Franz Beckenbauer, one of only three individuals to have won the World Cup both as a player and as a coach, was put to rest in Munich on Friday in a tiny private ceremony, with the country grieving the loss of “a great footballer, athlete, and person.”
Beckenbauer, who died on Sunday at the age of 78, was buried in the Perlacher Forest cemetery, barely two kilometers from where he grew up in suburban Munich, according to the German tabloid Bild.
Beckenbauer’s coffin was photographed being carried through a snow-covered cemetery in the Bavarian capital’s south.
He was laid to rest next to his son Stephan, who died of a brain tumor in 2015 at the age of 46. Beckenbauer’s parents are also buried there.
The service on Friday was attended by a modest group of friends and family.
Bayern Munich, Beckenbauer’s old team, has scheduled a public memorial for January 19 at their Allianz Arena stadium.
The event will be available to the public and televised on German television from the 75,000-seat stadium.
On Friday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s office confirmed that the German leader would be in attendance to “show his great respect and recognition for one of our country’s great athletes.”
“With Franz Beckenbauer, our country is losing a great footballer, athlete and person.”
According to Bild, Bayern president Herbert Hainer stated that the arena was the right place because “this stadium would not exist without him.”
“Everyone should be included in the memorial service, including fans and friends.”
In poor health, Beckenbauer lived out his latter years in Salzburg, Austria, making very few public appearances.
In 1974, Beckenbauer won a World Cup with West Germany as a player. In 1990, he repeated as coach.
Only three men have won the World Cup in both coaching and playing roles: Didier Deschamps of France, Mario Zagallo of Brazil, who passed away this week, and Beckenbauer.
As a player, he was the winner of three straight Bundesliga titles with Hamburg and Bayern, as well as the European Cup, which was the forerunner of the current Champions League, from 1974 to 1976.
In addition, Beckenbauer was the coach of Bayern Munich when they won the Bundesliga title. Later, he became the club president and contributed to the team’s status as one of the dominant teams in European football.
Additionally, he was instrumental in obtaining Germany’s bid to host the 2006 World Cup, but he would subsequently face criticism over claims of corruption surrounding the bidding process.
Later on Friday, Bayern, who are now second in the Bundesliga behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen, will visit Hoffenheim.
The German champions will play in jerseys bearing the words “Danke, Franz” (thank you, Franz), and they will warm up in Beckenbauer’s renowned number five.
The Franz Beckenbauer Federation will get the earnings from the jersey auction.
Every German Bundesliga game this weekend will observe a moment of silence before to kickoff in remembrance of Beckenbauer.
