Franz Beckenbauer moved up to the first team squad at Bayern in the summer of 1964. The young Kaiser made his debut on 6 June 1964 at the age of 18 against St. Pauli in the qualifying rounds for promotion to the Bundesliga, even scoring in the 4-0 victory.
He finally made it just before he was 20. Franz Beckenbauer and the young Bayern boys secured promotion and the Kaiser made the first of his 424 Bundesliga appearances in the derby against 1860 Munich in August 1965.
Bayern won its first European trophy in 1967 with the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, with Franz Beckenbauer in the roles of sweeper and leader.
In the so-called ‘game of the century’, the semi-final in the 1970 World Cup between Germany and Italy (3-4 a.e.t), Franz Beckenbauer made it to the final whistle despite dislocating a shoulder.
Probably the biggest success for Beckenbauer in his incredible career as a player, the Kaiser won the World Cup in 1974 and received the trophy from the President of West Germany, Walter Scheel.
Franz Beckenbauer won the European Cup three times in succession with Bayern from 1974 to 1976. FCB were the best team in Europe and Beckenbauer one of the best players in the world.
Beckenbauer was named Player of the Year in Germany for the fourth time in 1976. That achievement remains unbeaten to this day.
Bavaria Minister-President Franz Josef Strauß awarded Franz Beckenbauer the Bavarian Order of Merit at the start of the 1980s.
Kaiser Franz’s legendary status grew yet further as he coached Germany to their third World Cup title in 1990. A world champion as a player and now a coach, he’s one of only three people to achieve the feat alongside Mario Zagallo with Brazil and Didier Deschamps with France.
Beckenbauer also continued to add to the success story of Bayern from the dugout. He was coach twice – and both times he was rewarded with a title. The Kaiser won the Bundesliga in 1994 and the UEFA Cup in 1996 with FCB.
Franz Beckenbauer was elected Bayern president in the autumn of 1994 and presided over the club up to the end of November 2009. Countless titles, including winning the Champions League in 2001, were achieved over the course of those 15 years.
Two faces that will forever be part of the club history at Bayern: Former chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Beckenbauer worked for decades in various functions to secure the success of the German record champions.
‘FOREVER FRANZ’: At the end of his term as president and the handover to Uli Hoeneß, the Kaiser was honoured with a testimonial between Bayern and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena at the start of the 2010/11 season.
Franz Beckenbauer also became an honorary president of Bayern at the 2009 annual general meeting.
One of the best ever in Germany, Beckenbauer was admitted into the German Football Hall of Fame in 2019 as part of its original all-time XI.
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