixed memories. Franz Beckenbauer wanted to create a group to have the best team. It was a disappointment to see him leave because he wanted to play me at all costs but it was not Bernard Tapie’s choice. His departure was difficult. When he left, Carlos Mozer cried. We were proud to have this coach, who was world famous and who had class. When we came to train, he would cross the entire field to greet the gardeners one by one and say a little word to them. When Christmas came, he gave them cases of champagne. He was a great, great gentleman.

What was his relationship with the players?

GH: He inspired respect. When he arrived at training, he placed the net of balls at his feet. The balloons didn’t move. With other coaches, there was no more ball after five minutes. With Franz Beckenbauer, Jean-Pierre Papin did not move. We laughed and said to him: ‘Jean-Pierre, take the balls to go and kick’. But he didn’t move.

Did he tell you about his past as a player?

GH: No, not too much. He knew how to put things into perspective. I think he very, very quickly analyzed the place where he had arrived. Then he became more withdrawn. He understood that it was not him who was in charge but Bernard Tapie. He knew it was locked. At that time, he wanted me to play. But Bernard Tapie didn’t want to. The morning of the C1 match in Tirana (0-0), before taking the plane, Franz Beckenbauer saw me arriving in jeans and a shirt. He says to his deputy Holger Osieck: ‘what’s going on with Gaëtan? ‘. In fact, the day before, Franz Beckenbauer had told me: ‘Gaëtan, I’m telling you today, you keep it to yourself, but it’s you who will play in Tirana’. I was super happy, I’m going home. The phone is ringing. I pick up. Bernard Tapie on the line: ‘Gaëtan, it’s not you who will play tomorrow, I’ll tell you straight away. Franz Beckenbauer has the tactical and technical power of the team but he does not have the power to remove or put on certain players without asking my permission. From then on, I knew I wasn’t going to play. Franz Beckenbauer broke down with me and Laurent Fournier, who didn’t play either. At that time, Bernard Pardo still had pain in one knee. Afterwards, between players, we had no problems. But this situation tired Franz Beckenbauer.

Do you have any funny stories from his time at OM?

GH: We had a good laugh with him. He was sometimes bothered off the field. Especially Jean-Pierre. One day, he discreetly put Tabasco in the tomato sauce soup bowl at the table where the coach was. When Franz Beckenbauer helped himself, everyone looked at each other. We said to Jean-Pierre: ‘you didn’t do that after all’? Franz Beckenbauer was red, from red. But he didn’t flinch. He finished his plate out of politeness. Then he came to us: ‘thank you, I’ll remember that’. He said that as a joke. I have another memory: on the bus, he always sat behind the driver. Before each trip, he told us: ‘tomorrow, departure at 9 a.m.’. I can guarantee it was 9:00 and not 9:10. If you weren’t there, you stayed. The bus driver asked if he was waiting for the latecomer(s)? He replied: ‘no, you ride’. He didn’t want us to wait. Basile (Boli) arrived late more than once and had to get to the airport on his own.

Did you see him again after he left Marseille?

GH: One day, there was a trophy presentation in Germany. I was present for my invincibility series (1176 minutes from December 1992 to April 1993 with Bordeaux). I saw him again at that time and also in 1996 during the UEFA Cup final lost by Bordeaux against Bayern Munich (0-2, 1-3). Before the match, he told me: ‘if we win, it will go very well’. Then he laughed. He still spoke a little French. Each time, he came and always had a nice little word. Today I want to say: Thank you for everything Mr Franz Beckenbauer.