Franz Beckenbauer, the German soccer great who helped his country win the World Cup both as player and coach, has died, news agency dpa reported Monday (January 8). He was 78.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce that my husband and our father, Franz Beckenbauer, passed away peacefully in his sleep yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family," the family said in a statement to dpa, the German news agency. "We ask that we be allowed grieve in peace and spared any questions."
The statement did not provide a cause of death.
As a player and coach, Beckenbauer did more than most to shape German soccer. He collected 103 caps and captained West Germany to the World Cup title in 1974. He also coached the national side that won the 1990 World Cup final against Argentina.
In recent years the former Bayern Munich great — with whom he won three successive European Cups and three successive Bundesliga titles — struggled with health problems.