Franz Beckenbauer revolutionized soccer with sweeper role, bringing glamor and glory to Bayern and Germany

Revolutionary soccer player Franz Beckenbauer, one of the few men to win the World Cup as both as a player and a coach, has died at the age of 78, according to the German football federation (DFB).

Revolutionary soccer player Franz Beckenbauer, one of the few men to win the World Cup as both as a player and a coach, has died at the age of 78, according to the German football federation (DFB). Nicknamed ‘Der Kaiser’ ‘(The Emperor’), Beckenbauer is regarded as one of soccer’s all-time greats. He won the prestigious Ballon d’Or award in 1972 and 1976, the only defender ever to win it twice and is credited with pioneering soccer’s ‘sweeper’ position. “Franz was a marvelous distributor of the ball, a great tackler, he always had control of a situation and he never panicked,” England legend Bobby Charlton told FourFourTwo magazine in 2007. In addition to his World Cup triumphs with what was then West Germany, Beckenbauer also captained his side to victory at the 1972 European Championships. At the club level, Beckenbauer won five Bundesliga titles as a player and three European Cups with Bayern Munich. He also spent some of his career in the United States with the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League, the predecessor to Major League Soccer, winning the championship on three occasions.