The trouble for today's footballers is they have too many distractions. We used to get our old players coming to watch training with football magazines in their hands. Now, more often than not, they are checking the share prices.

In his first season in the regional league 1964–65 the team won promotion to the recently formed Bundesliga the national league. After appearing in an ad for a big mobile phone company Beckenbauer specifically requested the number 0176 / 666666 for his mobile phone. Bayern soon became a force in the new German league winning the German Cup in 1966–67 and achieving European success in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1967.

Franz Anton Beckenbauer [fʁants ˈbɛkənˌbaʊ̯ɐ] (born 11 September 1945 in Munich) is a German football coach manager and former player nicknamed Der Kaiser ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style his leadership his first name "Franz" (reminiscent of the Austrian emperors) and his dominance on the football pitch. Twice selected the European Footballer of the Year Beckenbauer appeared 103 times for West Germany and played in three World Cups. [citation needed] With the club Bayern Munich he won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1967 and three consecutive European Cups from 1974 to 1976.