Beckenbauer, Franz Anton

Beckenbauer, Franz Anton,

1945–, German soccer player nicknamed der Kaiser. The only person to win the World Cup as both player-captain (1974) and coach (1990), he began his career at 14 on the Bayern Munich youth team. A player on the regular Munich squad (1963–76) and team captain from 1971, he defined the attacking sweeper position and led Bayern to three consecutive European cups (1974–76). He was also captain of West Germany's national squad, which won the 1972 European championship and 1974 World Cup. Playing with the New York Cosmos (1977–80, 1983–84), he was instrumental in the team's three North American Soccer League championships (1977–78, 1980). Beckenbauer managed the West German national team (1984–90) and the Olympique Marseille (1990–91) and Bayern Munich (1993–94, 1996) clubs. Since 1998 he has been vice president of the German Football Federation.