Franz Beckenbauer has died and there is great sadness. Journalists reminisce. This is what the press writes about the death of the “greatest athlete on the planet.”
The football icon Franz Beckenbauer is dead. He was 78 years old. His death moves colleagues, fans and people around the world. The press also mourns the idol. An overview of the German and international press reviews:
Germany
“Sports Buzzer”: “Perhaps the most influential figure in sport that this country has ever seen has passed away after a long illness. Football Germany is thus losing its emperor, world champion as a player (1974) and coach (1990), champion and European Cup winner with the FC Bayern, creator of the 2006 Summer Fairy Tale. Anyone who has had the honor of meeting this man in person knows that the term ‘figure of light’ was invented for him. (…) The emperor is dead – long live… yes, who actually?! In any case, there will never be someone like Beckenbauer again. Neither on the football field nor off it.”
“Wiesbaden courier”: “He won the world championship title as a player and coach, brought the World Cup to Germany – and especially in those days of the event of the century, he seemed to be floating above everyone and everything. Too good to be true, until what was supposed to be his greatest triumph turned into tragedy mutated, after the peak of his work a shadow fell over his life’s work. The dark chapter surrounding the 2006 World Cup took away the radiance of the shining figure and revealed: Even the emperor is only a human being with all his faults. One who after his death will never be forgotten because he was one of the greatest athletes on this planet.”
“Frankfurter Rundschau”: “Pelé, then the ‘Emperor’ – entire generations grew up with this ranking of the all-time best. The athlete’s elegance on the pitch, his positioning in society, the insight as a coach, the ability to shape politics for football win and his way of mixing sincere friendliness in dealing with the fans with contempt for know-it-alls – all of this together was something you didn’t see in anyone else and led to the Germans’ high level of identification with Franz Beckenbauer. They were proud of him, they trusted him. One of us, sometimes a Monacofrance-like Stenz, a Luftikus and Zornickel – and yet a higher being. Franz Beckenbauer entertained with his fallibility and fascinated with his successes.”
Watch the video: “He was just the emperor” – that’s what the people of Munich say about the death of Franz Beckenbauer.
“Southwest Press”: “The ball has lost its best friend: In the case of Franz Beckenbauer, this is not an exaggeration. There was no one before or after him who embodied this almost dance-like lightness that enchanted the opponents and enchanted his fans. That was true and off the pitch. There was something magical about the ability to lead things to success almost casually. The shadow of the shoving that later fell over the awarding of the World Cup fit the image of a corrupt football association Fifa. Franz Beckenbauer obviously has these structures back then – and won the game. Not for yourself, but for everyone who loves football. And that remains.”
“Augsburger Allgemeine”: “In the case of Beckenbauer, artist and work cannot be separated from each other. The fact that so many shadows obscure the view and yet the positive memories predominate is an indication of an extraordinary life. One that also touched people who had never come close to a ball with their foot (…) In any case, the harshest judgments about him were not made by judges, but by late-born people, to whom fate did not allow them to admire Beckenbauer’s majesty on the field. May they consider Neymar’s circus acts to be art, the roly-poly Ronaldo with the newfangled one Pay homage to the title GOAT (Greatest of all time) in the social media comments or follow Messi’s crazy runs on YouTube: You had no chance to see the best German footballer of all time. Those who are born too late are punished by the football gods. They Poor people, you may still know Beckenbauer as a national coach. Or maybe just as his parodic revenants.”
Great Britain
“The Telegraph”: “Franz Beckenbauer: A groundbreaking central defender and football’s best thinker. With the death of the great West German captain, football loses the last representative of a generation of players who became global TV superstars”
“The Guardian”: “Franz Beckenbauer was the consummate footballer and a winning coach (…) He had one of the best and most distinctive nicknames of all time, and like his contemporary, Eddy “The Cannibal” Merckx in cycling, his nickname “The Kaiser” was fitting. perfect for him and served to introduce him in advance.”
“The Sun”: “THE EMPEROR Franz Beckenbauer was a German football machine whose eyesore off the field could not overshadow his greatness on it.”
“Daily Mail”: “Most who knew him well will remember his excellence on the field, his outstanding footballing intelligence, the elegance with which he moved, the joys of his company and the invaluable knowledge we gained from conversations with him from him.”
Spain
“Marca”: “There has never been another like him, neither before nor since. The figure of the Eternal Emperor is incomparable.”
“World Sports”: “‘The Emperor’, a cross-border idol of several generations and a footballer who everyone wanted to emulate.”
The unique career of the “Emperor” in pictures
France
“Le Parisien”: “Franz Beckenbauer will forever belong in the category of immortal sports personalities.”
Italy
“La Republic”: “Farewell to Franz Beckenbauer, one of the few players from the past who wouldn’t be out of place in today’s football.”
“The Gazzetta dello Sport”: “He was probably the best libero in the history of football, having started his career as a midfielder.”
Austria
“Crown Newspaper”: “The German football legend, who became world champion as a player and coach, got his nickname in Vienna! It happened in 1971: As part of a friendly match between Bayern and Austria, Beckenbauer was photographed next to the bust of Emperor Franz Joseph I been.”
“Courier”: “Franz Beckenbauer is dead: football has lost its emperor”
Switzerland
“View”: “A shock for friends, acquaintances and fans.”
“Tages-Anzeiger”: “He brought success and elegance to the Germans. With every heroic story in the lead role: Franz Beckenbauer managed everything with ease. In his lightness, he was the German that doesn’t actually exist.”
Sources: “Sports buzzer“, “Wiesbaden courier“, “Frankfurter Rundschau“, “Southwest Press“, “Augsburger Allgemeine“, DPA.