The Sky biopic “Der Kaiser” takes viewers from December 16th into the eventful years of legendary soccer star Franz Beckenbauer (77). The film by director Tim Trageser (53, “Die Wolf-Gäng”) with Klaus Steinbacher (28, “Das Boot”) in the title role shows the career of the football icon from 1963 to the big World Cup final in 1990 in Rome. Back then he won the title as a coach with the national team, and he had already done so as a player at the 1974 World Cup. Other roles include Ferdinand Hofer (29, Munich-“Tatort”), Teresa Rizos (36, “JGA”) and Stefan Murr (46, “The Ibiza Affair”). Instead of a pathetic success story, the film presents a tongue-in-cheek, lovingly illustrated journey through time.
“The Emperor” accompanies Franz Beckenbauer (Klaus Steinbacher) on his rise from ace player to legendary coach. But even a “Kaiser” starts small, as can be seen in the biopic. “When Franz Beckenbauer started doing magic in the 1960s, the pill still looked like a medicine ball. There was only one number on the shirt and football was the most wonderful game in the world,” the filmmakers describe at the time. Born and raised in Munich-Giesing, it quickly became clear that the boy had a talent for kicking. In 1959 he joined Bayern Munich, followed in 1964 by the national team.
As a person, Franz causes trouble when something doesn’t suit him. He also lets his emotions run free with the women. As a player he won the World Cup in 1974, but he still hasn’t had enough. He leaves the Federal Republic and dares the adventure USA. When he returns to Germany from the “Operetta League” he is received by the “Aktuelle Sportstudio” with aerobic dancers in balloon silk. Even after the end of his active career in 1983, he stayed in the business. As a coach, he knows how to deal with the media and his players. “Now let’s go out and play football,” he said in 1990. The rest is history – and made him a living legend.
Leading actor Klaus Steinbacher admits that he was “extremely excited” before shooting began, but felt “on the first day of shooting” that the role was right for him. “From then on, I made Beckenbauer’s motto my own. Every morning I said to myself: ‘Let’s see, then we’ll see,'” said the 28-year-old. Then, in the shower, he sang “No one can separate good friends,” Beckenbauer’s song published in 1966, and drove to the set. “It was this lightness that made filming really fun.” What he liked best was the filming of the 1990 World Cup final. “It was a fantastic day of shooting. I became world champion twice in one day,” the actor recalls.
An injury almost put a spoke in his wheel. It happened while playing football at home: “Four months before shooting began, the cruciate ligament in my left knee tore. There wasn’t enough time for an operation and I had to see to it that the muscles stabilized the knee,” says Steinbacher. He really wanted to play the soccer scenes in the film himself. “Luckily, I had great people on hand to help me,” the actor recalls.
Maybe the real Franz Beckenbauer will watch the film on December 16 on Sky or the Wow streaming service. He recently revealed in an interview to the magazine “Bunte” that stadium visits are no longer his: “The last time I was in a stadium was a year ago,” said the 77-year-old. “You know, it’s pretty exhausting. Everyone asks me how I’m doing and then I have to tell everyone the same thing.”
He also said that he had suffered a so-called eye attack in one eye. “Unfortunately, I can’t see anything on the right anymore. I can deal with that. And I have to be careful with my heart.” He is currently getting “a lot of autograph mail, which I’m happy to answer,” said the “Kaiser” of the magazine. “People probably think he never lives long. But I’ll try to stay with you for a while.”
