Xu Xunlei.
A very unexpectedly, the "Emperor of Football" Beckenbauer passed away!
China News Network, January 9, 2024: On the 8th local time, according to a number of German media reports, German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, known as the "Emperor of Football", passed away at the age of 78.
How could such a sturdy football genius, not a very old man, be captured by death? ** Beckenbauer underwent heart bypass surgery in 2016; As he got older, he was plagued by health problems ......
Beckenbauer is not just a German but an iconic figure in world football, one of the greatest players in the history of football. He achieved a lot of success as a player, as a coach, and later as a leader of the Football Association.
Beckenbauer, who is 21 years older than me, happens to be the fondest memory of our generation. In him, the charm of football is vividly reflected; In particular, the charm of German football was originally imprinted in our hearts by the stars of Beckenbauer's generation. My liking for German football was built at that time and continues to this day.
Beckenbauer was born on September 11, 1945 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, just after the end of World War II, there were no stadiums, and he had to play football on the streets as a child.
As a teenager, Beckenbauer joined German football giants Bayern Munich. As a young man, Beckenbauer, along with stars such as Muller, ushered in a glorious era for Bayern Munich.
In 1966, 1970 and 1974, Beckenbauer participated in three consecutive World Cups. In 1966, he won the second place, and in 1970, he won the third place; In 1974, he captained the Federal Republic of Germany to victory in the World Cup on home soil. In all three World Cups, Beckenbauer was named in the best team, which is extremely rare in the history of football.
Beckenbauer's contribution to the formation of the German football style is huge, and it can be said that it is a great contribution.
In 1972 and 1976, Beckenbauer won the Golden Globe twice. At the 2004 FIFA Centennial Celebration Ceremony, the "Emperor of Football" Beckenbauer and the "King of Football" Pele shared the honor of "Best Player of the Century".
b In the last decade, including Beckenbauer, five great players known as the "Five Elders of the Palace" have passed away one after another
On July 7, 2014, Argentine "Golden Arrow" Di Stefano, who had won the Champions League five times, died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 88.
On March 24, 2016, Cruyff, the Dutch "ball saint" Cruyff, who played a "peerless double" in the 1974 World Cup final with Beckenbauer, died of lung cancer at the age of 68.
On November 25, 2020, Maradona, the "king of the ball" who competed with Beckenbauer in two consecutive World Cup finals, died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 60.
On December 30, 2022, another "ball king" Pele, died of multiple organ failure caused by colon cancer at the age of 82. The dynamics of Beckenbauer's social platform also stayed on this day, and the content was to say goodbye to his old friend, who called the "football king" Pele "the greatest man in the history of football".
The superstars of that era are gone, and it is indeed the end of an era.
Just as Beckenbauer mourned the "King of the Ball" Pele, the public's tribute to Beckenbauer was sincere.
FC Bayern Munich: "Our only 'Emperor of Football', without you, Bayern would never be the Bayern it is today. May you rest in peace. ”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: "As a world champion player and coach, Beckenbauer is one of Germany's greatest footballers, and for many he is the 'Emperor', also because he has inspired all eras of German football for many years. We will miss him. My heart is with his family and friends. ”
FIFA official website: Franz Beckenbauer is a legend in German and international football for decades, first as a player, then as a coach, and finally as a **.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino: "He is a very great man, a friend of football, a champion and a true legend, dear Franz will never be forgotten. As a legend of German and world football, Beckenbauer's achievements and victories are etched in history; And, despite his popularity, the 'Emperor' remained humble and unpretentious. ”
Golden Globe Official: His influence on this beautiful sport has transcended generations and will last forever.
c In the 80s, when we watched the game, we didn't like the high-flying style of play of the English team, but fortunately they changed later; The Italian defensive counterattack was also unimpressed, but fortunately they later improved across the board; My favorite is, of course, the all-attacking and defending, the way of playing, the tide is surging, the mercury is pouring down, tenaciously persevering to the end, and the most representative is of course German football.
The charm of football is not only the charm of competition and skill, but also a large part of the charm is reflected in the excellent players and stars.
Beckenbauer, who is on the green field, can attack and defend well, and can play multiple positions. He was a rare all-round player, and as a result, he developed the unique "free man" tactic of Beckenbauer, which can attack and retreat, which has promoted the technical progress and tactical innovation of world football. Today we can only see "free people" on the volleyball court, and there is no "free man" on the football field.
Beckenbauer was not only known for his awareness, skill and creativity, but also for his tenacity and tenacity. In the semi-finals of the 1970 World Cup, Beckenbauer accidentally dislocated his right shoulder in the second half, and he used a bandage to fix his right arm to his chest and continued to fight against the Italian team, a scene that has become a timeless classic image on the field.
When I visited Germany in 2007, it was a pity that I didn't get a chance to watch a football match. In recent years, the traditional strong teams such as Germany and Italy have not performed well in the World Cup, which is even more regrettable. The soccer ball is really round, not square, and it changes a lot.
In 1983, Beckenbauer officially retired, starting another highlight of his football career - picking up the coaching whip. As the head coach, he was in a suit and leather shoes, with an extraordinary bearing, calm and calm, which left us with a deep impression. In 1986 and 1990, Beckenbauer led the Federal Republic of Germany to two World Cup finals.
In 1986, they lost to Argentina in the World Cup final and missed out on the championship. In 1990, it was the hot "Italian summer", and Beckenbauer led the German team to finally successfully reach the top and win the World Cup. Beckenbauer is the second footballer to win the World Cup as a player and manager, the first being Brazilian Zagallo, who passed away on January 5, 2024, at the age of 92. The third is the current coach of the French team, Didier Deschamps.
After putting down the whip, he became the leader of the German Football Association and served as a member of the FIFA Executive Committee. Beckenbauer was a "natural leader" of football, always sticking to his beliefs and facing his achievements with a sense of normalcy.
d Beckenbauer wrote an autobiography, the Chinese translation of the book is entitled "Half a World Ball Soul - Beckenbauer's Autobiography", published by Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House in December 1996. In the book, Beckenbauer recounts the experiences of his football career, describes the feelings of fighting the field, and expresses his views on life, death, religion, and more. He talks about "the high cost" – I was in pain and my kidneys are very sick", about "it's hard to be a coach" – how could I be the 'gravedigger of German football'", but also about the "tax turmoil" – I earn 1 mark and only get 27 cents......".
Beckenbauer had several troubles. In the book, he talks about one detail that struck me. In a private conversation with a journalist, he "casually swayed" about political issues, saying "bluntly and without knowing what is important": "I think Strauss is a great statesman, and Willy Brandt is a national misfortune." As a result, the word spread and caused an uproar.
Strauss was president of the CSU and finance minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, and was close to Beckenbauer. Strauss worked well with the Minister of Economic Affairs Karl Schiller and made an important contribution to the sustainable development of the German economy.
Willy Brandt was an anti-fascist fighter during World War II, a former chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, winning the title of chancellor in 1969. On December 7, 1970, during a visit to Poland, Brandt suddenly knelt down after laying a wreath at the monument to the Warsaw Jewish Uprising to pay a moment of silence in memory of the victims killed during the Nazi German invasion. This is the famous "Warsaw Kneeling", which has attracted global attention. The following year, Brandt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. What he didn't expect was that on May 6, 1974, Brandt was forced by the East German spy invasion. The spy sent by Stasi of East Germany, after a long period of hidden operation, turned out to be the chief assistant to the office of West German Chancellor Brandt.
When I say that Willy Brandt is a national misfortune, I am in fact more of a joke, and I should not have said that on a formal occasion. Beckenbauer defends himself in the book. "Unfortunately, I didn't know at the time that this kind of thing should be treated like a cold; Although it can be sadly emotional, it is not physically harmful. After a while, the matter disappeared and no one mentioned it. ”
Then, he unceremoniously criticized some ** journalists: "Through this incident, I discovered for the first time that there are special people among journalists who judge football and players with a different point of view. These are real or self-proclaimed intellectuals, mostly working in so-called serious newspapers. They condescended, leisurely watching the movements of their sports colleagues, and often scoffed at the articles of the tabloid reporters. Reading the articles they wrote, almost every line should make people see: only they will have the ability to understand the essence of things and write the true meaning of things. (See page 134 of the same book).
This is a warning to us.
Beckenbauer visited China several times during his lifetime.
As early as 1977, he made his first trip to China with the New York Cosmos team and Pele, and the two went to Beijing and Shanghai together; At that time, he also promoted his biography "Half World Ball Soul".
In 2006, he visited China as the chairman of the World Cup Organizing Committee, and in 2007, he came to China for the Women's World Cup to be held in China.
In 2015, he visited the Chinese Football Association. He believes that Chinese football needs patience: cultivating young people is crucial to the development of football, and the trick for children to succeed is to work hard and work hard; Chinese football needs to build an effective system structure, and at the same time it takes time and patience, and many things cannot be completed in one or two years, but may be one or two generations.
Beckenbauer was right, but football, soaked in power and money, is difficult to really "kick into the goal". The fourth episode of CCTV's popular anti-corruption TV feature film "Continue to Make Efforts to Advance in Depth" focuses on typical cases in the field of football, including Chen Xuyuan, the former chairman of the Chinese Football Association, and Li Tie, the former head coach of the Chinese national men's football team. In the wave of anti-corruption in football, more than 10 middle and high-level cadres of the Chinese Football Association have been examined and investigated. "Relying on football to eat football", throwing a lot of money and playing match-fixing; Many parties are keen on short-term interests and ignore investment in youth training; The cadres of the Football Association couldn't resist it, and they were coerced into the club's capital game to reap the benefits ...... themselvesChen Xuyuan confessed: "Fans can tolerate the backwardness of Chinese football, but they cannot forgive corruption. In fact, absolute power absolutely leads to corruption, and if you don't start with reforming the power system, then the result will inevitably be the "deep reform and change a ball" ...... ridiculed by fans
In 2016, Beckenbauer, as the honorary chairman of Bayern, visited Shandong Luneng Club, during which he also visited the Temple of Confucius. He once said that the teachings of Confucius "have been with me" for many years.
Beckenbauer has mentioned many times that he is deeply influenced by traditional Chinese Confucian culture. He named his documentary on his trip to China "A Journey of a Thousand Miles, Beginning with a Single Step"; He revealed in the film that when he played for the New York Cosmos team in the 70s of the last century, he began to be exposed to Eastern philosophy, and "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" is his favorite motto.
In his briefcase, he has a German version of the Tao Te Ching all year round. When retiring, he quoted a sentence from Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching" in German in an interview with **: "Retirement after merit is completed, the way of heaven." "Yes, the "way of heaven" cannot be violated.
The victor is powerful, and the self-victor is strong". To be a man must win by himself, and the arena is to win people, and Beckenbauer is such an "emperor" and "Caesar".