West Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer holds up the World Cup trophy | photo: AP
Munich: German football ace Franz Beckenbauer, who played and coached for his nation to World Cup victories, passed away on Monday, according to dpa news agency. He was seventy-eight.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce that my husband and our father, Franz Beckenbauer, passed away peacefully in his sleep yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family,” the family said in a statement to DPA, the German news agency.
“We ask that we be allowed grieve in peace and spared any questions.”
The statement did not provide a cause of death.
As a player and coach, Beckenbauer did more than most to shape German soccer. He captained West Germany to the World Cup title in 1974. He also coached the national side that won the 1990 World Cup final against Argentina.
In recent years the former Bayern Munich great struggled with health problems.
With PTI inputs