Short answers, pulled from the story.
Franz Beckenbauer was a German professional football player, manager, and official who lived from the 11th of September 1945 to the 7th of January 2024. Nicknamed der Kaiser, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players of all time.
Franz Beckenbauer was called der Kaiser, the Emperor, from 1968. One story says the media dubbed him Fussball-Kaiser after he posed beside a bust of the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph the First in Vienna, though Welt am Sonntag reported that explanation is untrue and traced the name to a cup final on the 14th of June 1969.
Franz Beckenbauer started as a midfielder but made his name as a centre-back, and he is credited with inventing the modern sweeper, or libero. The role combined defensive duties with launching attacks, and he is the only defender to win the Ballon d'Or twice, in 1972 and 1976.
Yes. Franz Beckenbauer lifted the World Cup as captain in 1974 and won it again as manager in 1990. He is one of only three men, with Mario Zagallo and Didier Deschamps, to win the tournament both as a player and as a manager.
Franz Beckenbauer played for Bayern Munich, the New York Cosmos, and Hamburger SV. With Bayern he won three consecutive European Cups from 1974 to 1976, and with the New York Cosmos he won the Soccer Bowl in 1977-1978 and 1980 while playing alongside Pele.
From August 2016 Franz Beckenbauer was investigated for fraud and money laundering connected to the 2006 World Cup, and Swiss officials found a payment of at least 1.7 million euro routed via Gibraltar. Both the FIFA inquiry and the criminal investigation closed without a verdict, in 2021 and 2020 respectively, because the statute of limitations had expired.
Franz Beckenbauer died on the 7th of January 2024 at the age of 78 due to natural causes, as announced by his family. A memorial service was held at the Allianz Arena on the 19th of January.