FRANZ BECKENBAUER

So it is that in an era where Borussia Dortmund is trying to get back to the g0od old times of Jurgen Klopp, chief of club Joachim Watzke decided that his personal issues stood greater than the harmony and slow rebuilding being introduced into the squad by sacked coach Thomas Tuchel.

Many expected the chief to go for former Borussia Monchengladbach coach Lucien Favre since he offered something similar to that of the two previous men to take hold of the proceedings of Westfalenstadion pitch. His achievement with French side OGC Nice did enough to convince observers of his capability.

Alas the Dortmund chief like his earlier decision to sack Tuchel against the wishes of substantial of people connected to the club felt Ajax’s Peter Bosz will be a better head to steer them towards the destination they are longing for.

Bosz is a fine coach no doubt but appointing the Dutch man raises few red flags chief of which is that the 53-year old believes football should be played in a way distinctly different from the style Dortmund has been used to for the past 6 years. (more…)

Franz Beckenbauer is one of the most iconic figures in the world of football as he’s a retired player who lifted major pieces of silverware and that during a specific period of time; the German defender was without any doubts the best player in the sport.

During 1972 and 1976, Beckenbauer won the Ballon d’Or which is an individual award that is given to the player who is considered to be the best footballer in that selected year. Another one of his significant accomplishments was being able to win trophies as the captain of Bayern Munich as well as with Germany.

Even though Franz Beckenbauer is out of the pitch and no longer an actual player, he still remains being a hugely influential figure as the German is currently working as a pundit for Sky Germany and has served in various roles for Bayern Munich as the President in some point in time and chairman in another date.

He was even at the helm of Germany’s 2006 FIFA World Cup bid and Beckenbauer has actually recently been investigated and questioned by Swiss prosecutors due to a suspicion involving possible corruption with the past edition of the worldwide football competition. (more…)

Following the on-going investigations by some Swiss prosecutors into allegations of corruptions, Franz Beckenbauer was forced to cancel a public appointment that was supposed to hold in Zurich.

The investigation is being carried out into the awarding of the 2006 World Cup that saw Germany come off as the host country.

Beckenbauer, who owns a South African winery, was supposed to be at a public wine tasting in a Zurich hotel, where he was supposed to present his own brand of ‘The Kaiser’s Wines’.

The German football legend is not alone in the investigations. Three other members of the 2006 World Cup organizing committee – Hans-Rudolf Schmidt, Theo Zwanziger and Wolfgang Niersbach, are also being investigated by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.

On Thursday, the court in Bern made it known that the investigations into the four Germans have been ongoing since last year, November to be precise. Allegations made on the quartet are those of criminal mismanagement, fraud, misappropriation, and money laundering.

On Thursday, searches were carried out in more than eight locations. Bild, the German daily reported that two hours were spent by officials who were searching Beckenbaeur’s home in Salzburg. (more…)

Carlos Alberto is regarded as one of the legendary players in the game and he recently passed away at the age of 72 due to a heart attack. The Brazil captain led his team to the 1970 World Cup title.

The defender also scored one of the iconic goals in the World Cup history to help his team secure a 4-1 win over Italy in the final of the tournament. During his career, Alberto played alongside legendary names like Pele – both at club and national team level – and his passing away has been mourned by football fans around the world.

Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer has claimed that Alberto has been like a brother to him and that his passing away brings a lot of sadness. Santos have produced a number of great players in their history and Alberto is one among them. The defender went on to make more than 400 appearances for the Brazilian outfit. He also helped them win four consecutive domestic titles during 1967 and 1973. Santos have issued a three-day mourning for the player, who they have termed as the best right back in the history of the club. Alberto went on to represent the national team in 53 appearances before retiring from the game in 1978 following plenty of knee related issues.

“Heidi and me are deeply shocked. Carlos Alberto was like a brother to me, one of my best friends,” said Franz Beckenbauer.”It is with huge regret from the CBF (ConfederacaoBrasileira de Futebol) that the world of football has been surprised by the death of Carlos Alberto Torres on Tuesday (October 25).The legend of the Brazilian national team, the captain of the three-time winners of 1970, died in Rio de Janeiro, victim of a heart attack.The wake will be held at the CBF building in Barra da Tijuca. Details will be announced soon,” read a statement on the Brazilian Football Federation’s official site.

Pep Guardiola says he did not take the help of a third medium to express his thoughts about Zlatan Ibrahimovic like the Sweden native did.

Ibrahimovic came up with a book few years back in which he disclosed many things about his Barcelona stint and why he couldn’t continue long enough there.

He was heavily critical of Guardiola in the book and seemed to be blaming him for cutting short a possible legendary Barca career.

Referring to that book before Manchester Derby which would be a battle of prestige for the two great personalities, Guardiola said, “I didn’t choose to speak through a book or something like that. I had a direct conversation with Zlatan about my requirements off him.”

Coming to the potential of the striker, the Spaniard said, “Look, no club has been at a loss with Zlatan. He has given everybody their money’s worth. When he goes to a new league, he always blossoms without taking much time and that’s why he sits in the topmost grade of Footballers.”

Another Red Devil whom Guardiola doesn’t necessarily call to say a merry Christmas is Jose Mourinho, but, the Sky Blues’ boss was in no mood to hype that rivalry either and stressed that things were actually not that sour between him and the Portuguese. (more…)

Franz Beckenbauer is legend by his own achievements and when he talks about others, it surely brings them under the spotlight as well.

For instance, he has been noticing the performance of Bastian Schweinsteiger and how he has helped in turning things around for his team in Euro 2016. He has been telling Bild that Bastian Schweinsteiger has definitely overcome the problems that he faced when he was at Manchester.

Joachim Low included Bastian Schweinsteiger in the squad. The player, who is about 31 years of age, is on in the summer tournament even though he has suffered from a partial tear. This has happened in his right knee as a result of playing in March. Being the Germany captain, it definitely affects the team’s games when the captain is absent due to injury. He returned last weekend for a friendly match that was played against Hungary. The game ended with Germany has victory over their opponent with a score of 2-0.
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The club president of Bayern Munich, Franz Beckenbauer recently voiced his thoughts concerning which teams are going to win the Champions League of this season and according to the former footballer, either Barcelona or Bayern Munich were going to make it into the finals of the European competition, unfortunately for Beckenbauer none of those teams managed to reach the finals of the Champions League as both of them were knocked out in the semi-finals.

Beckenbauer revealed that he is a Barcelona fan as he enjoys the style of play from the Spanish club and that Lionel Messi is simply the best player out there right now.

“The way they Barcelona play football is very unique and entertaining, I certainly consider myself a Barcelona fan. The reason for their success has a name: Leo Messi. He is simply the best.I wish I can see Messi and his Barcelona play in Milan in the final against Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich will win 5-4 on penalties in the end though!” Bayern Munich’s Franz Beckenbauer said as he praised Lionel Messi and stated that he would like to see Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the finals. (more…)

Franz Beckenbauer says he is a fan of the Catalan giants, hence he backs the team to reach the champions league final. This came as the team defeated Athletico Madrid in the 2016 quarter finals match on Tuesday.

AC Milan were the last team to win the title back to back while the tournament was in the former format. AC Milan won the titles during the 1989 – 1990 season when the three Dutchmen in Marco Van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullits changed Italian football.

Beckenbauer admitted he has a soft spot for Barcelona star, Leo Messi. He says he wishes to see The Blaugrana in the final come May 2016 in Milan. The Luis Enrique-led team is hoping to be the first team to successfully defend the UCL title since it was rebranded in 1992.

“The way they [Barcelona] play football is very unique and entertaining, I certainly consider myself a Barcelona fan,” said legendary World Cup winner as part as his ambassadorial role for the Football for Friendship project. The reason for their success has a name: Leo Messi. He is simply the best.” (more…)

It’s been a little over 3 years since Pep Guardiola accepted the managerial position and during this 3 year stay, the Spanish manager has been able to lift a number of big titles such as: Bundelsiga, DFB Pokal, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. The Champions League is the only other real big piece of silverware that Guardiola has not sealed in the Allianz Arena but he is planning to add it to his collection in his last season in charge of the German club.

Even if Pep Guardiola is not able to secure the Champions League, the time that he has spent in charge of Bayern Munich is already considered to be a successful one, especially taking into consideration just how dominant that the German outfit has been in these past few years.

This is the last season of Guardiola as the head coach of Bayern Munich as he will be making his way out of the Allianz Arena in a few months’ time and replaced by Carlo Ancelotti, this is bittersweet news for Franz Beckenbauer as the former star of Bayern Munich unveiled his thoughts about this managerial that will be occurring at the end of the season.

“It’s a shame that Guardiola will leave Bayern. The team as it is, that’s all his work. He built this team, his thoughts and ideas are the foundation. But that’s the way it is. You cannot hold on to someone forever. And Bayern have secured the perfect replacement in Ancelotti.” (more…)

Franz Beckenbauer does not agree to the opinion that there has been improvement in the standard of Football in the Italian top tier in the recent times.

In fact, he reckons it’s weakened.

According to Beckenbauer, just because Juventus has been able to do well in Europe, people have started believing that the club Football in Italy has revived, but, it’s not the truth.

Addressing the media in an event, Beckenbauer said, “Juventus is world class and they have shown over the last couple of seasons that they would beat any team on their day, but, on the basis of the successes that they have achieved, we can’t judge the Italian Football in general.”

“For me, Italy is still not in the top bracket. If I have to pick, I would go with Spain at the top, Germany no. 2, England no. 3 and then, you can talk about the leagues in France, Italy etc.”

“It’s nice to see that an Italian team is in the European final, but, you will have to keep in mind that Juventus is a class above the rest of the teams going around in Serie A at the moment.” (more…)