Walter Beckenbauer

He is considered one of the most important athletes in football history. Franz Beckenbauer was the shining light of German football, won everything there was to win in club football as a player and coach, became world champion as a player and coach and, as the father of the "Summer Fairy Tale", brought the 2006 World Cup to Germany. He was also a pioneering advertising icon and an occasional singer and actor. The man whom everyone in his home country simply calls “Kaiser” shaped the image of the Federal Republic of Germany like no one else. The legendary footballer seems like a national treasure today, but little is known about the person behind the ball artist. Public knowledge of his private life is shaped by his long-term relationships with four women. The documentary, completed shortly before his death, uses archive material and prominent contemporary witnesses from sports, politics and entertainment to weave both facets into a look at a life's work with light and shadow.

Le 7 janvier 2024, Franz Beckenbauer s'éteignait, à l'âge de 78 ans, et laissait le football allemand orphelin de son plus éminent représentant. Un an plus tard, Arte consacre au double Ballon d'Or (1972, 1976) un documentaire en trois épisodes, Beckenbauer, le dernier empereur, disponible sur arte.fr. À l'aide de nombreux témoignages de personnalités politiques, culturelles et sportives (comme l'ancien international allemand Günter Netzer, Michel Platini ou Didier Deschamps), en passant par son frère Walter, le réalisateur Torsten Körner retrace le parcours du Kaiser, qui « a épousé comme personne le destin de la République fédérale d'Allemagne » selon les mots du comédien Matthias Brandt.