Franz Beckenbauer Is Coming To Filbert Street

[kushiro]

That's what Leicester fans would have thought on February 20th 1967 when they read in the Mercury that the club had arranged a prestige friendly against Bayern Munich for April 18th that year.

 

Gerd Muller and Sepp Maier were also in the Bayern team, but they came to prominence later. The star was Beckenbauer, who'd had a sensational World Cup:

 

 

 

Leicester had their own World Cup star of course - Gordon Banks. But between that Mercury announcement and the fixture on April 18th there would be dramatic developments. 17 year old Peter Shilton told manager Matt Gillies that if he didn't get a first team place soon he'd have to look for another club. 'And when I say soon, I'm not talking months. I'm talking days'.

 

On April 17th, the day before the game against the German side, Gillies agreed to sell Banks to Stoke City. 

 

But actually, by that time, the identity of that 'German side' had changed too.

 

This is the cover of the wonderful kicker magazine from March 13th that year:

 

 

 

The headline is 'Die Bayern im Halbfinale' -  and you don't need a degree in German to work out what that means.

 

The picture shows Gerd Muller in action against Rapid Vienna in the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners Cup. Muller got the winner as they beat the Austrians 2-1 on aggregate to make those Halbfinale, where they would face Standard Liege in April.

 

That meant the Leicester fixture had to be canceled. 

 

A replacement for Bayern was hurriedly found - and it was arguably even more attractive opposition - Borussia Dortmund, who had four of West Germany's World Cup Final XI in their squad, and were the holders of the Cup Winners Cup after beating Liverpool in the Final shortly before the World Cup kicked off.

 

So Beckenbauer never made it to Filbert Street.

 

On the day of the game, this famous picture appeared in the Mercury:

 

 

Shilton was officially our number one for the first time that night, and he kept a clean sheet as we won 6-0. Here are the teams and scorers:

 

 

 

Those details are from the Mercury, and on the front page of the paper that day came stunning news. The great German leader Konrad Adenauer was dead. Now you may not know who he is, but in a poll of Germans in 2003, he was voted the Greatest German Who Ever Lived.

 

Don't scoff. When you see the list of people he beat it is a pretty amazing accolade:

Unsere Besten - Wikipedia

 

Did you spot who the highest placed footballer was, at 36?

 

[Wolfox]

It’s a travesty that Nena only came in at 38

 

Those pits alone should have secured a top 10!

Edited 9 January 2024 by Wolfox

[fuchsntf]

Helmut Kohl.. Shouldn't BE on the list.. 

HE Fought with Maggie Thatcher to try and keep the Wall.. Though when the

People of E. Germany & Poland, from the streets forced the situation.. Many

Politians jumped on the movement.. 

 

AND Kohl's work in the actual reunification, will have its Plaudits & critics.. 

 

I was in North  Pakistan,when the Wall fell... WE were parked up just outside a Village, just preparing for a Trek and the

Crowds gathered to take us to a the village TV meeting place.. IT was from the previous night... Wow, I was pleasantly shocked, thought it would still take 5-10 years, and for me an Engländer who through my wife & work got to know Germany, I cried like a child. Lived & worked in Berlin, knew many Berliner & though difficult, some East Germans, taking on its whole History.. 

 

For me and from my Perspective, the greatest event and issue in my Life.. 

Somehow so proud of the Organisation & various groups around E. Germany & Poland.. all people from the street..!! 

 

From Adenauer one of the most respected Politians and well served Politicians.. through the tragedy of the Walls beginning and eventual collapse, the serving office of Willy Brandt.. 

Came out my positives towards the Germans.

Though I could debate also a

good collection of negatives, if & when pulled in..

 

Before I met my wife I worked all over  Germany, but still in those early  days leaning towards France, Spain.. IN THE End.. coincidence after my expeditions & adventures, even considering Mexico, & Nepal, I was head hunted for simple technical position in Germany & my last year's fell more in love with Germany.. 

 

Franz Beckenbauer/Bobby Charlton/Bobby Moore/Pele, just legends that ran off the Tongue, with my German history, The Kaisers running CV, was part of a football fans interest. 

Though BvB are my 2nd team. 

Kaiser had his unfavourable moments, through that CV,

not everybody could be the Bobby Charlton reserved & relaxed, but Franz did take more on, after finishing playing and what great Peaks..! 

HE had that special something... Another massive Legend with stars on his lapels passes. 

Edited 9 January 2024 by fuchsntf

[kushiro]

Hate to lower the tone after that fine post from @fuchsntf but I liked seeing Uwe Seeler at number 100 in that list. Not just because he was a great player but also because that was the Leicester players' nickname for Mercury football writer Bill Anderson back in the day. 

 

Can't think why.

 

 

[shen]

1 hour ago, Wolfox said:

It’s a travesty that Nena only came in at 38

 

Thise pits alone should have secured a top 10!

Way too many (recent) politicians on that list. Germans don't lose love for a person just because they're tainted or shrouded in ignominy.

[fuchsntf]

36 minutes ago, kushiro said:

Hate to lower the tone after that fine post from @fuchsntf but I liked seeing Uwe Seeler at number 100 in that list. Not just because he was a great player but also because that was the Leicester players' nickname for Mercury football writer Bill Anderson back in the day. 

 

Can't think why.

 

 

I actually don't know, if it was one of my relations that coined that phrase or nickname... Bill Anderson was visiting with another journalist on an invite at Grace Road, I was then a member and it was a BH fixture, and I was with a couple of Friends and my cousin who was at the Mercury, and during dinner, the topic got onto Germans and Europeans turning to cricket... 

 

My cousin asked Anderson what his thoughts might be from the  footballers perspective and addressed him has Uwe, while ( I can't remember why, now) Uwe Seeler Was on the British sports papers pages on that day.. 

 

Just one of those anecdotes that crop up during cricket player-members dinners as one does.. 

Sorry.. 

 

Weird what comes in handy years later. 

[Trav Le Bleu]

When I saw the Thread title I came in here ready to tell @kushiro what a sick b****** he is.

 

But he saved it with his first paragraph.

[fuchsntf]

54 minutes ago, shen said:

Way too many (recent) politicians on that list. Germans don't lose love for a person just because they're tainted or shrouded in ignominy.

It's not the German per se, just the media are more conceited, and hardly go down the British media ways of hanging ALL the washing past & present on politicians/celebs line.. 

 

The normal German will discuss until the cows come home (Ostfriesen, through Hessen splitting down to Bayern and Blackforest cows).

Over Likes. hates, good, bad politics.. 

& life. With turn of  wit & sarcasm..  unlike the since the war British  propaganda, Germans

guys n gals on the streets Do have a sense of Humour. Galgen and self.!! 

Due to language and cultural variants, timing is slightly different, but still the same shit... Plus a theory of mine depending which language culture they learnt.. ENGLISH or the American version.. 

[surrifox]

Sophie Scholls story is utterly heart breaking and her courage and selflessness is rightfully acknowledged and recognised here but greater than Einstein or Beethoven ? They love their politicians though , I doubt that most people had heard of any of them post hitler apart from Angela 

[boots60]

Der Bomber at 180!!!

It's a fix

[Swabianfox]

It is very sad and a bit of a weird feeling also that he's gone.

It felt (or I felt, I'm not sure about that) a person like him would live for ever. He had this sort of "light" and "graceful" aura, and for decades success always seemed to fall into his lap: countless titles as a player (including captaining Germany to World Cup glory in 1974) almost immediately followed by leading a great German team to World Cup success in 1990, then Bayern Munich vice president, president and occassional interim manager (also winning titles as if it was some kind of God given right). Then high ranking German FA (DFB) official, bringing the World Cup to Germany in 2006. Always successful - and it always appeared effortless and the most natural thing to happen!

The last few years were hard for him: he lost his son to an illness in 2015, had to cope with corruption rumours with regards to the 2006 World Cup, and then he gradually became ill. In his last few public appearances he gradually came across more and more frail until they stopped completely. Still, it's strange that somebody who literally seemed to float above mere mortal things for so long is no more!

I'll miss him! 

[kushiro]

Beckenbauer's first game for West Germany was quite an occasion. They very nearly didn't make it to the 1966 World Cup. Sweden held them to a draw in Berlin in the qualifiers, then in the return the Swedes were winning 1-0 and the Germans were heading out - before Werner Kramer and Uwe Seeler scored. That game in Stockholm was Beckenbauer's debut.

 

You can see him (number four) celebrating Seeler's winner.

 

 

 

[hackenbacker]

when i was 8 years old i was coached by FB. He was with the New York Cosmos on their 1979 tour of Australia. I one of  the winners (along with a few other kids) of a competition at the time run by Nutella to attend a morning training session with the Cosmos. My memory of it is quite vague but i do recall receiving a pass from him. Of course i have never washed my foot since.  

[kushiro]

A few more bits and pieces:

 

1) Some fascinating reflections on that Leicester City v Dortmund game from Dave Gibson here:

Former Players Remember: Richie Norman & Davie Gibson (lcfc.com)

 

2) After Bayern told Leicester they wouldn't be able to come to Filbert Street, they won that CWC SF and faced Rangers in the Final. That took place in Nuremberg, six days after Celtic became the first British club to win the European Cup. Had Rangers won it would have been a truly amazing Glasgow double - but Bayern beat Rangers 1-0. 

 

3) You can see the trophy they won that night in this amazing picture:

 

 

The European Cup, the Cup Winners Cup, the UEFA Cup, the FIFA World Cup, the European Nations Cup, The Intercontinental Cup, the Meisterschale (Bundesliga), and the DFB Pokal (German Cup).   

 

 No Jules Rimet, though. 

 

[Heskey2011]

Can FT please arrange a big pub meet up where we all listen to Fuchsnstuff, Kushiro and hakenbacker tell us stories?

[kushiro]

This is a truly magnificent video. Watch it right till the end - it's worth it:

 

 

 

(and just a word of explanation for the thread - it was posted just after Beckenbauer died on January 7th)

Edited 18 May 2024 by kushiro

[sylofox]

I was only one at the time and really didn't think much to it at all.

 

I had much better things to do at the time.