Franz Beckenbauer: German football legend dies aged 78

Published

6 months ago

January 8, 2024

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German and World Cup football legend Franz Beckenbauer has died, aged 78.

The German defender – nicknamed “Der Kaiser” because of his sublime talent – was regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, winning a World Cup with West Germany as both a player and a manager.

He was also famed for carving out his own role as a sweeper – now often known as a “Libero” – sitting slightly behind his team’s defensive line and sweeping up any man or ball that broke through.

Former England striker Gary Lineker, paying tribute to Beckenbauer, described him as “one of the absolute greats of our game”.

“Very sorry to hear that Franz Beckenbauer has died. Der Kaiser was the most beautiful of footballers who won it all with grace and charm. RIP,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Former England goalkeeper also paid tribute, writing: “Very sad to hear that the great Beckenbauer has sadly passed away.

“He was a fantastic player reaching world-class status. RIP legend”

Clash of the titans with Charlton

Across a nearly two-decade-long career – much of it spent at his boyhood club Bayern Munich – Beckenbauer won an array of trophies, including four Bundesliga titles and three European Cups.

But it was performances on the international stage that many football fans will remember, including lifting the European Championship in 1972 and the World Cup with West Germany in 1974.

He narrowly missed out on the Jules Rimet Cup eight years earlier at Wembley, with England clinching an extra-time victory in the 1966 World Cup final.

It was during that final that Beckenbauer, not yet at the peak of his powers, was told to man-mark England star Bobby Charlton, pitting two of the world’s greatest footballers together.

In the end, such were both their talents, they cancelled each other out, and it was Geoff Hurst who starred, scoring a hat-trick to help England to a famous victory.

“The message he [Beckenbauer] sent out was: ‘Don’t even try it. Coming out to face me is a waste of your time,” Charlton later said of their match-up.

As well as trophies, Beckenbauer won an array of personal honours, including two European Footballer of the Year awards as a defender – a rarity at the time and still to this day.

He also finished runner-up twice and third placed in 1966 – won that year by his World Cup final nemesis, Charlton.

From pitch to the boardroom

After hanging up his boots for the final time – following a short second stint in the US at the New York Cosmos – Beckenbauer turned to management, guiding West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup.

He was one of three men, along with Brazil’s Mario Zagallo, who passed away this month, and France’s Didier Deschamps, to have won the World Cup as both a player and as a manager.

After stepping back from the dugout, Beckenbauer entered into punditry, including for Sky Germany, as well as taking up executive roles at Bayern Munich and with the Germany Football Association.

It was during his spearheading of Germany’s successful 2006 World Cup bid that Beckenbauer became embroiled in controversy, with authorities launching an investigation into allegations of fraud and money laundering in connection with the bid.

He was accused by the Swiss Attorney General’s office of paying Qatari former FIFA executive Mohamed bin Hammam £8.4m before the 2006 World Cup.

Beckenbauer and three other men accused in the investigation denied any wrongdoing, and it was later closed without a verdict in 2020 as the statute of limitations expired.

Beckenbauer was later immortalised in a film – titled Der Kaiser – made about his life in 2022.

In a statement announcing his death, his family said: “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.

“We ask that you be able to grieve in silence and refrain from asking any questions.”

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Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party leads in first round of French election

Published

8 hours ago

July 1, 2024

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Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party leads in first round of French election

Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party will get the biggest vote share in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections, according to exit polls.

As polls closed on the first round of voting on Sunday, National Rally had a strong lead at 33%, followed by the left-wing New Popular Front coalition on 28.5%.

President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party are polling third with an estimated 22%.

Addressing supporters in Henin-Beaumont, northern France, Ms Le Pen said: “For the moment nothing is won, and the second round will determine the outcome.”

She warned voters to “be careful” in the coming days, and urged them to “mobilise” ahead of the second round on 7 July.

The result is almost double the 18% National Rally achieved in the 2022 elections and puts them in good stead to become the largest party in France’s lower house.

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France faces a new political reality as Le Pen’s prodigy stands on the brink of power

Published

10 hours ago

July 1, 2024

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France faces a new political reality as Le Pen's prodigy stands on the brink of power

A new political reality has been revealed in France, it has a new face and a new name – 28-year-old Jordan Bardella.

Frontman of the hard-right, he has helped propel National Rally to a clear-cut lead in the first round of parliamentary elections.

Bardella, the party’s choice for prime minister, stands on the brink of power if National Rally secures a majority in the second round of voting.

“I want to tell our supporters to mobilise so that they carry out a final effort next Sunday – next Sunday’s vote will be one of the most important in the history of modern France,” he said.

With roots in the collaborationist regime of Vichy France, National Rally has been re-engineered by Marine Le Pen as she has worked to make it electable – and acceptable – to the public.

A key part of that scheme rests with Le Pen’s fresh-faced prodigy. Bardella told the media that a National Rally government would respect the country’s traditional republican values.

“I will always be the guarantor of your rights and freedoms and our republican values which unite us all. I promise you freedom, equality and fraternity,” he said.

They were challenged from the left by the New Popular Front, a hastily organised alliance of socialists, communists, greens and hard-left grouping France Unbowed.

Early results suggest they have finished a strong second, around 28% of the vote.

There is no doubt about losers here. Emmanuel Macron‘s centrist coalition, Ensemble, performed poorly, gaining just 21% of the vote.

Now a case of damage control

When he called this snap election, Macron was taking a gamble the drubbing his alliance received in recent European elections would not be repeated. He was wrong.

Macron’s prime minister, Gabriel Attal, said it’s now a case of damage control: “Our goal is clear, we must stop the right from gaining an absolute majority in the first round.”

What happens next? Well, we will see a feverish week of campaigning as those candidates who have entered the final round seek to cement their advantage.

In constituencies where three people advance into the second round, parties will engage in frantic horse-trading to give their candidate the advantage.

Protesters and police clash

The country’s new political reality is also a moment of instability – both politically and on the streets.

After the results were announced, protesters erected barricades and broke windows in cities around the country.

Police responded with tear gas and baton charges.

The hard-right now have the national assembly within their grasp – but the implications of their success are unpredictable.

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Jay Slater: Search for missing British teenager in area of Tenerife called off by police

Published

1 day ago

June 30, 2024

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Jay Slater: Search for missing British teenager in area of Tenerife called off by police

The search for Jay Slater in an area of Tenerife has been called off, police have said, nearly two weeks after his disappearance.

The British teenager, from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, has been missing in Tenerife since 17 June, when he vanished the morning after a rave.

The Civil Guard called for volunteers to join a new search in the Masca area – near his last-known location – on Saturday.

It has now confirmed to Sky News that the search has ended. Police are keeping the investigation open and could yet open up searches in the south of the island, but have not provided an update.

A handful of volunteers turned up to help rescue teams on Saturday, forming a total group of 30 to 40 people scouring a huge area of rugged and hilly terrain.

Mr Slater, 19, had been on holiday with friends on the Spanish island and was last pictured at Papayago, a nightclub hosting the end of the NRG festival, late on 16 June.

After the event ended, he got in a car travelling to a small Airbnb in Masca with two men, who police said on Saturday are “not relevant” to the case.

His last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island – which is about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.

A local cafe owner told Sky News he tried to catch a bus back to Los Cristianos, where he was staying.

Ofelia Medina Hernandez said she spoke to the teenager at 8am on 17 June, telling him a bus was due at 10am – but he set off walking and she said she later drove past him “walking fast”.

The apprentice bricklayer called a friend holidaying with him at around 8.30am on 17 June and said he was going to walk back after missing the bus.

He also told his friend he was lost and in need of water, with only 1% charge on his phone.

On Friday, Mr Slater’s friend Brad Hargreaves told ITV’s This Morning he had been on a video call with him before his disappearance when he heard him go off the road.

He said he could see his friend’s feet “sliding” down the hill and hear he was walking on gravel.

Meanwhile, Mr Slater’s family shared a blurry image of what they believe could be the missing teenager captured on CCTV in a nearby town 10 hours after he was first reported missing.