Happy 73rd Geburtstag To The Kaiser: Tremendous Vintage Photos Of Franz Beckenbauer In His Prime

Chris Wright

11th, September 2018

3 Comments

To celebrate Franz Beckenbauer’s 73rd birthday today, here’s a whole heap of tremendous photos plucked from the Getty archives of Der Kaiser in all his commanding 1960s and 1970s pomp…

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The 20-year-old Franz Beckenbauer (fourth from left) lines up for West Germany ahead of a pre-World Cup friendly against Yugoslavia, 1966

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West Germany players Bernd Patzke, Franz Beckenbauer (centre), Friedel Lutz and granite-jawed goalkeeper Sepp Maier pose at a photo call, 1966

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Franz Beckenbauer (left) and West Germany room-mate Helmut Haller offer assistance in the Peak Hotel kitchen during the 1966 World Cup

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Up in their room at the Peak Hotel in Peveril, Beckenbauer and Haller discuss who gets the bed by the window, 1966

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Franz Beckenbauer takes a central role as West Germany train inside an empty Wembley Stadium during the 1966 World Cup

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Franz Beckenbauer and Bobby Charlton go haring after the ball during the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley

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Franz Beckenbauer (right) marshals the situation as Bayern Munich beat Glasgow Rangers 1-0 in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final, 1967

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Franz Beckenbauer prods home the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over England in front of almost 80,000 fans at Hannover’s Niedersachsenstadion, 1968

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Franz Beckenbauer steals a brief chat with Eusebio ahead of a friendly between Bayern Munich and Benfica, 1972

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Franz Beckenbauer in pensive pre-match mood, 1972

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Franz Beckenbauer squats in his Bayern Munich colours, circa 1972

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Nattily dressed to a man, the Beckenbauer family take in the sights in Jersulam while filming the documentary movie ‘Libero’, 1972

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Franz Beckenbauer and wife Brigitte enjoy a refreshing dip in the sea, 1972

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Franz Beckenbauer and teammates congregate in the studio to record ‘Football Is Our Life’, the West Germany squad’s 1974 World Cup anthem

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Franz Beckenbauer celebrates winning the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich, 1974

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Franz Beckenbauer holds the World Cup aloft after a fiercely-contested 2-1 win over the Netherlands in the 1974 final

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Franz Beckenbauer celebrates his 30th birthday with Brigitte, as well as Bayern president Wilheim Neudecker and former West Germany captain Fritz Walter, 1975

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Franz Beckenbauer and old adversary Bobby Moore team up with pistols, furs and chess for reasons entirely unknown, 1975

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Way ahead of the curve, Franz Beckenbauer smoulders in his Adilettes while sitting on the edge of the Bayern team bath, 1975

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Nestled comfortably back behind the curve, Franz Beckenbauer dons some questionable knitwear to conduct a little light admin, 1975

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West Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer swaps pennants with England counterpart Alan Ball ahead of a friendly between the two sides, 1975

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Franz Beckenbauer lifts the European Cup after Bayern Munich’s 2-0 win over Leeds at the Parc des Princes, 1975

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Franz Beckenbauer meets his bronze likeness shortly after winning the 1976 Ballon d’Or prize

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Franz Beckenbauer runs out as a New York Cosmos player for the first time after moving to the NASL in 1978

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Mutual respect evident as Franz Beckenbauer is reunited with the equally great Johan Cruyff at the Cosmos, 1978

Posted in Featured, International football, Retro

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3 Comments

  1. Quack says:

    Was he that good? I think he was one of those players that if you didn’t saw at that time, you wouldn’t be able to say how good he was. It’s not like Cruyff or Pele that you can tell that they were different class just by watching youtube videos 40 years later. I don’t see aything ”all time great” about Beckenbauer but I didn’t see him back then.

  2. The Allies says:

    In the name of United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, China, France, Poland, Yugoslavia, Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Czechoslovakia, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ethiopia, Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and Costa Rica, I come here to state that this guy is a fucking idiot cunt, just like any other german.

  3. COK. says:

    Rio Ferdinand was much better. Maldini and Sergio Ramos too. And they are superior human beings because they are not germans.

    hahahahahaha
    hahaha
    hah
    a

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