GERMANY
| 1964-1983 | |
| Bayern Munich (1964-1977) New York Cosmos (1977-1980, 1983) Hamburger SV (1980-1982) | |
“Der Kaiser” is generally regarded as the greatest German footballer of all time, and with good reason. No one was better at winning trophies than Beckenbauer. He became the driving force of some of the greatest teams in football history while playing with Bayern Munich, combining with Sepp Maier and Gerd Muller to win four Bundesliga crowns, four DFB Cups, one Cup Winners Cup, and, most notably, three straight European Cups from 1973-1976. His winning ways continued after he left Bayern Munich, winning a Bundesliga title with Hamburger in 1982, and winning three NASL Championships with the Cosmos.
As successful as he was in domestic competition, he was even better on the international scene. Beckenbauer captained the West German side to the 1972 European Championships and the 1974 World Cup. During the 1974 World Cup Final, he had, arguably, his finest moment, as his West Germans were big underdogs against the Johan Cruijff and the “Total Football” Dutch juggernaut. However Beckenbauer, Berti Vogts, and other German defenders man-marked Cruijff so well that the Netherlands managed only one goal on a penalty shot.
Beckenbauer wasn’t just a winner. He was a pioneer that changed the way the game was played. Not content to sit back and concentrate on defense when he had great playmaking and attacking skills, or to stay in midfield when he had such excellent defensive instincts, he became the first great sweeper (“libero”) in the game.
Beckenbauer remains a dominant figure in German football. He won the 1990 World Cup as a manager, guiding the very last West German squad to glory. He also won a Bundesliga title as Bayern Munich’s manager, and picked up a UEFA Cup title to boot. He’s currently the Chairman of Bayern Munich, as well as the Vice-President of the DFB. He was instrumental in bringing the World Cup to Germany in 2006, and frequently makes headlines for criticizing various German players and managers. Hey, when you’ve won as much as he has, I guess you’ve earned that right.
Most notably, Beckenbauer’s success as a libero, prompted many teams to look for their own version of “Der Kaiser.” Some teams, like Italy with Scirea and Baresi or the later-day German squad with Matthaus succeeded. But, by and large, most teams found out that there was only one Beckenbauer.
