Franz Beckenbauer is one of the greatest footballers of all time. “Der Kaiser” has won everything with FC Bayern Munich and the German national team and is one of the few who became world champion as a player (1974) and a coach (1990). He is equal to Pele, Maradona and later Messi and Ronaldo.
Beckenbauer has been living in Kitzbühel in Tyrol for many years. U-Bayer has jokingly described itself as “half-Austrian”. Among his friends were and are the most important local sporting legends – from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Niki Lauda.
But recently it has become much calmer about the former sports idol. Ever since Beckenbauer had to cancel a trip to the funeral of his dead close friend Pele for health reasons, voices of concern have grown.
Most recently, it was former world footballer and current TV commentator Lothar Mattheus who spoke about Beckenbauer’s current health problems. Now former German coaching legend Christoph Daum (69) also spoke on RTL: “I want to give Franz this support, this encouragement, which is really great for me to tell him: Your watch is not over yet. We still need you,” said Daum, himself a cancer survivor. “You have to reinvent yourself, come out of your shell, even if you’re not doing so well. He’s also in touch with his wife, Heidi. “Then she gives me feedback on how Franz is doing.”
