Part 1 of tribute to Franz Beckenbauer: the young Kaiser

FC Bayern mourns the loss of Franz Beckenbauer: a true all-rounder, club icon - the Kaiser. A playmaker beyond the game. Widely travelled and yet deeply rooted. As a farewell, we shed light on his life. FC Bayern will forever be an empire - because without Beckenbauer, everything would be different at this club today. Part 1 of our series: the young Kaiser

Youth in Giesing

Two rooms, a stove in the living room: when it got cold in the winter, the family only spent time in the kitchen, and in one room you had to be careful when you came in the door. There was a gaping hole in the floor, the wood was dilapidated in many apartments at the time, and the thick carpet was not an overly reliable protection against an accident: if someone had stepped on it with weight, they would have landed on the third floor. That was the case shortly after the Second World War. This is where the story of Franz Beckenbauer begins, this is where a young man grew up who was to inspire the world.

f the children saw one of the wealthier people leaving a house with an apple, the first person to shout "Butz" was allowed to walk next to the person and wait until he was given the leftovers - even as an adult, the "Kaiser" ate every apple completely. There was a similar game if someone had a sandwich with them. Then they would shout "Schugg" and secure the right to have some. People always said about Beckenbauer that he was born under a lucky star, but the truth is that he learned early on: nothing comes from nothing. Throughout his life, he always did everything he could to achieve his goal, driven by great ambition and a penchant for perfection. Despite his long journey through the (football) world, both mentally and physically, on which he matured into the "Kaiser", his whole being was always shaped by the times in the Munich district of Giesing.

Nimble feet from childhood

And who knows? Perhaps it was even partly due to the hole in the floor of the apartment that Beckenbauer was always so enviably light-footed on the football pitch and in life in general - every now and then it is appropriate to romanticise things a little. Especially as there are even more tales from this period that offer a hint of explanation as to how Beckenbauer was able to become one of the most famous footballers in history. It was an old house back then, unaffected by the war, but eerie and dark. It was always open, with strangers sleeping in the hallway. If Franz was sent to the cellar for heating material, it was an abomination to him. So this is how it went: sidestepping down the stairs, through the dark vaults and up to the fourth floor again. That's how Franz became nimble early on, and as imaginative as he was versatile.

The biggest fortune was the football pitch directly opposite. In order to be able to afford a real ball, the boys from the neighborhood set up cones in the pub on the corner - where they used to go to get their dad's beer mug, try a few sips themselves on the way and fill it up with water. They also sold waste paper and scrap iron until they finally no longer had to play with an egg they had made themselves out of rags. Every evening, someone else was allowed to take the ball home - Franz always fell asleep with it in his arms. Day after day, the boys repeatedly loosened a few wooden slats in the fence around the pitch so that they could kick the ball around from morning till night. At first, little Franz, who they all affectionately called "Stumpen" ("stump"), had to watch as he was still too young. But when the others suddenly saw what a talented ball fetcher they had on the sidelines, he was soon allowed to join in - and it wasn't long before he was discovered. He joined FC Bayern at the age of 11 from SC 1906. He was actually supposed to become an 1860 Munich player, but a legendary slap in the face changed his perspective...

Part 2 of our series: The slap that meant red over blue

FC Bayern is mourning the loss of Franz Beckenbauer: