How can I persuade you that Franz Beckenbauer is the greatest player of all time? I could begin with his defensive abilities. As Rob Smyth has written, “when his side were 1-0 down in the World Cup final of 1974 and he was the only man defending against Johan Cruyff and Johnny Rep, he ran gently along in front of them like a man leading a morning jog.” Few would argue that he is anything less than one of the great defenders of all time, though. Dwelling on it is unlikely to convert anyone.
Perhaps I should focus on his offensive abilities, almost peerless for a central defender. Look at his astonishing speed in countless runs from deep for Germany and Bayern, or his goal against England in 1970, where, as Brian once described seeing with Pelé, he drops his shoulder, shifts his body, and suddenly frees himself from the defender. And this does not include his years as a midfielder, when he finished third in scoring at the 1966 World Cup from a non-striker position, and when, as Scott Murray put it, he was “not so much evading challenges as ignoring them.” Yet no one would say he was as good a finisher as Pelé, and so here I do not find my answer.
Should I look at his tactical influence? The Dutch may have invented total football, but Beckenbauer invented a position, the attacking libero, almost by himself. Such is the range of skill required for the role that few have been able to play even its less brave cousin, the ball-playing center back. Perhaps he was lucky, though, to play when the libero was still tactically viable. The search must continue.
Finally, then, maybe I should focus on his trophies. People like to talk about Ajax’s three European Cup titles as a high-water mark for totaalvoetbal, but too often people forget that Beckenbauer’s Bayern immediately followed that run with a three-peat of their own. And his five Bundesliga titles certainly are nothing to laugh at, especially considering Maradona only ever won three club league titles. At the international level, no team in Beckenbauer’s twelve-year run had a better tournament record than West Germany, who finished lower than third in only one of the six world and confederation competitions Beckenbauer played in (Euro 1968). Still, you could argue that Beckenbauer was fortunate to be part of a golden generation of German players. The popular account of the ’74 World Cup final would suggest otherwise, but nevertheless, I will admit, once again, that the question remains unanswered.
But even without those objections, the preceding points would fall short, for they only describe parts of the larger player. And reducing Der Kaiser to his individual facets a ignores where his greatness truly lies: in his utter completeness. Cruyff, Maradona, di Stefano, Pelé and Messi were (or are) all superb attackers, inventive tricksters, brilliant tacticians, and (at least at their peaks) physical specimens; we venerate them because we love to see the ball go in the back of the net, because we love the rush and the excitement of the feint and the tiki taka and the goal. But if football were only about offense, we could content ourselves with Sportscenter highlight reels. There is more to this game than attack. Football is a finely balanced game: compared to most other sports, its rules have changed little since they were first written down. That balance, and varying interpretations of it, and its endless possible outcomes are what make soccer so multi-layered, so rich in stories to tell. The greatest player should encompass football at its best: not merely as goals, but as a 22-person ballet, spanning the full range of the game. That player is Franz Beckenbauer.
James Downie is a reporter-researcher at The New Republic.
Read More: Franz Beckenbauer
by James Downie · February 11, 2011
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I like this argument. I have sometimes played the little mental game of wondering whether you could beat 11 Beckenbauers with 11 of any other player. I think the Beckenbauers would consistently defeat the Péles, and certainly the Maradonas and the Cruyffs.
I might add that if I could take any player today to play 11 of, it would without a doubt be Wayne Rooney.
@Alan Jacobs But who would play striker? *rimshot*
Also, playing the 11-of game would elevate certain players higher than they are often ranked. The greatest threat to the Beckenbauers might well be the Gullits.
@Brian Phillips He wouldn’t complain at playing behind, and ahead of, himself.
I’d like to see a team of Zidanes in this 11-of tournament.
@Alan Jacobs My 11 Gerard Piqués against your 11 Rooneys. Let’s say Sunday at 5:30?
11 Bryan Robson’s for me.
@Brian B. You’re on, but my extra Rooneys are on backorder at the cloner. Maybe another week?
11 Park Ji-Sungs would slaughter all your 11s
I don’t think I’ve ever read a “This is why X is the best ever” piece that was quite so convincing. I’m guessing watching the video (supported by music I can only imagine is titled “Triumphant Teutonic March”) and having those images fresh in my mind’s eye while going on to finish reading the argument helped cement Downie’s case. But it’s a damn good case to make. I didn’t know enough about the way Beckenbauer scored before watching that. Impressive.
For the “Team of One” battle, give me 11 Gerrards, and we’ll hope there’s a neck scruff that can be taken at some point in the match. Hoping for a late winner.
Another plus for Beckenbauer is that no-one would have questioned his ability to do it against Stoke City.
Not to nitpick, good article, but what Maradona did to “only” win three titles took some balls: going to a mid-level club in Napoli and taking them to the top. These days any fool with a bit of ambition can just drift to Barcelona, Bayern, Inter and Chelsea for some cheap trophies.
@M.G. Also worth remembering that Bayern hadn’t won the title in 37 years at the time of Beckenbauer’s first.
@Brian Phillips And that Napoli bought Maradona from Barca for a world record transfer fee, and would later add Careca and Alemao before Maradona won his second Serie A title and his only UEFA Cup, foreshadowing another light blue club’s massive spending.
all i need is one nicklas bendtner.
he would tell you so himself.
on the other hand, 11 bendtners is probably funnier.
Very well stated case, in a very good post. However:
– Beckenbauer was nothing more than the “White Coluna”.
Discuss.
@Joao Jorge That’s Mario Coluna, for all of you.
I like this. A lot.
I’d go with 11 Lee Cattermoles though…
i think i’m sold on the argument for der kaiser. especially after viewing the barrage of goals in the youtube clip, it’s apparent that he could comfortably score from outside the box with either foot, which is a point in his favor if one chooses to compare him to other greats who are predominantly one-footed (read: left-footed).
and besides, how many modern footballers would play 120 minutes of a hard fought match with their arm in a sling?
and for the pure chicanery, i’d like to see eleven rene higuitas.
I love defensive play and tactics, Der Kaiser is one of my favorites of all time. Great read! By the way, I’d take 11 Bobby Charltons. He survived the Munich Air tragedy..
The argument can easily be made that Beckenbauer is the greatest of all time. It all depends on how you define your parameters. I’m not saying you could make the argument for every player. For instance, it’s hard to argue that Lee Cattermole is the greatest of all time.* but there’s at least 100 players throughout football history for whom the case could be made that they’re the greatest of all time.
That said, it’s easier to make a case for Beckenbauer than most, and your case is excellently made.
* Unless your qualifications include: Given name sounds like the name of some sort of horrifying subterranean predator. In which case he’d still lose out to Dragan Blatnjak.
@Joao Jorge I wouldn’t go that far…a ‘little’ white Coluna perhaps.
Anyway, I would like to see any of those 11-ofs steal the ball from my 11 Guardiolas!
Good article; but then you are preaching to the choir with me
The strongest argument for Beckenbauer is the World Cup argument. He remains the only player in history to excel in three World Cups (in different positions I might add). Pele was injured in 62 (Garrincha put in a performance every bit as good as Maradona 86) and knocked out early in 66. Cruyff only played in 74, Maradona’s 82 and 90 cups (lets agree to never mention 94 again) weren’t as good as Beckenbauer’s 66 and 70. Zidane flopped in 2002, and wasn’t as consistent overall. Or one could look at the Ballon D’Or argument. Beckenbauer won two (as many as all other defenders combined, Yashin and Cannavaro), and was in the top 3 five times, tied for most all time with Platini, more than Cruyff and Ronaldo.
@raab 11 René Higuitas vs. 11 Jorge Campos, that’d be a funny match.
@matt In this case, Cafu’s 94, 98 and 2002 makes him as good (or maybe better, after all he got two titles) as Beckenbauer.
(Of course I m not saying that Cafu wasn’t a good player.)
Regarding that mention of Di Stefano, wasn’t known for being an excellent all-round player, not just an excellent striker? He could pass, shoot, dribble, and he’d track back and help his team out in defence no?
And I think a team of 11 John Charles could potentially beat anyone else. A world-class defender and a world-class striker 🙂
A lovely post, Mr Downie. Economically put, like the man himself.
@Duke
I stand corrected. Cafu was indeed a world class player from 1994-2002, playing excellently in three consecutive World Cups (two 1st, one 2nd, better than Beckenbauer’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd). I might amend my statement to say that Cafu went 3/4 (he flopped in 2006, though at 36 years old who could blame him). I also omitted Maldini, but i would argue that he didn’t have the necessary results with Italy to justify an argument. Ditto for Matthaus (only 2 great World cups and 1 good Euro, not as good as Der Kaiser).
@matt Cafu barely played in 94, Jorginho was the starting left-back.
Sorry, Jorginho was the right-back and Branco the left-back. Cafu made a few token subs here and there and played the final when Jorginho went down.
Greatest-player-ever discussions tend to collapse fairly quickly into my-dad’s-car and yo-momma gainsaying, and the fact that this one hasn’t says a great deal about this site. But we’re never going to agree on who the greatest player is unless we can square the circle first, and agree on what “greatest” might mean.
If it means revolutionising how the game is played, with a career that marks a clear before and after, then it’s probably Di Stefano, Pele or Cruyff.
If it means virtuosity – doing stuff with a football that nobody else can – then it’s probably Maradona.
If it means the ability to perform at the highest level as a stopper, distributor and finisher – Brian’s “11 of them” – then, yes, it’s probably Beckenbauer.
If it means being the overclocked CPU without which his team or teams would have struggled to shine, then it’s probably Platini, Zidane or – why not? – Xavi Hernández.
But if you’re like me, it’s got to be about something that’s not really been mentioned yet, perhaps because it’s inchoate, non-quantifiable and stats-proof. We could call it the Ooh Factor: the ability week after week to serve up moments of football that are so quasi-erotically pleasurable, moments of football that you’ve never seen before – never felt before – and moments of football that are so universal even the opposition supporters momentarily forget themselves and gasp as much with delight as with uh-oh fear. What you see goes way beyond the mere impressive; it leaves you stricken, consumed, confounded and possessed, and literally makes you go all funny inside.
And if that’s what being the “greatest” is, then it’s already Leo Messi, isn’t it?
(EDIT: Alan’s “11-of-them”, I mean, not Brian’s. Apologies to both.)
@Archie_V The “ooh” factor is key, I agree. The only problem with the “ooh” factor is that it’s so easy to downgrade the “ooh”‘s of retired players because they’re stopped providing fresh “ooh”‘s while the current “ooh”-merchants are out there making “ooh”‘s every week. Has Messi really provided more “ooh”‘s in his career than Pelé? We need a Society for the Appreciation of Historical and Timeless “Ooh”‘s to figure this out.
11 Chilaverts, please…
…standing shoulder to shoulder in the goal mouth.
@Brian Phillips Right. And that’s yet another reason why comparisons between eras are always iffy. It’s like trying to decide which was the greater technogical development, the stone cutting tool or the Internet. In terms of complexity, it’s a no-brainer, but if we consider the contemporary impact on their respective societies of “Hey, guys, we no longer have to strangle our food to death and rip it apart with our bare hands!” versus “Now, while you’re waiting for a bus, you can play poker with someone who’s in Singapore!” then it’s not quite so easy to call.
Quite an article, quite an argument. But I offer you this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFGoVXtgNHc
… And suggest we’re still playing the “who’s the best player in the world?” game because it’s fun, but we all know the answer.
An engaging argument James.
You raised the point about his goal in this game and, for me, the England v West Germany tie at the 1970 World Cup offered the finest example of Beckenbauer demonstrating the full range of his abilities.
Originally playing deep to stifle Bobby Charlton, Beckenbauer was forced more into midfield to push his team forward as they chased the game. When Charlton was substituted, Beckenbauer no longer needed to nulify the threat, and was effectively dictating play from inside England’s half as his team triumphed.
@Lucas Murtinho – Ouch! I feel like I need to sit with my legs crossed for the rest of the day after watching that clip.
I’m a bit late to this, so I can only agree with the 11 Ruud Gullits for a complete experience. I think 11 Fernando Hierros wouldn’t be too shabby either.
But whoever picked 11 Peles, would outscore anyone else 🙂
11 Lee Bowyers would provide some brief amusement.
I’d give them 5 minutes before there was a mass intra-team brawl.
This IS fun.
Give me 11 Xavi’s and you will never touch the ball again.
For all of that, i want my 11 Beckham’s and all the money in the world!!!
The greatest football brain (remains hidden due to the glitz of all other players), great post.
I would take 11 Laudrups with me. The imagination of 11 Laudrups passing to each others would be orgasm for pass-lovers!