Germany's World Cup-winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer dies at 78

BERLIN: Germany's Franz Beckenbauer, one of football's greatest players who captained his country to World Cup glory in 1974 and won the tournament again as manager in 1990, has died at the age of 78, his family said in a statement on Monday (Jan 8).

Beckenbauer bestrode the sport as player, coach, pundit and administrator for more than half a century and was widely admired globally, with messages of sympathy pouring in from across the world on Monday.

"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," read a statement from his family.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on X: "World Cup winner as player and coach: Franz Beckenbauer was one of the greatest footballers in Germany and for many 'der Kaiser' also because of the excitement for German Football he created for generations. We will miss him. My thoughts are with his family and friends."

Beckenbauer was a classy, dominant presence on the pitch for West Germany and Bayern Munich in the 1960s and 70s, using a calmness on the ball and effortless distribution that marked his midfield performances to virtually invent the central defensive sweeper role, or 'libero' where he found most success.

"The world of FC Bayern is no longer what it was - suddenly it is darker, more quiet, poorer," the club said in a statement.

"The German record champions are grieving the loss of Franz Beckenbauer, the unique 'Kaiser' without whom FC Bayern would not have become the club it is today."

He earned 103 caps for West Germany, winning the 1972 European Championship and then the World Cup on home soil two years' later, having lost in the final to England in 1966.

In 1970 he