Beckenbauer turns 70

May 1994 and Franz Beckenbauer, who had just taken over from the hapless Erich Ribbeck, had guided his Bayern Munich to the league title. After the final game of the season, Beckenbauer was invited to the usual visit to the ZDF studio. One of the highlights of these visits was the goal wall, which just so happened to be Beckenbauer's speciality. The TV producers had something special planned though: The ball wasn't on the floor but on top of a wheat beer glass. The host held the glass and "Der Kaiser" started his run-up. The ball flew comfortably into the small hole in the wall that had caused so many trouble. That's Franz Beckenbauer. Whatever he takes on, he succeeds at.

Franz, the lazy title winner

As a player, he won the German league, cup, the European Cup, European Championships and the World Cup. He founded the sweeper position as one of the greatest players in Germany's history. Even if he looked a little blase when he played, "it was like that back then" he says. "You had to run all over the place, in the best case with the ball on the touchline. But that wasn't in my repertoire," said Beckenbauer, whose career was predominately spent at Bayern Munich, but included a spell at Hamburg and two at New York Cosmos.

Player, head coach, official - success everywhere

Soon after the end of his playing career, the Germany job was open. Beckenbauer wasn't really qualified for the position which is why he was called team manager not national head coach, but that didn't delay the arrival of success. "Go out and play football," he said to his 11 men before the 1990 World Cup final against Argentina. Play they did and they won 1-0. After the final whistle, the pictures of Beckenbauer stood alone in the centre circle went around the world. "It was stirring. I wanted a moment for myself. I wanted to draw a line under it," said Beckenbauer. Afterwards, "Der Kaiser" stepped down and made one of his few mistakes when he handed the reigns over to Berti Vogts. Beckenbauer lavished praise on the team, saying they would be undefeated for years. Vogts would never be able to shift off the pressure.

Father of the summer's tale

A short head coach friendly at Marseille ended with a cup defeat to Belgrade. After that, Beckenbauer returned home to his Bayern. As a player, he had been there from 1958 until 1977 and then he was the club's vice president from 1994 to 2009.

The role didn't really occupy him though, as he fathered his fifth and sixth child and brought the 2006 World Cup to Germany. On July 6, 2000, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said the words: "The winner is Deutschland." In a genuine campaign, Beckenbauer danced with people from all over the world, patiently had photos taken with people, signed autographs and submitted further evidence to FIFA that made them choose Germany. There was no evidence of anything underhand, even when he briefly came under fire during the announcement of the Qatar and Russia World Cups for initially not filling out a form from FIFA's ethics committee. Many resent him for standing by the controversial Sepp Blatter.

Citizen of the world from Giesing

Who else other than Beckenbauer could have brought the World Cup to Germany? Who else could have stood so comfortably at the head of the organisational committee. For four weeks, Beckenbauer was climbing out of helicopters, shaking hands, giving speeches and taking care of heads of state. From Munich's working-class district of Giesing, Beckenbauer made it to the international circles to being perhaps the most famous German ever. Not that he would ever say that himself. "I hope people think, 'he's done his job well and that he's become a good person as a result'," Beckenbauer once said when asked about the importance of his life.

In recent years, Franz Beckenbauer has taken a step back. He still regularly appears as a television expert, and although he's not working for an administrative body anymore, Beckenbauer still travels regularly. He's grown calmer. The death of his son Stephan this summer after a long struggle against cancer has made him more reflective. Apparently, the pair weren't always close. Too often, dad went and did his thing. Now, "Der Kaiser" has devoted more time to his private life and his third wife, with whom he has two teenage children.