Hardly anyone has won as much at World Cups as Franz Beckenbauer – and nobody looked as effortless doing it. A journey through four decades of World Cup looks.
Aura is a word that gets handed out quickly these days. With Franz Beckenbauer, it applies. Five World Cup tournaments as a player and as manager, two titles – and in almost every photo from that era he looks as if he knew the outcome in advance. Yet hardly anything about his appearances was staged. It was the wardrobe of its time, worn by someone who never had to try to look good.
The playing era provides the beginnings. England 1966: a 20-year-old in the blue DFB track jacket, neatly parted hair, the gaze already composed. Mexico 1970: cowboy hat and sunglasses, the superstar in holiday mode. And 1974, the legacy: the white home shirt with the eagle, in which he lifted the trophy as captain in Munich. The celebrating fist in front of Munich's tent roof remains one of the most quoted images in German football.
From the Pitch to the Touchline: Franz Beckenbauer as a Style Figure
With the second career came a new wardrobe. In Mexico 1986, Beckenbauer stood on the touchline as manager: pastel adidas polos, plaid trousers, plus moments like the silver suit by the hotel pool. These are images that look like an editorial spread today but were simply everyday life back then. Italy 1990, the completion: the black suit on the touchline, arms crossed. Nothing more was needed. It's the look that remains of the manager – and the title along with it.
These images still work today because nothing about them is staged: no styling, no posing. His aura never depended on the clothes – he would have looked like this in anything. The 2026 World Cup is the first since his death in January 2024. His images will accompany it nonetheless.
