In honor of the dead emperor
Vogts suggests naming the DFB Cup after Beckenbauer
January 9, 2024, 12:04 p.m
Former national coach Berti Vogts would like the German Football Association to pay a special tribute to the late Franz Beckenbauer. The 77-year-old can imagine the DFB Cup being named after the emperor. A 90s world champion likes the idea.
The news of Franz Beckenbauer’s death hurts Berti Vogts “very much,” as he told the “Rheinische Post”: “He was a friend, German football is losing its figurehead,” explained the 77-year-old. Together they played in 71 international matches, the highlight of which was winning the World Cup in 1974. “We had a special relationship, it was a wonderful time with Franz,” said Vogts. Beckenbauer shaped football, “he invented the libero position. He was a playmaker behind the defense, something that didn’t exist before him, and it was always impressive how easily he played.”
The former defender can imagine renaming the DFB Cup in honor of Beckenbauer: “It is important that his name is not forgotten by the following generations of footballers. Maybe the DFB should think about it, for example the DFB Cup Franz Beckenbauer.” Olaf Thon, who became world champion in 1990 under Beckenbauer’s direction, likes the suggestion. “That’s not a bad idea,” he told Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Vogts was one of the coaching assistants at the World Cup triumph in Rome and then took over as national coach. “He is one of the best footballers of all time, on a par with Pelé, Eusebio, Maradona – and Franz is the captain of this team. His death is not only for German football, but for football in Europe and around the world Loss.”
Thon meanwhile paid tribute to Beckenbauer, who died at the age of 78, as a warm-hearted person. “When he came into the room, there was always more light than before,” said the 57-year-old from Gelsenkirchen, who played for FC Bayern from 1988 to 1994. “The warmth with which he treated every employee was what was special.” During his time at FC Bayern, he and his coach Beckenbauer “always took snuff together in the morning” as a greeting, Thon also reported: “So with Franz you could also drink a nice red wine in the evening.” For him he was the “greatest of all”.