Der Kaiser, German football's statesman, was effortlessly ahead of his time

German football legend Franz Beckenbauer has died, aged 78. 'Der Kaiser' won a World Cup as player and manager, one of three to do so.

 German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer, head of Germany's organising committee for the soccer World Cup, plays with the Golden Ball for the World Cup in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, on April 18, 2006. Germany's World Cup-winning coach Franz Beckenbauer has died. He was 78. Beckenbauer was one of German soccer's central figures. He captained West Germany to the World Cup title in 1974. He also coached the national side for its 1990 World Cup win against Argentina. (AP Photo/Jan Bauer, File)

Franz Beckenbauer will always have a place in football history quite apart from popularising the role of libero, establishing Bayern Munich as the force in German football and being one of only three individuals to win the World Cup as a player and as a manager. He had one of the best and most distinctive nicknames ever, and just as with his near contemporary Eddy “The Cannibal” Merckx in cycling, his Der Kaiser moniker both suited him and served to introduce him in advance.

Opinion is divided on where the appellation arose. Some say he was asked to pose beside a bust of an actual emperor, others point to an on-field incident when he effortlessly bettered a German opponent who was known as the King. Either way, there was always something of the statesman about Beckenbauer, whether in action as a player, manager or administrator. He appeared to be cut from different cloth than most footballers, even though he came from a modest, working-class background in war-ravaged Munich.