Völler

Full Name:
Rudi Völler
Born:
13 Apr 1960
Life in Soccer:

West Germany’s (Germany) number one striker and forwards in the 1980s, Rudi Völler, won his first cap against Northern Ireland in late 1982. He won the "Player of the Year" award the following year, as well as ending up as topscorer in the Bundesliga playing for Werder Bremen. Völler was a typical goalgetter kind of player. He rarely scored spectacular goals, but was great with the ball at his feet and could beat a man or two before scoring. He was also a master inside the penalty-area.

Euro 1984 was Rudi’s first big tournament, but despite his two goals, West Germany were eliminated already in the first round. Two years later in the Mexico World Cup, the Germans once again progressed far, but Völler spent much time on the bench as coach Beckenbauer preferred Klaus Allofs to partner Rummenigge in attack. He came on as a substitute in the semifinal to score the second in the 2-0 win over France, and in the final he came from the bench to equalize, but Argentina scored a late winner and became champions.



Having lost in the semifinal to Holland at Euro 1988, Völler and Germany met the Dutch again in the second round of the World Cup in Italy 1990. This time Rudi was involved in an incident with Dutchman Rijkaard which saw them both get sent off. Völler was back for the semifinal with England and in the final he was fouled inside the penalty area which lead to Andreas Brehme scoring the winning goal against Argentina five minutes from the end. Völler scored three goals in the tournament and could lift the World Cup trophy having played the final at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, his homeground, as he was playing for AS Roma at the time.



Rudi later played for Olympique Marseille and won the Champions League before moving back to Germany in 1994 to play for Bayer Leverkusen. He played in his last World Cup in USA where he as a 34 year-old spent much time on the bench, but scored two goals as his team was knocked out against all odds by Bulgaria in the quarterfinal. That defeat marked the end of his 12 year international career. He retired in 1996 and is now caretaker manager for the German national team.Still in the soccer.

Beckenbauer

Full Name:

Franz Anton Beckenbauer

Born:

11 September 1945

Life in Soccer:

He is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" (reminiscent of the Austrian emperors), and his dominance on the football pitch. He is generally regarded as the greatest German footballer of all time and one of the greatest and most decorated footballers in the history of the game

Beckenbauer was a versatile player who started out as a midfielder but made his name as a defender. He is often credited as having invented the role of the modern sweeper or libero.Twice selected the European Footballer of the Year, he appeared 103 times for West Germany and played in three World Cups. He lifted the World Cup trophy as captain in 1974, and repeated the feat as a manager in 1990. With the club Bayern Munich, he won three consecutive European Cups from 1974 to 1976, and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1967. Beckenbauer is the only player to captain three European Cup winning sides. He went on to become coach and president of the institution. He is also a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

In 1999, he was voted second place, behind Johan Cruyff, in the European player of the Century election held by the IFFHS and he was voted third, behind Pelé and Cruyff, in the IFFHS' "World Player of the Century" election.

Today, Beckenbauer remains an influential figure in both German and international football. He led Germany's successful bid to host the 2006FIFA World Cup and chaired the organizing committee. He also works as a pundit for German television network Sat1 during their coverage of the UEFA Champions League and writes a football column for mass tabloid Bild.

Beckenbauer won 103 caps and scored 14 goals for West Germany. He was a member of the World Cup squads that finished runners-up in 1966, third place in 1970, and champions in 1974. Beckenbauer's first game for the national team came on 26 September 1965.

Beckenbauer became captain of the national side in 1971. In 1972, West Germany won the European Championship, beating the Soviet Union 3–0 in the final. In 1976, West Germany again reached the final, where they lost on penalties to Czechoslovakia.