German football legend has passed away
Franz Beckenbauer, the legend of German football and Bayern Munich, passed away today at the age of 78, causing German football to lose one of its greatest legends.
Beckenbauer, who in recent years had undergone heart and hip surgeries, immortalized his name in football history with his World Cup victory in 1974 as captain and in 1990 as a coach. The Kaiser scored 14 goals in 103 matches wearing the German jersey.
Having also played for New York Cosmos and Hamburg, he appeared 754 times in professional football, 584 of those with Bayern. He celebrated 5 Bundesliga championships, 4 German Cup victories, 3 European Cup titles, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, and one Intercontinental Cup with Bayern. He also won the North American Soccer League three times with New York Cosmos. The crowning achievement of Beckenbauer’s playing career was winning the Bundesliga with Hamburg.
