German football legend Franz Beckenbauer dies aged 78

Franz Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup both as player and coach and became one of Germany’s most beloved personalities with his easygoing charm, has died. He was 78.

Beckenbauer's death was first announced through a statement from his family to German news agency dpa and then confirmed by the German football federation.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce that my husband and our father, Franz Beckenbauer, passed away peacefully in his sleep yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family,” the family said in its statement. “We ask that we be allowed to grieve in peace and be spared any questions.”

The statement did not provide a cause of death. The former Bayern Munich great, who became affectionately known as the “Kaiser” - or “Emperor” - had struggled with health problems in recent years.

Beckenbauer was one of German football's central figures. As a player, he reimagined the defender’s role and captained West Germany to the World Cup title in 1974 after it had lost to England in the 1966 final. He was the coach when West Germany won the tournament again in 1990, a symbolic moment for a country in the midst of reunification, months after the Berlin Wall fell.

“The ‘Kaiser’ was one of the best players our sport has ever seen,” German football federation president Bernd Neuendorf said. “With his lightness, his elegance and his vision, he set standards on the field. ... Franz Beckenbauer leaves a great legacy for the federation and soccer as a whole.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on social media that Beckenbauer “inspired generations of enthusiasm for German soccer. We will miss him."

Beckenbauer's death comes just two days after the announcement that Mario Zagallo, the Brazilian who became the first person to win the