AUSTRIA – German football icon Franz Beckenbauer is struggling with ill-health and the fall-out from the World Cup 2006 hosting scandal, his brother Walter says.
A new documentary on 1974 World Cup winner Beckenbauer will air on Germany’s ARD TV channel in January, with his tainted legacy the focus along with his sporting exploits.
Beckenbauer, now 78, has been accused of using his influence to help Germany buy FIFA votes in order to win the hosting rights for the 2006 World Cup. The allegations are unproven but Beckenbauer has withdrawn from public view and now lives in Austria.
“If I were to say now that he is doing well, then I would be lying, and I don’t like to lie. He’s not doing well. It’s a constant up and down,” his brother tells the documentary, which does not feature Beckenbauer himself.
Former top German politicians including ex-interior and finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble, whose death at 81 was announced on Wednesday, defend Beckenbauer in the documentary.
“The scandal we are making about it today seems somehow exaggerated to me. He certainly made mistakes, I mean, not everyone does everything right. In that respect, he is also a human being,” said Schäuble.
The 1990-World Cup-winning coach should not be pilloried for 2006 after otherwise achieving so much in the game, former foreign minister Joschka Fischer also tells the documentary.
“The Germans wanted the World Cup, including myself, and we were happy that we had Franz Beckenbauer. In this respect, it is also hypocrisy to a certain extent. We should also accuse ourselves,” he says.
“I can’t understand how people turned away, how Beckenbauer was suddenly the bogeyman, even though he did such great things for our country.”
