Honours for Sepp Maier & U17 world champions – tribute to Franz Beckenbauer

Honours for Sepp Maier and the Bavarian U17 world champions, a greeting from Jamal Musiala and a joint tribute to Franz Beckenbauer: FC Bayern was once again well represented at the Bavarian Sports Prize 2024 presented by Bayerischer Rundfunk. Maier was honoured with the personal prize from Minister-President Markus Söder, while FCB talents Max Schmitt, Maximilian Hennig, Robert Ramsak and Kurt Rüger topped the ‘Outstanding Young Athletes’ category after winning the U17 World Cup and European Championship. In commemoration of the ‘Kaiser’, who passed away in January, Maier was joined on stage by long-time companions Paul Breitner and Franz ‘Bulle’ Roth to remember the football legend's legacy.

"We used to celebrate success and titles – now we're being honoured for them," said Maier with his typical grin. The award honours the Bayern icon's services to sport in Bavaria in the year of the 50th anniversary of the 1974 World Cup victory and his 80th birthday. Beckenbauer, Philipp Lahm, Ottmar Hitzfeld and Oliver Kahn from Bayern were previously awarded with the Minister-President's award. In 2009, Maier was honoured for his life's work as part of the Bavarian Sports Prize. Sepp Maier is "an outstanding sportsman and a football legend", said Söder. "He completely reinvented the goalkeeping game at FC Bayern and in the national team. He was always an outstanding sportsman, even after his playing career. As a goalkeeping coach, he passed on his knowledge and values to the next generations. He stands for team spirit, fairness, cohesion – as well as joie de vivre and humour. This makes him an important role model and a great ambassador for Bavaria in the world."

In remembering Beckenbauer, Roth explained in a fragile voice: "Franz was a great friend, a great person – one of a kind." Breitner added that the Franz Beckenbauer Foundation continues to support people in need, in the spirit of the ‘Kaiser’, because "you could always come to him, he always helped". Beckenbauer received the prize for his life's work at the same venue in 2018, when Pele sent a video message.

During the inspiring, entertaining and wittily staged 2024 award ceremony, Musiala addressed the audience via the screen – and the award-winning young footballers, who were represented by their national coach Christian Wück. "Stay hungry, this is the start of your journey," said the Bayern star, who received the award himself last year. The audience applauded, including the Bavarian Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann, representing the organisers of the Bavarian Sports Prize, and guests such as long-time FCB women's football general manager Karin Danner and former FCB professionals Manfred Schwabl, now president of SpVgg Unterhaching, and Michael Wiesinger, now head of the academy at 1. FC Nürnberg.

With 706 competitive games for the club, Maier was Bayern's record appearance maker until September of this year, when Thomas Müller surpassed him. He played for the German record champions for a total of 17 years, making 473 Bundesliga appearances, an incredible 442 of them in succession – in 13 seasons, Maier did not miss a single game. From the 1963/64 season onwards, he was the number one goalkeeper of the first team and, together with greats such as Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Breitner, Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, paved the way for the club's rise to the top. Maier remains one of the best goalkeepers in football history to this day. The ‘Cat of Anzing’ won all major national and international titles with Bayern and the German national team, including the European Cup three times in a row and the 1974 World Cup on home soil.

Following retirement, Maier worked as a goalkeeping coach for both Bayern and the DFB. The annual Bavarian Sports Prize recognises sportsmen, sportswomen and initiatives that make the positive impact of sport in society visible in a special way and shape sporting life in an imaginative way. The prize has been awarded in various categories since 2002. Maier received the Bavarian Order of Merit from Minister-President Söder as recently as July.

© Images: S.Widmann / A.Beier

On Thursday, the Bavarian Climate Alliance met at FC Bayern's Allianz Arena. The German record champions pledged to become a member of the Climate Pact 2040 from now on: