This is the third review of my 5-review series on the Soccer World Cup. After giving a great deal of thought for the basis of selecting my all time greats, I decided that there ought to be some basic guidelines. Here are mine: a) They should have played pivotal roles in helping their teams win the WC and should have played in atleast 2 editions and b) Apart from the WC, but they should have also been outstanding players when representing their respective clubs/countries.
Beckenbauer was born on September 11, 1945, in Munich, Germany. He joined a youth team at Munich when he was 14 and later gave up his job as an insurance salesman to become a professional footballer. Making his senior club debut before his 18th Birthday, Franz went on to represent his country at the International level for more than 12 years. he was named the European Footballer of the year in 1971 and 1976 and inspired his club – Bayern Munich to three European Titles in a row apart from being a winning member of a host of other titles.
More than the trophies and medals that he won, he’s remembered more for his brilliant strategies and keen sense of analysis. Soccer, in those days was more or less standard in nature and each member had to strictly abide by the role assigned by the coach. Even as a player, Franz thought of the brilliant idea of the attacking sweeper. To even imagine a central defender change his role midway through a game and charge like a center forward into the opponents half was something unthinkable in those days. In spite of broaching the idea to the manager of the team, he was sharply told to play his role instead of conjuring up new strategies which was the role of the manager and coach. He thus had to wait till he became the captain to actually implement his ideas and when he himself played the role of the attacking sweeper to perfection, the opponents were simply dazed to the point of exhaustion at seeing a defender coming with the ball into their half and scoring goals!
This revolutionary tactic became the talking point during the 1966 WC at England. The sheer surprise and unpredictability of Franz enabled him to score 4 goals and catapult his team to the finals against hosts, England. The Englishmen were hot favourites to win the title under their charismatic and dynamic captain, Bobby Charlton. Bobby was a bundle of energy and possessed delicate skills that often left his opponents scratching their heads. For the crucial final, Franz was deputed to mark Bobby and he did an admirable job of it. Though the Englishmen went on to win the finals, Beckenbauer it was who stole the attention all through. It was a dramatic and engrossing match all the way, do watch it if you get a chance. Franz played like an untiring bull, never leaving Bobby unmarked and literally chased him all over the Wembley stadium. It however required another cameo from Geoff Hurst, a hat-trick in extra time to lead the English to the podium for a sweet victory.
He however extracted revenge in the next edition of the WC at Mexico in 1970 during the Quarter-final clash. Before one could say “Franz Beckenbauer”, England were leading 2-0 and the writing seemed clear on the walls for the Franz and Co. All of a sudden, Franz shifted gears and after one short huddled meeting in injury time, the Germans were in charge. Franz employed his now-famous sweeper ploy and thundered in a right-footed bullet that narrowed down the deficit 1-2. England manager Alf Ramsey then made one of the most hotly debated moves by pulling our Bobby Charlton at a crucial time and that left the Englishmen in a complete disarray. Uwe Seeler scored the equalizer and Muller put it beyond doubt with one in the extra-time after England were denied a goal from Geoff Hurst. The Germans had got their revenge but lost in the next stage to the Italians.
He retired from active football in 1984 and was appointed the National team manager the same year. Within a span of 2 years, he almost led his team to the winners rostrum but lost out that place to the Maradona’s all-conquering Argentinians in 1986 at Mexico. The story was however different in 1990 at Italy and a unified German team beat Argentina in a drab match with the match winner coming off a penalty.
My favourite player to date is Franz Beckenbauer a.k.a. “The Kaiser” (I don’t know German but I think it translates into “The General”) as he was lovingly called by his legions of fans across the world. He tops the list of my favourite soccer players for several reasons, the first and foremost is because he served as the vital clog in the West German machine that won the 1974 WC in his hometown, Munich. Secondly, he holds the distinction of being the only man to bring home the world cup in three different avatars – as a captain in 1974 and as a manager cum coach in 1990. Finally, he was more than just an ordinary player – he was a master strategist and is widely credited with the creation of a new position, that of a sweeper who would mount attacking, short and effective “raids” on the opponents goalpost thus taking them by surprise.
Franz thus not only stands out as a successful player and captain but also as a coach who could clearly out think his opponents and chalk out exceptional game-plans that won matches. He was a brilliant leader of men and was always cool and composed on the field. He had a clean image and was never involved in any major controversies thus setting an excellent example to generations of football lovers. He achieved success and fame at all levels of the game and stands out as a shining example even to this day.