German football legend dies aged 78: What does he mean to people in Germany? | DW News

Franz Beckenbauer, a German football legend, died on Sunday at the age of 78, his family said Monday.

"It is with deep sadness that we inform you that my husband and our father Franz Beckenbauer passed away peacefully yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family," his family announced.

"We ask that you mourn in silence and refrain from asking any questions."

Nicknamed "Der Kaiser" (The Emperor), Beckenbauer is widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of all time.

The greats of German football paid their respects to Beckenbauer after his death was announced.

"Franz Beckenbauer was definitely the biggest German footballer of all time, and above all one of the greatest men who I have known," said Hans-Joachim Watzke, vice president of the German foodball federation DFB.

Lothar Matthäus, who captained Germany to win the World Cup in 1990, hailed the late Beckenbauer as "one of the greatest as a player and a coach, but off the pitch as well."

"His death is a loss for football and for the whole of Germany," Matthäus told German tabloid Bild.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also called Beckenbauer one of the nation's greatest footballers of all time.

"We will miss him. My thoughts are with his family and friends," Scholz said on social media.

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