Special Moves series: How the Kaiser's outside-of-the-foot passes made the difference

Monster slide tackles, the unstoppable dash, the irresistible dribbling. At FC Bayern there are and have been many players with unique abilities. They give us unforgettable moments. Such as the passes that Franz Beckenbauer, who died a year ago today, played with the outside of his foot.

Munich, 14 April 1976, second leg of the European Cup semi-finals. Franz Beckenbauer's Bayern versus a Real Madrid team featuring Paul Breitner and Günter Netzer. Beckenbauer is the central star of the side, who allows the other stars like Uli Hoeneß, Gerd Müller and Karl-Heinz
Rummenigge to shine. Time and again, he sends the ball on a long, curved trajectory with the outside of his foot, opening up spaces for the fast forwards. Beckenbauer is on the pitch what the director is in a film: "Action!" Everyone listens to his silent commands and follows his vision, as he dictates the tempo of the game with his long passes. It finishes 2-0 to Bayern thanks to a Müller brace. Beckenbauer triumphs over the 'Kings of Europe' – and a few weeks later, FC Bayern win the European Cup for the third time in a row. How did the 'Kaiser' manage to dissect the game with such elegance and almost provocative ease?

Beckenbauer: One step quicker

The basic requirement for Beckenbauer's 50-metre passes with the outside of the foot was his speed – in the legs and in the mind. He anticipated situations in the game and instinctively moved into the right areas in order to solve them in his way. And in such a way that no one kept up. That gave him the freedom to play his brilliant passes. Even his primary school teacher described the young Franz as a supernatural being: "He shot around the gym but could turn on a sixpence and didn't barge into anyone. He ran in between the children like lightning." Another factor was the Kaiser's confidence. For a long pass, you need the courage to go for broke. It can split open an entire defence – or concede possession. A risk that Beckenbauer was never afraid of.

A pass with a special effect: Timing is key

As well as a willingness to take risks and the vision to advance play, the great masters of the long pass like Beckenbauer possess other skills: the creativity and the technical ability to wrong-foot defenders. If you watch Beckenbauer's passes from the game against Real, you can only understand in slow motion exactly what he's doing: he bends his kicking leg inwards long before the actual contact, puts a lot of feeling and just the right amount of power into his ankle and hits the ball with the outside of his foot to the side and below the centre. A pass with a special effect. The ball gains momentum and flies in an odd, almost curved trajectory, making it almost impossible for defenders to guess its destination.

The Kaiser in the perfect position

Beckenbauer's role on the field was certainly another crucial factor in the outside-of-the-foot passes. It was fate that pioneering coaches invented a new position in the mid-1960s, one that Beckenbauer was made for: the libero. A player who turns defence into attack and creates overloads all over the pitch. The Kaiser operated as a 'free man' without a direct opponent and had the play in front of him. That allowed his genius to flourish without someone chasing and kicking him for 90 minutes. A huge stroke of fortune for Bayern, who enjoyed one of the most glittering periods in their history under Beckenbauer's captaincy. As well as the three European Cup triumphs, he led the club to four league titles and four cup wins – and it was often his outside-of-the-foot passes that made the difference.