Franz Beckenbauer – a piece of FC Bayern's DNA in bronze

Just a few days after what would have been Franz Beckenbauer’s 80th birthday, a new memorial to the Kaiser has been revealed outside the Allianz Arena. The Bayern club legend now has his own statue on the Esplanade, alongside his long-time teammate and fellow icon Gerd Müller. The monument was ceremoniously unveiled by Heidi Beckenbauer, Beckenbauer's long-time companions Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, president Herbert Hainer, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, sculptor Matilde Romagnoli and representatives of the Kurt Landauer Foundation, which financed the fan project with donations. “This monument is a piece of FC Bayern's DNA, cast in bronze,” said Hainer in his speech. “It stands for Beckenbauer and everything he embodied: for style, for attitude, for Bayern. Munich is getting more than a monument here - it is a reflection of the city itself: proud, self-confident, elegant and down-to-earth.”

Speaking at the event, Hoeneß and Paul Breitner, together with Heidi, who had travelled with her children Joel and Francesca, told stories about the Kaiser. Among the 300 invitees were honoured guests and companions such as board member for sport Max Eberl, sporting director Christoph Freund, vice-president Walter Mennekes, board member Michael Diederich, Bianca Rech (director of women's football), Sepp Maier, Dieter ‘Mucki’ Brenniniger, Peter Kupferschmidt, Franz ‘Bulle’ Roth, Rainer Zobel, Uschi Müller (wife of the late Gerd), Jupp Kapellmann, Klaus Augenthaler, Lothar Matthäus, Pierre Littbarski, Stefan Reuter, Raimond Aumann, Hermann Gerland, former president Karl Hopfner and former vice-president Bernd Rauch, former DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach, Charlotte Knobloch (president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria), and Heiner Jüngling (FCB member No.1).

Check out the photos from the statue’s unveiling:

What would Franz have said if Heidi had told him a few years ago that a monument would one day be erected in his honour? When asked this question during the talk, she smiled and said, “You all know him – he would have said, ‘Stop talking nonsense’. But I'm sure he would be very proud of this moment.” Beckenbauer was “always a role model, a perfectionist,” Hoeneß recalled, “He couldn't lose and worked hard for everything – he founded the ‘Mia san Mia’ philosophy.” True greats don't need to show that they are great people, said Breitner: “Franz never made himself important. True greatness is letting others shine too.” He always said, even in New York, “I'm a Giesing boy,” added Heidi. Thanks to Beckenbauer, his life's journey became “a highway of life. Without him, everything would have been different for me, for all of us,” Breitner stated.

When you look at this sculpture, you don't just see bronze, said Hainer, who wore the Beckenbauer shirt from the collection marking the Kaiser’s 80th birthday especially for the occasion: “We see a boy who set up skittles in the pub so he could afford a football. A man who made New York his home but spoke in the Munich dialect as if he were still in Giesing. A person who became world champion – twice – and yet always shook hands with people on the street.” Beckenbauer “never sought the limelight, but the spotlight found him. Perhaps because he always radiated something that has become rare today: a deep, honest understanding of the people around him.” Against this backdrop, too, it is a wonderful coincidence, according to the president, “that the Kurt Landauer Foundation has made this memorial possible. It is a gift from fans to fans, very much in keeping with Franz's spirit, who will always remain a part of everyone who supports FC Bayern – and always a part of us. When children take selfies here in the future, they will think of the generations before them who left behind something lasting and formative.”

In conversation with stadium announcer Stephan Lehmann, Romagnoli explained her work while images from the report in FC Bayern's member magazine ‘51’ about Hasan Göktepe's art foundry flickered across the screens: “I learned about Beckenbauer's elegance through videos and photos. He studied the game, he always knew in advance what was going to happen in the game; I wanted to illustrate that in the memorial.” Christian Kröll expressed his “sincere thanks” on behalf of the Kurt Landauer Foundation to all donors: “We’re proud that, after the Kurt Landauer statue and the sculpture of Gerd Müller, we have been able to realise something like this again. We’re all volunteers, and once again it has been worth it.” Mrs Beckenbauer said that for her “the best thing is that a meeting place has been created here where fans can always meet and get together. Franz would have liked that very much.”

Hoeneß praised the fans in that regard: “FC Bayern can be proud of the people who founded the Kurt Landauer Foundation. There’s an enormous amount of commitment behind all this, and we as a club are very grateful for that.” Hainer picked up on this, saying that it was always remarkable what the fans did for their club, and that Beckenbauer had always known where he came from: “From a Munich-Giesing in the ruins of the post-war period. Now he stands in bronze in front of our Allianz Arena, next to his unforgettable playing partner Gerd Müller. Life and football are fleeting, but legends remain – in the midst of the FC Bayern fans, in the midst of the people, in the midst of us.”

Find out more about the creation of the Franz Beckenbauer statue: