BAYERN LIFE February 2025
later Muhammad Ali – had a fight , we were given the best seats .“ At the time , Beckenbauer enjoyed just being one of the crowd , his teammate recalls . If they went to a restaurant incognito back then , the ushers and waiters were the only ones who would recognise them because they mostly came from countries with a footballing tradition . “ Franz in Munich was different to Franz in New York ,“ says Roth , “ and this city suited his personality : Franz was very intellectual , very interested , very open – I don ‘ t think he could have developed in the same way in Munich .“ At home , Roth believes , “ you ‘ re always somewhere in your own world – but New York is a galaxy of its own “.
Cycling through Beijing
Despite his professionalism , Beckenbauer was always a fun teammate , Roth recalls . They once had an important game in Vancouver en route to their third league championship , and after the warm-up , the captain had another massage . As he was relaxing , he felt the click of a handcuff on his wrist : Beckenbauer had persuaded Pelé ‘ s bodyguard to chain Roth to the massage bench for a laugh . The only problem was that the bodyguard had forgotten that , unusually , he ‘ d left the keys at the hotel . With 15 minutes to go before kick-off in the important match , there was a certain amount of scrambling to get the captain free again in time . On another occasion , the Cosmos had arranged a softball game against a few reporters . “ When Franz hit the ball , he ran to third base instead of first base . We said he was out , but he asked how that could be , as it was much harder to sprint to third base , the distance was much longer .“ The others remained firm . “ Stupid rule ,“ said Beckenbauer , “ the whole game would be much more interesting if you were allowed to run to any of the bases .“ Secretly , everyone thought he was somehow right that day . But out is out , they insisted . “ He then stomped off in a huff : ‘ Just play on your own !’“ Roth remembers the Kaiser fuming , “ and then he spent the rest of the day with his head in a book .“
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