Franz Anton Beckenbauer · Germany
Photo : Public domain — Panini Group (Wikimedia Commons)
Beckenbauer invented a position. Before him, the sweeper was a purely defensive last man; he turned it into the place the attack started from, stepping out with the ball rather than clearing it. Every ball-playing centre-back since works in a role he defined at Bayern Munich in the late 1960s.
He won three consecutive European Cups with Bayern between 1974 and 1976 and lifted the World Cup as captain in 1974, on home soil, against a Dutch side widely considered the better team. Two Ballons d’Or, 103 caps, and a habit of playing through injury — he finished the 1970 semi-final against Italy with his arm strapped to his chest after dislocating a shoulder.
He then won the World Cup again as West Germany’s manager in 1990, one of only three men to win it as both player and coach. He died in January 2024. In Germany he was called simply Der Kaiser, and nobody had to explain who was meant.
Club career
| Years | Club | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964–1977 | Bayern Munich | 427 | 60 |
| 1977–1980 | New York Cosmos | 80 | 17 |
| 1980–1982 | Hamburger SV | 28 | |
| 1983 | New York Cosmos | 25 | 2 |
| Total | 560 | 79 |
International career
| Years | Team | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965–1977 | West Germany | 103 | 14 |
Honours
Dashed = runner-up.
Related legends
Career figures compiled from public records. Competitive senior appearances only.