Der Kaiser

Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a former German soccer player, also known as "Der Kaiser" ("The Emperor") because of his precise and confident control on the ball, superb tactics, and dominance on the field. He was awarded the European Footballer of the Year twice, played 103 games and scored 14 goals for West Germany.

Beckenbauer's first World Cup experience was in 1966 in England. He played every game and contributed 4 goals to the team, but West Germany finished in the 2nd place after England beat them at the finals. In 1970, FIFA World Cup was hosted by Mexico, and West Germany was losing to England by 2-0 by the 2nd half. However, with Beckenbauer's first goal, they came back to 2-3 and beat England, advancing to semi-finals against Italy which can be called considered as the Game of Century. Kaiser Franz dislocated his arm after being fouled. He stayed on the field, however, with only a sling on his arm. Unfortunately, Italy beat West Germany by 4-3 after the extra time. West Germany beat Uruguay 1-0 for the bronze medal.

West Germany hosted the 1974 World Cup and Kaiser Franz led the army to win the whole thing. The final win against Netherlands and Johan Cruyff was another memorable game, too. Victory at Munich also meant that Bechenbauer became one of two men who collected all three bronze, silver, and gold medals at World Cup. He later led the Germany national football team to win the 1990 World Cup in Italy beating Argentina by 1-0 and became the first man to captain and coach a world cup winning team. He now is a president of FC Bayern Munich of German Bundesliga 1, and a German soccer legend of all time.