Franz Beckenbauer, President of the Germany 2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, visited the Major League Soccer office in New York, on Thursday. Beckenbauer met with Commissioner Don Garber and conducted exclusive interviews with ABC that will be used during World Cup broadcasts this summer.
Beckenbauer is touring all 31 nations whose national teams will join host Germany in the month-long tournament that runs June 9 through July 9. The U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago all qualified for the World Cup from the CONCACAF region.
"We are honored to have Mr. Beckenbauer, one of the game's greatest players of all time -- and one of its foremost leaders -- visit us here at Major League Soccer," Garber said. "I have had the pleasure of meeting with Mr. Beckenbauer on several occasions and it is clear that after spending part of his career in the United States, he carries a lasting interest in soccer's development in this country. As talented as he was on the field, he is just as impressive as an individual."
Beckenbauer won three NASL Soccer Bowl championships with the New York Cosmos, where he played five seasons (1977-80 and 1982-83). His professional career began at Bayern Munich (1965-77), where he won three league championships and three European Cups. As a player for Germany, he earned 103 caps, scored 44 goals, and won the 1972 European Championship and the 1974 World Cup. The West Germany squad he coached captured the 1990 World Cup in Italy. He is one of two men, along with Brazil's Mario Zagallo, to have won the World Cup as both player and coach.
