Soccer Legend Franz Beckenbauer Dies at 78

The German soccer icon is one of only three men to win the World Cup as a player and manager.

German soccer icon Franz Beckenbauer, widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, has died. He was 78.

Beckenbauer’s family confirmed the news with a statement: “It is with deep sadness that we announce that my husband and our father, Franz Beckenbauer, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, surrounded by his family. We ask that we can be able to mourn in silence and not be disturbed by any questions.”

Beckenbauer goes down in history as one of best ever to play the game, having achieved incomparable success at both the club and international levels. The Munich-born center back was the face of Germany’s “Golden Generation” and captained the national team to victory at the 1974 World Cup. Sixteen years later, he would lift the trophy again—this time as Germany’s manager—and become one of just three men to win the World Cup as both a player and manager.

Franz Beckenbauer won the 1974 World Cup as a player and the 1990 World Cup as a manager :: GEPA/USA TODAY

Throughout the course of his decorated playing career, Beckenbauer won three European Cups, four Bundesliga titles and four German cups with Bavarian giant Bayern Munich. The two-time Ballon d’Or winner ended his career playing for Hamburg and the NASL’s New York Cosmos before retiring from professional football in 1983.

Named Germany’s Footballer of the Century in 2000, Beckenbauer’s defensive talents and leadership qualities on the pitch earned him the legendary nickname, “Der Kaiser,” and he later enjoyed a successful managerial career at the helm of several clubs.

Beckenbauer is credited with inventing the position of the modern sweeper, a revolutionary piece of his legacy that will no doubt extend into future generations.