Who?
He played on the NY Cosmos with Pele. He was still really good. He was probably the best player on that team. They had some other great international players.
In the ‘66 world cup, he showed up as a kid and looked like he was going to teach everyone there what really good footwork meant. He simply dominated the game... very much like Pele. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWzeUFNS6WM
Back in the elder days when cable TV was a novelty, I had access to a NY station that showed the Cosmos games. Back then I would watch any sport - these were the days when ESPN showed Australian Rules Football and Irish Hurling. I knew nothing about soccer but tried to get into it - even with my limited understanding I recognized that Beckenbauer was something special. He was like a soccer robot - always in control, never making a mistake. I shortly lost interest, but always remembered watching him play.
Der Kaiser
One German called him “a German hero the world didn’t have to be afraid of.”
Very impressive guy. He won the World Cup as a player, and then as a manager, then won the Europa Cup (or whatever they call it) as a manager, then secured the World Cup competition for Germany. Then it all fell apart when he was implicated in the FIFA bribery scandal. He was rather a tragic figure. Troubles with wives and girlfriends and tax agencies and his health didn’t help.
There’s a great recent documentary about Beckenbauer — you don’t have to like soccer to appreciate it — but I don’t know if it’s been subtitled yet.