Description

Franz Beckenbauer is Germanys greatestever football player and one of the games biggest icons of all time a World Cup winner as player and managerThe Three Lives of The Kaiseris the first Englishlanguage account of a truly remarkable existence

Known everywhere as the Kaiser Beckenbauers compatriots even referred to him as the Shining Light Not anymore though Because what is often described as a blessed life has really been an emotional rollercoaster ride with stunning highs and bitter lows Herose to fame at the 1966 World Cup in England where after the final defeat the British press marvelled at the grace of a beaten but proud Prussian officer

However there was nothing Prussian about the Bavarian boy who flouted authority disregarded rules and viewed the traditional German work ethic with the disdain of someone to whom everything comes naturallyBeckenbauer grew into one of the games first truly global stars and transcended sport He was painted by Andy Warhol and discussed the merits of Wagner with Aga Khans wife at the Bayreuth Festival He gently warded off overtures from Rudolf Nureyev and danced with Mick Jagger at Studio 54 in New York

Back home though people often wondered what to make of this most famous German athlete who was so unGerman It took his country three decades to learn to love Franz Beckenbauer but shenanigans surrounding his greatest offthefield triumph bringing the 2006 World Cup to Germany have made him a controversial figure all over again Uli Hesse assesses his achievements and his legacy in this definitive insight into the life of a sporting icon