How has the football world paid tribute to Franz Beckenbauer a year since his death?
It has been one year since the passing of Franz Beckenbauer. Numerous tributes have been made to honour the Kaiser, one of the greatest figures in German and world football, including the renaming of the Supercup, the address of Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena and much more…
Beckenbauer passed away on 7 January 2024 at the age of 78, prompting an outpouring of grief from across the world of football. A giant of the game, a FIFA World Cup winner as a player and a manager, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, the man known as the Kaiser – the Emperor – helped make Germany the footballing powerhouse it is today.
Some 30,000 people came to the Allianz Arena as Bayern, the club he joined as a child and where he would go on to make his name, paid their final respects to their former player, coach and president.
Watch: Bayern Munich bid farewell to the Kaiser
Immortalised in Munich
One of the acts to honour Beckenbauer finally takes effect on the first anniversary of his death as the address for the Allianz Arena is formally changed to Franz-Beckenbauer-Platz 5, with the five a reference to his iconic shirt number as a player, which Bayern officially retired at their 2024 annual general meeting.
Beckenbauer played a huge part in the Munich club’s rise between 1964 and 1977, leading them into the Bundesliga, winning the title four times and a hat-trick of consecutive European Cup crowns. There is already a statue of his long-time teammate and friend Gerd Müller outside the Allianz Arena. That sculpture of Der Bomber will soon be joined by a replica of the Kaiser.
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The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup
Recognition hasn’t just come from his former club, though. For example, the DFL and DFB agreed to rename Germany’s Supercup as the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup from the 2025 edition in order to honour the Kaiser’s service to German football.
“By renaming the Supercup, we are now creating a visible link between Franz Beckenbauer and football in its entirety – not only players at a professional level but also the non-professionals who take part in the DFB Cup,” said DFB president Bernd Neuendorf of the decision.
“Franz Beckenbauer was a son of the Bundesliga. Few people have shaped it like he did. I’m delighted that we’ll be renaming the Supercup after Franz Beckenbauer in a joint decision by the DFL and the DFB,” added Hans-Joachim Watzke, speaker of the DFL executive committee.
Watch: Franz Beckenbauer – the face of German football
Special recognition at Ballon d’Or
Beckenbauer once again featured at the Ballon d’Or award ceremony in October 2024, some 50 years after he won the honour himself, first in 1972 and then again in 1976. He was given a posthumous lifetime achievement award for everything he accomplished as a player and then later as a coach and at board level.
Beckenbauer Cup for 125th anniversary
Bayern have also arranged their own tournament bearing the Kaiser’s name as they mark the club’s 125th anniversary with the Beckenbauer Cup on 17 March. Teams of legends from Munich, Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart, Real Madrid and AC Milan will compete in an indoor tournament, with proceeds from the event going to the Franz Beckenbauer Foundation, which has been committed to providing moral and financial support for people with disabilities and people who are ill or in need through no fault of their own since 1982.
It's just another way that Beckenbauer’s legacy lives on a year after he left us.
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