Franz Beckenbauer achieved the feat of becoming world champion both as a player (1974) and as team boss (1990). A double coronation that elevated him to soccer Olympus.
In 1974, as player and captain at the Munich Olympic Stadium, he raised the freshly created golden FIFA World Cup trophy. 16 years later, in Rome in 1990, he once again led the German national team to the top of the world as team boss. Franz thus became an icon who not only shaped the game on the pitch, but also from the sidelines.
The symbolism of this double success is unique: As a player, he embodied elegance, overview and tactical intelligence; as a trainer, he brought composure, leadership and an incomparable sense for people. Franz showed that greatness in soccer can have many faces: First as Libero, who revolutionized the position, then as a strategist who formed an entire team.
Only very few personalities worldwide have achieved this feat. Before Beckenbauer, only Brazilian Mário Zagallo succeeded, who became world champion in 1958 and 1962 as a player and won the title as coach in 1970. After Franz Beckenbauer, only Frenchman Didier Deschamps has since managed to become world champion in 1998 as captain and in 2018 as coach.
For Germany, the double title became a national symbol. The “Kaiser” led the DFB team in two different eras, in two completely different roles, in two places with historic appeal to the biggest title that soccer knows. It is this uniqueness that still sets him apart from the crowd of greats today.
Franz Beckenbauer wasn't just a world champion. He was the world champion. A legacy that will last forever.
