Beckenbauer bullish on Korean football
German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer, left, honorary president of Bayern Munich, poses with Rep. Chung Mong-joon, center, former chairman of the ruling Saenuri Party, and Rolf Mafael, German ambassador to Korea, at the diplomat’s residence in Seoul, Monday. Chung was given the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit from the ambassador in recognition of his efforts to bolster the economic partnership between the two countries and German soccer. Chung is an honorary vice president of FIFA, the international governing body of soccer associations. / Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
German football legend Franz Beckenbauer said Monday the future is bright for Korean football players due to their work ethic and that he expects an “excellent” showing by Korea in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The 67-year-old honorary president of Bayern Munich was in Seoul to attend an award ceremony for Rep. Chung Mong-joon, who is a former FIFA vice president.
“There is no need to give advice to Korean football,” he said during a press conference. The Korean national team “has always qualified (at the World Cup). I am convinced it will play excellently in Brazil.”
He added, “Korean players are very popular among European football clubs because of their hard-working character. There is no reason why some of them can't have a chance to play at Bayern Munich.”
Chung, of the ruling Saenuri Party, received the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit from the German government for the support he provided Germany when it hosted the 2006 World Cup. It is the highest order a foreigner can receive from Germany.
Chung, the billionaire scion of the Hyundai dynasty, is the sixth son of Chung Ju-young, the late founder of Hyundai Group. In 2002, he oversaw the co-hosting of the World Cup with Japan as president of the Korean Football Association (KFA). He advocated for Germany’s hosting four years later.
At the press conference, Beckenbauer congratulated Chung and fielded questions about the recent upturn in German football.
The two-time European Footballer of the Year chalked up the German surge to the country’s strong “youth academies,” which train young players, citing Bayern Munich players Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The team became the first German football club to win three major titles in a year after beating VfB Stuttgart last Saturday in the German Cup. The club already owned trophies from the UEFA Champions League as well as the Bundesliga title.
“You know the German character, they never give up,” he said. “And the German Football Association and clubs in Germany have decided to train young players from about 15 years ago. We adapted the French youth academies as a role model, and all present members of the German national team are from the academies.”
Beckenbauer, dubbed “Der Kaiser,” (the king) is a symbolic figure in German football. Starting his career in 1964 at Bayern Munich, he lifted the World Cup trophy as both a player in 1974 and as a head coach in 1990.
He was voted third, following Brazilian football legend Pele and Johan Cruyff of the Netherlands, as the best football players of the 20th century in a 1999 survey of the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. In 2006 he was chief organizer for the European country’s hosting of the World Cup.