" We came back into the game and scored two lucky goals, so in the end we were the winners but we were very, very lucky ", stated Franz Beckenbauer.

In the final, he, Franz Beckenbauer and Berti Vogts formed a slick unit at the back and their water-tight defense prevented the Dutch from winning the World Cup.

Football legend, former FC Bayern President and DFB Vice-President, Franz Beckenbauer, on the other hand, showed his support for Stoiber by letting him join the German national football team on their flight home from Japan after the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

In 1977 Franz Beckenbauer left for New York Cosmos and in 1979 Sepp Maier and Uli Hoeneß retired while Gerd Müller joined the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Success returned when Franz Beckenbauer took over for the second half of the 1993 – 94 season, winning the Championship again after a four-year gap.

The biggest club in the league and the organization's bellwether was the New York Cosmos, who drew upwards of 40, 000 fans per game at their height while aging superstars Pelé ( Brazil ) and Franz Beckenbauer ( Germany ) played for them.

After West Germany's 1990 World Cup win, with assistant Berti Vogts taking over as the national team coach, the retiring Beckenbauer infamously predicted that the German team, with additional former East Germans to choose from, would be invincible for years to come.

Probably it's most notable home-bred footballers are definitely Dragan Džajić ( retired ), officially the best player in the history of Serbia ( the choice of the Football Association on the 50th anniversary of UEFA, known as the Golden Player ), who achieved the 3rd place at the election for the European Footballer of the Year in 1968, and is part, next to players like Zidane, Van Basten and Beckenbauer, of " the greatest European Championship XI of all time ", elected by Goal. com.

Overath is one of only two players ( alongside his teammate Franz Beckenbauer ) with World Cup medals for first, second and third place.

Ravelli was featured as a playable character in the FIFA 10, as a member of the Classic XI team, where he could play alongside such greats as Zico, Eric Cantona, Hugo Sanchez, and Franz Beckenbauer ; he could also be selected for the Sweden national team in the game.

After the final match, Beckenbauer famously said that the reunified Germany will " probably be unbeatable for years ", a statement which turned out to be a burden for Vogts during the upcoming years.

Additionally, he was ranked third in the European Footballer of the Year for 1974, behind Johann Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer respectively.

The low-point of his career was in 1986 when coach Franz Beckenbauer did not include him in his team for the World Cup in Mexico.

Hailed in the press as the " Serbian Beckenbauer ", he had a remarkably good disciplinary record and strong technique, being known for his reading of the game and flair for an incisive pass.

Among others, Bayern Munich wanted him as replacement for Franz Beckenbauer who went to New York in the late spring of 1977.

He reached for the chequebook midway through the season and looked oversees for more big stars, singing 31-year-old German superstar Franz Beckenbauer from Bayern Munich in May 1977.

The Germans had hope now, especially when Beckenbauer became more liberated in the game with Ramsey's decision to substitute Bobby Charlton.

However, the Marseille chairman Bernard Tapie was not satisfied with the results, and replaced Beckenbauer with Raymond Goethals ; Cantona was continually at odds with Goethals and Tapie and, despite helping the team win the French Division 1 title, he was transferred to Nîmes the following season.

Despite popular opinion the substitution did not change the game as Franz Beckenbauer had scored before Charlton left the field, hence Charlton had failed to cancel out the German.

It was the same with Pelé, Beckenbauer and Cruijff.

Lev Yashin ’ s FIFA testimonial match was held at the Lenin Stadium in Moscow with 100, 000 fans attending and a host of football stars, including Pelé, Eusébio and Franz Beckenbauer.

They gained promotion two years later, fielding a team with young talents like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, and Sepp Maier — who would later be collectively referred to as the axis.

Memorably, Franz Beckenbauer remained on the field even with a dislocated shoulder, his arm in a sling strapped to his body, as West Germany had used up their two allowed substitutions.

He left to play in America with Eusebio, ( and against Pele, George Best, Rodney Marsh, and Franz Beckenbauer ).

Along with Franz Beckenbauer, he is one of only two players to be included into three FIFA World Cup All Star teams ( in 1954, 1958 and 1962 ).

With Beckenbauer not a true fan of his way of playing and him not having any intention to stand in the way of the coach to build a new team ahead of Euro 1988, to be held in West Germany, the tall defender quit Die Nationalmannschaft with this, his 72nd, appearance.

During his time with NY / NJ, fans gave him the nickname ' The Caribbean Beckenbauer '.

Abdullah Gegiç, a legendary football coach with Partizan Belgrade ( of former Yugoslavia ) and Eskişehirspor ( of Turkey ), knew Terim from his days as a central defender and described Terim as an intelligent defender with Beckenbauer like qualities.

One of the few Americans on a star-studded New York Cosmos side ( i. e. Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer ), Roth played with the club seven years, and helped it to the Soccer Bowl title in 1977.

With the Cosmos team that also featured Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer, Chinaglia won four league titles, and retired in 1983 as NASL's all-time leading scorer with 243 goals.

His managerial career started as assistant coach with Bayern Munich, serving under coaches Søren Lerby, Erich Ribbeck, Franz Beckenbauer, Giovanni Trapattoni and Otto Rehhagel.

Huddlestone established himself as one of the most promising young English central midfielders in the premiership towards the end of the 2006 – 07 season and head coach Martin Jol compared Tom Huddlestone with German legend Franz Beckenbauer due to his playmaking abilities, ferocious shot power and versatility.

Franz Beckenbauer then hit a low shot under the body of Bonetti, who had been slow to react.

Italy would then lose a tight semifinal to Argentina, due in no small part to a similar strategy from Carlos Bilardo, who then went on to lose the final to a much more offensive-minded Germany led by Franz Beckenbauer.

Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup as the national team's captain in 1974, thus became the second person ever ( preceded only by Mário Zagallo ) to win the World Cup as both player and coach, and the first as both captain and coach.

Pelé's compatriot, former Brazil captain Carlos Alberto was signed in 1977, at the same time as Franz Beckenbauer, who had captained the 1974 FIFA World Cup-winning West German national team.

His job was taken over by Franz Beckenbauer, who led the team to victory in the cup.

Supporters were complimented in Europe, especially by Franz Beckenbauer, who said he had never witnessed such great ambiance from away-supporters and that Premier League clubs had never seen so many away-fans at a club-match ( 4, 500 ).

Pizarro later rejected a contract extension offered by Bayern chairman Franz Beckenbauer, demanding an increase in pay which angered Karl-Heinz Rummenigge who was quoted saying that " Anyone wishing to earn as much as Shevchenko had better start playing like Shevchenko.

* 1945 – Franz Beckenbauer, German footballer

* September 11 – Franz Beckenbauer, German footballer and coach

West German manager Franz Beckenbauer became the only man to both captain ( in 1974 ) and manage a World Cup winning team, and only the second man ( after Mário Zagallo of Brazil ) to win the World Cup as a player and as team manager.

Founded in 1971, the team competed in the North American Soccer League ( NASL ) until 1984 and was the strongest franchise in that league, both competitively and financially – based largely around its backing by Warner Communications President Steve Ross, which enabled it to sign internationally famous stars such as the Brazilian forward Pelé, Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia and the West German sweeper Franz Beckenbauer.

Beckenbauer () is a German surname.

* Franz Beckenbauer ( born 1945 ), German former footballer

* Stephan Beckenbauer ( born 1968 ), German footballer, son of Franz Beckenbauer

Former German captain Franz Beckenbauer is widely accepted as the inventor of the libero and one of the best players of the role.

Former German captain Franz Beckenbauer is widely accepted as the inventor and one of the best players of the position.

Franz Beckenbauer, the sole genuine footballer on the pitch and a " surprise inclusion " in the German team, is left more than a little confused.

* " Kaiser " or " Kaiser Franz ", both nickname of Franz Beckenbauer, former German football player, coach and manager

According to German footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer, Mondragón had been the best goalkeeper of the first round.