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The Britannica Guide to Soccer 7
Beckenbauer joined the Bayern Munich team in 1958
and made his first-team debut in 1963. As captain from 1971,
he helped Bayern win three European Champions Clubs’
Cups (1974, 1975, and 1976) and four national titles. In 1971
he was appointed captain of West Germany’s national
team, leading it to the 1972 European championship and the
1974 World Cup championship. He was named European
Footballer of the Year in 1972 and 1976. Beckenbauer then
played with the New York Cosmos (1977–80, 1983–84) and
Hamburg SV (1980–82) before retiring from play in 1984.
He played 103 times for his country.
In 1984 Beckenbauer was appointed manager of the
West German team, which was the World Cup runner-up
in 1986 and the winner in 1990. Thereafter he managed
Olympique de Marseille (1990–91) and Bayern Munich
(1993–94, 1996), and he became club vice president of the
German Football Federation in 1998.
George Best
(b. May 22, 1946, Belfast, N.Ire.—d. Nov. 25, 2005, London, Eng.)
One of the premiere forwards in the game’s history and a
fashionable playboy off the field, the stylish George Best
became one of the iconic figures of “Swinging London”
during the 1960s.
While still a schoolboy, Best was recommended to
Manchester United by a local Belfast soccer scout, who
called the youngster a “genius.” Best joined the club at age
15, and he made his first-division debut two years later, in
1963. He was an immediate sensation, scoring acrobatic
goals and helping United to a league title in his second
season. He led the club to another league championship
during the 1966–67 season. In 1968 he was named European
Footballer of the Year and helped United become the first