In qualifying, the German team performed well against Scotland, Austria and Cyprus. The team mastered the group stage against Morocco, Bulgaria and Peru without difficulty, even though the start against Morocco was more challenging than expected.

Not just any opponent waited in the quarter-finals, but the reigning World Champion England: The new edition of the 1966 final. Franz had his first big tournament moment: Germany was 0-2 behind and the team, saddened by the heat in Mexico, had actually already come to terms with the journey home, when Franz put the ball in the left corner of the English after a solo run. Suddenly everything seemed possible again. And that was it: Uwe Seeler and Gerd Müller shot the German team into the semi-finals in the 82nd and 108th minutes. The result was a 3-2 victory after extra time. A dramatic and exciting game that might have gone down in history as a game of the century had the German team not produced an even more dramatic game in the following semi-final.

A whopping 100,000 spectators were present: Vice World Champions Germany versus Italy in the semi-finals. In this game, too, the opponents took the lead first: Italy scored 0-1 in the 7th minute. The German team had no objection for a long time and, like the opponents, was weakened by the heat. In the 65th minute, there was a shock: Franz is fouled in the opponent's penalty area, falls to the ground and feels a severe, stabbing pain in his shoulder. The 100,000 spectators are asking for a penalty, but the referee simply moves the foul before the penalty area limit. Franz was clear: Something must have broken, but a change was impossible: The trainer had already exhausted the quota. And so Franz continued to play with a dislocated shoulder: “With my left hand, I pressed my right upper arm against the chest and continued playing. I couldn't get involved in duels anymore. ”

The German team actually managed to equalize in the 92nd minute and the game went into extra time. During the short break, the German supervisors glued Franz's damaged upper arm to his body with bandages. Franz continued to play and became a symbol of the German will to win: a bandaged fighter. A dramatic extension took place, at the end of which the Germans lost after 120 minutes, but Franz's will to win, unbelievable morale and stamina went around the world. Appearance as a symbol of courage and willingness to sacrifice.

For Franz Beckenbauer, the 1970 World Cup was the final breakthrough. His courage, his overview and his leadership skills made him the face of a new generation of soccer. At just 24 years of age, he had not only established himself as a world-class player, but also as one who was ready to go far beyond his own limits.