German footballer Toni Kroos, who plays for Real Madrid, has called for greater respect and appreciation for sporting icons in his homeland during their lifetimes, following the passing of Franz Beckenbauer last Sunday at the age of 78.
Beckenbauer, considered the greatest football player from Germany, won numerous titles with Bayern Munich, a club he also coached and presided over after his playing career ended, and is a World Cup winner as both player and manager.
However, his reputation was tarnished years later over suspicious payments during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where Beckenbauer was the head of the organizing committee.
Since then, Beckenbauer has virtually disappeared from public view, and Kroos, a former Bayern Munich player, said in his podcast that figures like Beckenbauer deserve better treatment.
"Nobody is perfect; everyone makes mistakes, and he certainly made a mistake," said world cup winner Kroos, currently a Real Madrid player.
He added, "Let's acknowledge that there are those who are truly great and righteous, and they deserve to be celebrated. Above all, they deserve to be celebrated for their lifelong achievements."
Kroos mentioned that people often get downplayed after becoming famous in Germany, a sentiment shared by Gunter Gebauer, a former professor of sports sociology at the University of Berlin.
Speaking to the German news agency DPA about "The Kaiser" Beckenbauer, Gebauer said he was "for a long time in an untouchable place, not treated like an ordinary person."
He explained that "from time to time, there are some people who try to diminish celebrities, but this didn't happen to him for a long time because of his great, tangible achievements… with Beckenbauer, you could see his fame in every match. He never stopped amazing everyone."
"With Franz Beckenbauer, we had the experience of an ordinary person becoming a sort of superhero, as was the case with Pelé, Diego Maradona, and more recently, Messi. From time to time, there are individuals who seem to perform superhuman feats. And the audience is ready to believe this," he added.
Beckenbauer was a relatively simple person from his upbringing but quickly ascended to the realm of legends and stayed there for pretty much his entire life. However, he felt disillusioned, at least to some extent, after the controversy surrounding Germany's hosting of the 2006 World Cup.
A memorial for Beckenbauer is to take place later today, where state officials led by Prime Minister Markus Söder and Bayern representatives will sign a book of condolences in Munich, and the public can do the same.
The German Football Association and the league announced a minute's silence in the weekend's matches, commencing with Bayern Munich's game against Hoffenheim this Friday.
Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena was lit up with the message "Thank you Franz," and the club announced a memorial service for the club legend Beckenbauer on the 19th of this month.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who played alongside Beckenbauer at Bayern Munich and was coached by him on the national team before becoming the club's CEO, was one of the first to propose the memorial service.
Rummenigge sought to memorialize Beckenbauer once more after writing in the Bild newspaper on Wednesday: "Life may end, but friendship never dies."
