Germany to pay tribute to Beckenbauer at EURO kick-off

Franz Beckenbauer, one of the world's greatest football legends who passed away on 7 January, will be honoured at the opening ceremony of UEFA EURO 2024 at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Friday ahead of the opening match between Germany and Scotland.

The two living captains of Germany's European champion teams, Bernard Dietz (1980) and Jurgen Klinsmann (1996) will join the ‘Kaiser's’ wife Heidi at the presentation of the Henri Delaunay Cup on the field before the tournament starts, so all three German teams that won the title will be represented.

Beckenbauer captained West Germany at the 1972 European Championship, where they won the tournament by defeating the Soviet Union in the final, and played a part in the 1974 World Cup triumph, as well as guiding the ‘Mannschaft’ to the 1990 World Cup title as coach.

He also played for Bayern Munich, winner of three European Cups in a row between 1974 and 1976, with whom he won five Bundesligas (four as a player and one as a coach) and presided over the Bavarian club and the 2006 World Cup Organising Committee.