The Kaiser of football: genius on the pitch, chaos in the tabloids, myth in the making.
He is considered one of the most important athletes in football history. Franz Beckenbauer was the shining light of German football, won everything there was to win in club football as a player and coach, became world champion as a player and coach and, as the father of the "Summer Fairy Tale", brought the 2006 World Cup to Germany. He was also a pioneering advertising icon and an occasional singer and actor. The man whom everyone in his home country simply calls “Kaiser” shaped the image of the Federal Republic of Germany like no one else. The legendary footballer seems like a national treasure today, but little is known about the person behind the ball artist. Public knowledge of his private life is shaped by his long-term relationships with four women. The documentary, completed shortly before his death, uses archive material and prominent contemporary witnesses from sports, politics and entertainment to weave both facets into a look at a life's work with light and shadow.
Editing
Seamless weave of 70s match footage and modern interviews.
Production
Rare access to Beckenbauer before his death.
Writing
Doesn't flinch from four-women chaos or FIFA shadows.
Director
Philipp Grüll
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Beckenbauer invented the attacking sweeper role ('libero') basically because he was bored playing defense traditionally.
The 'Summer Fairy Tale' 2006 tournament briefly made Germans comfortable with flag-waving patriotism for the first time since WWII.
DE
