Franz Beckenbauer is no longer alive – and Germany is mourning. Even the Chancellor expressed his condolences. An overview of the reactions to the death of the “Emperor”.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf described the death of Franz Beckenbauer as a “real turning point” for football in Germany. “We look at his life’s work with respect and great gratitude. With him we are losing a unique footballer and a lovable person,” wrote Neuendorf. The “Emperor,” as Beckenbauer was called, left “a great legacy for the DFB and football as a whole.”
On Beckenbauer’s death: “Nobody will ever reach him”
“Franz Beckenbauer is the greatest personality that FC Bayern has ever had,” said Bayern Munich’s honorary president Uli Hoeneß, who became world and European champions together with Beckenbauer. “As a player, coach, president, person: unforgettable. Nobody will ever reach him. People can say they saw football in Franz Beckenbauer’s time. He was a friend to me, a unique companion – and a gift to all of us. Dear Franz, rest in peace!”
Bayern’s former CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said that Beckenbauer “rewrote the history of German football and had a lasting impact”: “As a personality, he impressed with his great respect for all people – because before Franz everyone was equal. German football is losing the biggest personality in its history.”
Original sounds, sports show, January 9th, 2024 6:07 p.m
Chancellor Scholz on Beckenbauer: “He inspired generations for football”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz also described Beckenbauer as one of the “greatest footballers in Germany”. Beckenbauer was “the emperor for many” – “also because he inspired enthusiasm for German football for generations. We will miss him. My thoughts are with his family and friends,” wrote the SPD politician on X (formerly Twitter) .
Sports director Rudi Völler, who under team boss Beckenbauer came second at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986 and became world champion four years later in Italy, reacted deeply. “I am incredibly sad, the news of his death affects me very much. I consider it one of the great privileges of my life to have known and experienced Franz Beckenbauer.”
Nagelsmann about Beckenbauer: “He was above things”
For national coach Julian Nagelsmann, Beckenbauer was “the best footballer in German history.” His interpretation of the role of libero “changed the game, Beckenbauer could float across the pitch, as a footballer and later as a coach he was sublime, he was above things.” When Beckenbauer entered a room, “the room lit up; he rightly bore the title ‘lighting figure of German football’.”
Hans-Joachim Watzke honored Franz Beckenbauer, who died on Sunday, as Germany’s greatest footballer of all time. “Franz Beckenbauer was definitely the greatest German footballer of all time and, on top of that, one of the greatest people I have ever met,” said Watze, the head of the supervisory board of the German Football League DFL and the managing director of Borussia Dortmund, on Monday (January 8th, 2023). “You can really only bow down to what Franz Beckenbauer has achieved for Germany and German football.”
“Thank you for everything, Emperor”
The two 2014 world champions Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger also paid tribute to Beckenbauer. This is the greatest figure “that German football has ever produced,” wrote Lahm at And Schweinsteiger wrote: “Thank you for everything, Kaiser – I will never forget you! Rest in peace, Franz.”
Matthew: “We will all miss him”
Former world champion captain Lothar Matthäus is also in mourning. “The shock is deep, even though I knew that Franz wasn’t feeling well,” Matthäus told the “Bild” newspaper. “His death is a loss for football and for Germany as a whole. He was one of the greatest as a player and coach, but also off the pitch.”
Beckenbauer, said Matthäus, was “an outstanding personality, not just in football,” “he enjoyed worldwide recognition. Everyone who knew him knows what a great and generous person Franz was. A good friend has left us. He will I miss him, we will all miss him!”
Taufig Khalil, Sportschau, January 8th, 2024 9:37 p.m
Lineker writes: “He was one of the greats of our sport”
Thomas Müller praised Beckenbauer as “one of the greatest footballers in the history of FC Bayern.” Müller wrote on the short message service X: “Rest in peace, Emperor Franz. We will never forget what you have done for football in Germany.”
England’s former football star Gary Lineker also expressed his condolences via won. Rest in peace.”
And Matthias Sammer said: “Franz was and is my great idol. There is an oversized portrait of him hanging in our house with the Champions League trophy in his hand. Germany lost its most important and greatest football personality on Sunday. A very, very sad day.”
Deep sadness for Overath
Wolfgang Overath, who played with Beckenbauer in the national team’s midfield for many years, is also mourning the loss of a companion. “We have achieved great things together,” Overath told the “Lokalzeit Köln”. The news of Beckenbauer’s death hit him hard.
Horst Köppel was Kaiser Franz’s first assistant coach in the DFB era, he says to the sports show: “A shock. For me, Franz was completely different to what many people saw him in public, everyone thought he was doing it The coaching job was easy with his urbane style. He was an absolutely meticulous and hard worker. Before games, he would sometimes call me to his hotel room at half past twelve at night and want to discuss tactical ideas or the line-up with me. It was absolutely crazy how The players always listened to him, how much respect everyone had for this shining figure, for this unique aura.”
Torben Ostermann, Sportschau, January 9th, 2024 6:11 p.m
Rainer Bonhof, his teammate at the World Cup triumph in 1974, revealed to the Sportschau: “Franz intervened with Helmut Schön in 1974 after the defeat against the GDR and thereby brought me into the team. His word always had the greatest weight. As a coach he has – even if “It always looked so easy and casual to the outside world – in reality, attention was paid to every little detail.”
Felix Magath, who played with Beckenbauer at HSV, was shocked by the death of his former teammate: “I knew he was seriously ill, but I didn’t think he would leave us so early. Franz Beckenbauer was also in favor Us players, someone you looked up to. He was basically on a different level than us. He was professional and never took advantage of his position.”
The then HSV manager Günter Netzer persuaded Beckenbauer, then 35 years old, to make a Bundesliga comeback. “It was a gut feeling,” the “Kaiser” later said about the reasons for his involvement with the Hanseatic League. “We were thrilled in 1980 when he came to HSV from the New York Cosmos. At first they said it was a publicity stunt. But then he was there. And we won the championship with him the following season,” remembers Manfred Kaltz.
“Magic triangle with Pele and Maradona”
Andreas Brehme, the winning goalscorer in the 1990 World Cup final, says: “I think in heaven he will create a magic triangle with Pelé and Maradona.”
Thomas Bareiß, Sportschau, January 9th, 2024 6:32 p.m
FIFA, UEFA and IOC also express their condolences
Aleksander Ceferin, the president of UEFA, also commented on Beckenbauer’s death. “The football world mourns the loss of the legendary emperor,” said Ceferin, according to a statement from the association. “Beckenbauer’s legacy as one of the greats of football is undisputed. We say goodbye to a true legend!”
Beckenbauer, wrote FIFA President Gianni Infantino, was a “legend of German football and world football.” “We will never forget you, dear Franz, thank you for everything.”
IOC boss Thomas Bach says: “Franz Beckenbauer was a legend of sport far beyond football. His approachability and modesty in dealing with all people as well as his heartfelt, great charitable commitment testified to his outstanding personality.”