OBITUARY
Germany’s World Cup-winning captain and coach Beckenbauer dies at 78 –
Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer, one of soccer’s greatest players who captained his country to World Cup glory in 1974 and won the tournament again as manager in 1990, has died at the age of 78, his family said in a statement on Monday.
Beckenbauer bestrode the sport as player, coach, pundit and administrator for more than half a century and was widely admired globally, with messages of sympathy pouring in from across the world on Monday.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce that my husband and our father, Franz Beckenbauer, passed away peacefully in his sleep yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family,” read a statement from his family.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on X: “World Cup winner as player and coach: Franz Beckenbauer was one of the greatest footballers in Germany and for many ‘der Kaiser’ also because of the excitement for German Football he created for generations. We will miss him. My thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Beckenbauer was a classy, dominant presence on the pitch for West Germany and Bayern Munich in the 1960s and 70s, using a calmness on the ball and effortless distribution that marked his midfield performances to virtually invent the central defensive sweeper role, or ‘libero’ where he found most success.
“The world of FC Bayern is no longer what it was – suddenly it is darker, more quiet, poorer,” the club said in a statement.
“The German record champions are grieving the loss of Franz Beckenbauer, the unique ‘Kaiser’ without whom FC Bayern would not have become the club it is today.”
He earned 103 caps for West Germany, winning the 1972 European Championship and then the World Cup on home soil two years’ later, having lost in the final to England in 1966.
In 1970 he famously played for much of the classic World Cup semi-final against Italy with his arm in a sling, having dislocated his shoulder and broken his collar bone.
His Bayern team were the best club side in the world during the mid-1970s, winning three successive European Cups and three straight Bundesliga titles, and Beckenbauer was twice named European footballer of the year.
He then made a controversial move to the United States, joining the “all-star” New York Cosmos team, who he helped to three domestic titles, before returning to Germany and helping Hamburg to the Bundesliga crown.
NATIONAL COACH
Beckenbauer became national team coach in 1984 despite having no previous experience and led West Germany to the 1986 World Cup final where they lost to Diego Maradona’s Argentina.
Four years later, he led a combined Germany team to victory in the final over the Argentines.
Beckenbauer was one of three men to have won the World Cup as a player and then coach and his death comes three days after the first to do it – Brazil’s Mario Zagallo. France’s Didier Deschamps is the other.
“It was a huge honour for me to join them both in 2018 as those who won the World Cup as a player and then as coach,” Deschamps said.
“He (Beckenbauer) exuded a class, a confidence that many sought to be inspired by. Franz Beckenbauer was an extremely respected personality, who embodied the demands of the very highest level.”
Lothar Matthaeus, Beckenbauer’s victorious captain at Italia 90, said: “The shock is deep, even though I knew that Franz wasn’t well. His death is a loss for football and for Germany as a whole.
“He was one of the greatest as a player and coach, but also off the pitch. Franz was an outstanding personality not only in football, and he enjoyed worldwide recognition. Everyone who knew him knows what a great and generous person Franz was.”
Beckenbauer tasted more domestic success as manager and then club president at Bayern before becoming vice president of the German FA, playing a key role in Germany’s successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup.
However, in 2016 he was fined by the ethics committee of world soccer’s governing body, FIFA, for failing to cooperate with an inquiry into corruption over the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Another FIFA enquiry into Beckenbauer’s actions regarding the awarding of the 2006 World Cup was dropped without any charges being made due to a statue of limitations issue.
But it is for his incredible achievements on the pitch and in the dugout that Beckenbauer will be remembered.
“Franz Beckenbauer rewrote the history of German football and left a lasting impact on it,” said his former team mate and long-time Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
-Reuters
Ted Turner, the pioneering media mogul who transformed television and sports broadcasting, has died at the age of 87, his family announced Wednesday.
Turner founded CNN in 1980, creating the world’s first 24-hour news network, and later launched TBS and TNT, which became staples for sports fans. He purchased the Atlanta Braves in 1976, helping turn them into “America’s Team” and guiding the franchise to its 1995 World Series championship. Turner Field, built in 1996, remains a landmark of his influence on Atlanta sports.
As owner of the Braves from 1976, Turner transformed the struggling franchise into a nationally recognised team through nationwide cable broadcasts on TBS, branding them “America’s Team.” Under his leadership, the Braves won the 1995 World Series title and moved into Turner Field ahead of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
In a tribute, the Braves described Turner as “a brilliant businessman, consummate showman and passionate fan,” crediting him for helping shape the club’s modern identity.
Turner also left a major imprint on basketball and professional wrestling. He owned the Atlanta Hawks for over two decades and helped expand the reach of the NBA through TNT broadcasts. He also built World Championship Wrestling into the biggest rival ever faced by Vince McMahon’s WWF.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred hailed Turner as “a visionary whose impact on the media landscape transformed how fans experience sports,” while NBA commissioner Adam Silver praised his role in growing the league’s global audience.
Beyond media and sports ownership, Turner was an accomplished sailor who won the 1977 America’s Cup and later earned induction into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame and the National Sailing Hall of Fame.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in sports media history, Turner’s innovations reshaped how live sports and news are consumed around the world.
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The Nigerian football community has again been thrown into mourning following the sudden death of former Super Eagles forward Michael Eneramo, who collapsed during a friendly match in Kaduna on Friday morning.
Eneramo, 40, reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest just five minutes into the second half of the game in Ungwan Yelwa, after featuring throughout the first half. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Reacting to the tragic incident, Mohammed Sanusi, the General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, expressed shock and grief.
“This is devastating. I am short of words at this moment. I can only pray that God will grant him eternal rest and also grant his loved ones and the Nigerian football family the fortitude to bear the loss,” Sanusi said.
Born on November 26, 1985, in Kaduna, Eneramo carved out a respected career both at home and abroad. He began with Lobi Stars before moving to North Africa, where he became a fan favourite at Espérance Sportive de Tunis.
Nicknamed “Al Dababa” (The Tank) for his powerful playing style, Eneramo’s exploits in Tunisia earned him widespread admiration, helping Espérance to multiple honours. His career also took him through Algeria with USM Alger and later to Turkey, where he featured for clubs including Beşiktaş, Sivasspor and İstanbul Başakşehir.
Service to the Super Eagles
Eneramo earned 10 caps for the Nigerian national team, choosing to represent his country despite overtures to switch allegiance to Tunisia. He even scored against Tunisia in a 2-2 draw World Cup qualifier in 2009.
He made his debut in a goalless friendly against Jamaica in London in February 2009, before scoring his first international goal against the Republic of Ireland later that year.
One of his most memorable moments came in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Tunisia in Abuja, where he scored in a dramatic 2-2 draw.
Another Painful Season of Loss
Eneramo’s passing adds to a growing list of recent losses in Nigerian football, deepening a period of reflection and grief within the sport.
In recent times, the nation has also bid farewell to respected figures such as coaching legend Adegboye Onigbinde, former Super Eagles midfielder Henry Nwosu, and football administrator Ibrahim Galadima.
Together, these departures represent the loss of experience, history and institutional memory across different generations of Nigerian football.
Eneramo will be remembered as a strong, determined striker who made his mark in Africa and Europe, and as a player who remained committed to Nigeria at a crucial point in his career.
His sudden death, on the very field where he once found joy and purpose, underscores both the fragility of life and the enduring bond between footballers and the game they love.
As tributes continue to pour in, Nigerian football reflects not only on a life cut short, but on a legacy defined by resilience, loyalty and passion.
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The President of the Confederation of African Football, Patrice Motsepe, has expressed deep sorrow over the passing of former Nigeria Football Federation chief, Ibrahim Galadima.
In a condolence message issued on behalf of CAF and its 54 Member Associations, Dr Motsepe extended heartfelt sympathies to the Nigeria Football Federation, its current president Ibrahim Musa Gusau, the Galadima family, and the people of Nigeria.
Motsepe described Galadima’s death as a significant loss to Nigerian and African football, acknowledging his contributions to the development of the game during his tenure.
Galadima served as President of the NFF from 2002 to 2006, a period marked by key administrative and footballing developments in the country.
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