Recognising one of the greatest footballers of all time! FC Bayern legend Franz Beckenbauer, who died in January at the age of 78, was honoured with the Sport Bild Award for his life's work. His widow Heidi Beckenbauer received the prize at the gala in Hamburg on Monday night.
Beckenbauer shaped German football like no one else. As a player he won the European Cup three times in a row, the German championship five times, the DFB Cup four times and both the FIFA Club World Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup once. At the 1974 World Cup, he captained Germany to victory in the final against Netherlands in his home city of Munich, as well as winning the 1972 European Championship. After retiring, he won the Bundesliga title with FC Bayern as coach in 1994 and the UEFA Cup in 1996. From 1994 to 2009, he served as the club's president. Under Beckenbauer as coach, the nationa team won the 1990 World Cup. He was also a key figure in bringing the 2006 World Cup to Germany. The DFB's honorary captain was named Germany's Footballer of the Century in 2000.
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