#7 Franz Beckenbauer
As a captain, Franz Beckenbauer won every trophy at both club and international level. The elegance and sheer ability he had as a player was immediately obvious but it was his determination and ferocious will to win that made him stand out.
It was made apparent when Der Kaiser went on to play against Italy with a dislocated shoulder and his arm in a sling, in what was touted to be “The Game of The Season”. Then aged 24, he had already been made the captain of the Bayern Munich side a year earlier and had already begun his metamorphosis into a sweeper.
Although he played as a central midfielder for Bayern Munich, Beckenbauer would go on to create the modern sweeper role or libero, and in the process changed the way defenders would play.
Osvaldo Ardiles described the German perfectly: “He could also play in midfield and in defense, but for me his best position is as the ‘libero’ at the back, bringing the ball out and linking defense with the midfield. He was a brilliant leader too, a positive influence in the dressing room”
In total, Beckenbauer won five Bundesliga trophies, four DFB-Pokals, three European Cups, one Cup Winners Cup, and one Intercontinental Cup. The Bavarians, with the German at the back, and Gerd Muller scoring goals for fun at the other end, won three Bundesliga titles and three European Cups with Beckenbauer as captain, in successive seasons between 1974-76, their first golden era.
