Beckenbauer on the wm affair: accusations “bogus and false
Franz beckenbauer disappears into the pouring rain after receiving the bavarian sports award. It is one of his rare public appearances.
The german soccer icon has signed autographs, posed for photos, argued with his longtime companion gunter netzer, received the bavarian sports award as the sportsman of the century, posed for the 2006 world cup, signed autographs again and finally posed for photos again.
When beckenbauer makes his way to an exit of the BMW world in munich after the gala on saturday, a crowd of people follows him. That’s how it is when the man who was once just franz, then the emperor, finally the shining light of german soccer, and for a few years now rather just beckenbauer, appears before the public again. “Franz, with his elegance and lightness, has brought fubball, as he interpreted it, close to art,” said netzer, who held the laudatory speech for beckenbauer.
Beckenbauer also achieved the feat of becoming world champion as a player and as a coach. The three national championship cups he won with FC bayern munchen in 1974, 1975 and 1976, or his five german championships as a libero, are almost mere ornaments in comparison. “He was the best before his time, the best during his time, and nothing better came after him,” praised netzer, who has known beckenbauer for more than 50 years. Netzer was also the one who brought beckenbauer to hamburg SV in the early 1980s.
In his witty laudatory speech, the 73-year-old allowed himself a curious comparison – but at least he was ahead of beckenbauer in one respect. The man from munich-giesing has “four bypasses, I have six,” said the man from monchengladbach. “This is a dubious competition, we both didn”t wish for it,” netzer admitted to laughter from the audience.
There is no laughter when beckenbauer is asked about the 2006 world cup affair. It"s all about a shadow that has been cast over the former light figure. At the center of the affair is a payment of millions that flowed in 2002 from an account of the world cup organization head beckenbauer via switzerland to qatar to a company of the then FIFA functionary mohamed bin hammam.
Beckenbauer had previously received a million euro sum from former adidas boss robert louis-dreyfus for this payment. The world cup organizing committee paid back the equivalent of 6.7 million euros to louis dreyfus in a false declaration in april 2005. It is still not clear what the money was originally used for.
The accusations are "lies and lies", beckenbauer emphasized, "I have always said that". "You form your own opinion, you have no way of going against it, I gave up on that, haven’t said anything since," he explained nuchternly. "I have given information to the people who asked for it. I have done that, everything else has become more or less indifferent to me. It’s just hard to talk about."
The time after the world cup 2006 has cost beckenbauer strength. The now 72-year-old also admits this himself. "Hospital, rehab, hospital, rehab" had alternated with beckenbauer in his younger days. "I actually feel quite well. When you’re over 70 and approaching 80, a little exaggeratedly expressed, it just pinches a bit."Anyway, only one thing is important for beckenbauer: "i’m still alive, that’s the crucial thing for once."