FRANZ ANTON BECKENBAUER Born: 11 September 1945 in Munich. Nickname: Der Kaiser. Position: Libero. Caps: West Germany 103 (1965-1977) / 14 goals League Games: West Germany 424 (1965-1977 & 1980-82) / 44 goals USA 132 (1977-1980 & 1983) / 23 goals European Cup Games: 80 (1966-1982) / 6 goals German Cup Games: 66 (1964-1982) / 5 goals European Footballer of the Year: 1966 (3rd), 1967 (4th), 1968 (4th), 1969 (7th), 1970 (4th), 1971 (5th), 1972 (winner), 1973 (4th), 1974 (2nd), 1975 (2nd), 1976 (winner) Trophies & Tournaments: World Cup: 1966 (2nd), 1970, 1974 (winner) European Championship: 1972 (winner), 1976 (2nd) European Champions Cup-Winner: 1974, 1975, 1976 European Cup Winners Cup: 1967 UEFA-Cup Finalist: 1982* World Club Cup-Winner: 1976 German Champion: 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1982 German runner-up: 1970, 1971, 1981 German Cup winner: 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971 German Cup finalist: - U.S. Champion: 1977, 1978, 1980 Top League Goal Scorer: never * did not participate in finals Season - Club - Games – Goals – [Caps / Goals] 1964/65 Bayern Munich.....Second Division 1965/66 Bayern Munich.............33 / 04 [14 / 7 ] 1966/67 Bayern Munich.............33 / 00 [ 4 / 0 ] 1967/68 Bayern Munich.............28 / 04 [ 6 / 1 ] 1968/69 Bayern Munich.............33 / 02 [ 8 / 0 ] 1969/70 Bayern Munich.............34 / 06 [11 / 1 ] 1970/71 Bayern Munich.............33 / 03 [10 / 3 ] 1971/72 Bayern Munich.............34 / 06 [ 9 / 0 ] 1972/73 Bayern Munich.............34 / 06 [ 6 / 1 ] 1973/74 Bayern Munich.............34 / 04 [17 / 0 ] 1974/75 Bayern Munich.............33 / 01 [ 6 / 0 ] 1975/76 Bayern Munich.............34 / 05 [ 9 / 0 ] 1976/77 Bayern Munich.............33 / 03 [ 3 / 1 ] 1977.... New York Cosmos.........21 / 05 1978.... New York Cosmos.........33 / 10 1979.... New York Cosmos.........18 / 01 1980.... New York Cosmos.........33 / 05 1980/81 Hamburger SV.............18 / 00 1981/82 Hamburger SV.............10 / 00 1983.... New York Cosmos.........27 / 02 International Club Games 1966/67 Bayern Munich.....EC II........09 / 00 1967/68 Bayern Munich.....EC II........07 / 01 1969/70 Bayern Munich.....EC I.........02 / 00 1970/71 Bayern Munich.....Fairs Cup..08 / 01 1971/72 Bayern Munich.....EC II........07 / 00 1972/73 Bayern Munich.....EC I.........06 / 01 1973/74 Bayern Munich.....EC I.........10 / 01 1974/75 Bayern Munich.....EC I.........07 / 01 1975/76 Bayern Munich.....EC I.........09 / 00 1976/77 Bayern Munich.....EC I.........06 / 01 1980/81 Hamburger SV.....UEFA........00 / 00 1981/82 Hamburger SV.....UEFA........05 / 00
Gregoriak: I would like to hear your opinion on the use of Libero's in the German NT. Germany enjoyed some of their best success with a quality sweeper ala Beckenbauer, Sammer, Mathaeus. Is it a dead position? Or do some teams still use it with some effectiveness? DF
Yea, many fans are considering ballack for that role but I doubt it will happen. I guess that kind of a role is very traditional, now anyways. As for dem Kaiser....greatest player to ever play the game, no question about it.
I think it was actually Lothar Mattäus that killed off the Libero for the German NT. His performances in the 2000 European Championship and the desastrous results Germany got back then made it all too clear that the "old fashioned" way of playing with a libero had run its course. It is - at the moment - a pretty dead position even in Germany.