“For me,” Helmut Schön said of Franz Beckenbauer in February 1965 after calling him up to the West Germany team for the first time, “he is the player of the future. Maybe not in midfield, perhaps up ...

In the pantheon of the greatest footballers ever, Franz Beckenbauer occupies a unique place. It’s usually attack-minded players that tend to dominate GOAT (greatest of all time) lists, for their goals ...

Gabriele Marcotti is a senior soccer writer for ESPN.com. Read his archive here and follow him on Twitter: @Marcotti. For those who saw him play -- even just in grainy videos -- there's a single image ...

Gazprom International Children's Social Programme Football for Friendship Global Ambassador Franz Beckenbauer will participate in the final events of the programme's Seventh Season in Madrid from May ...

Franz Beckenbauer, one of football's iconic figures and a rare World Cup winner as both player and coach, revolutionized the way the game is played. Born in Munich in 1945, he helped establish Bayern ...

The world of football will never be the same: Franz Beckenbauer, a German sports icon, has passed away at 78 following a long and chronic illness. Nicknamed "Der Kaiser", the Munich native is regarded ...

The football community had barely recovered from the passing of Mario Zagallo and another piece of mournful news teared up fans on Monday evening as it came to light that one of football’s greatest ...

Beckenbauer, German World Cup-winning captain and coach, dies at 78 Beckenbauer was a classy, dominant presence on the pitch for West Germany and Bayern Munich, with whom he won three successive ...