“A crack” and “he was a reference for me”: Beckenbauer and his Peruvian side, the farewell to the German kaiser remembered by three Blanquirroja idols he faced

The legendary German died yesterday at the age of 78 after enduring a long illness. . Stripes that only the recently deceased Brazilian Mario ‘Lobo’ Zagallo and the French Didier Deschamps have.

The ‘Kaiser’ lived in Salzburg (Austria) and had been away from public appearances for more than a year due to his health and the loss of vision in one of his eyes, which prevented him from going, for example, to his friend’s funeral Pele at the end of 2022.

He played defense, was a libero – last man – and earned the nickname ‘Kaiser’ for conquering the world of football from his position. He competed in three world championships and directed two, and in all of them he was on the podium. He faced the Peruvian team in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico and came to the country to show off all his quality. Therefore, three idols of our football, three giants like Héctor Chumpitaz, Ramón Mifflin and Víctor ‘Pitín’ Zegarrathey remember it through DT.

“He was a reference for me”

Don Héctor Chumpitaz (Cañete, 1944) He is a year older than Franz Beckenbauer. But the ‘Captain of America’ does not hesitate to point out that the German was a reference for him. When we faced each other, I paid attention to how he played. It is a shame that a star and idol of world football like him has left. “All of us who have shared a football field with him are very sorry.”, he tells us, over the phone. , she adds.

Don Héctor faced the ‘Kaiser’ a couple of times. One of them was in the World Cup in Mexico 70. It was the first World Cup event that Peru accessed on its own merit. They, on the other hand, had six editions under their belt and Franz had already played in England ’66, a tournament in which they controversially lost the final to the host. “They had more experience than us, they took advantage of us”says ‘Chumpi’.

Group 4 of the World Cup had Peru, Germany, Morocco and Bulgaria. On the first two dates, the Bicolor had defeated the Bulgarians 3-2 and the Moroccans 3-0; while the Teutons had defeated the first 5-2 and the second 2-1. That is, they faced each other on the last day of the first phase already classified. Although, of course, the duel was key: the winner took first place and avoided the Brazil of Pele that in the end he would be the world champion with complete justice.

On the hot afternoon of Wednesday, June 10, at the Nou Camp stadium (now called León stadium), in the city of León, the coach of the Peruvian team, Didí, sent the following eleven to the field: Luis Rubiños; Orlando de la Torre, Héctor Chumpitaz, Nicolás Fuentes, Pedro González; Ramón Mifflin, Roberto Chale, Pedro Pablo ‘Perico’ León; Teófilo Cubillas, Alberto Gallardo and Hugo Sotil.

On the side of the European team, Beckenbauer He wore the captain’s ribbon. The Bayern Munich player was accompanied by Sepp Maier, Horst-Dieter Höttges, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, Berti Vogts, Klaus Fichtel, Wolfgang Overath, Uwe Seeler, Gerd Müller, Reinhard Libuda and Hannes Löhr.

The match ended 3-1 with a hat trick from ‘Torpedo’ Gerd Muller (19′, 26′ and 39′, according to statistical records). For Peru he discounted ‘Nene’ Cubillas (44′). “It is a satisfaction to have played against him”proudly points out Chumpitaz, who exchanged his shirt with Muller.

But Don Héctor doesn’t only remember Franz from that match. There is an image in which he was amazed by the greatness of the German. “The last game he saw was in the semifinals against Uruguay. It was played at the Azteca stadium. I remember that he played with his shoulder bandaged because he had suffered an injury. “To play like this is because of quality, courage and love for your country.”he recalls before making a statement that many will surely agree with: .

The friendship between Mifflin and Beckenbauer

Ramon Mifflin He also faced Fran Beckenbauer in México 70. But ‘Cabezón’ went further and was the only Peruvian who shared the dressing room with the legendary German. “He arrived at the Cosmos at the end of 1975. We played until 1979. I remember they introduced him at the historic Club 21 in New York. They invited a few of us from the team to go. ANDIn his presentation he said that it was an honor to play with Pelé and me, he had a very good mention.”he remembers, with total lucidity.

Mifflin, a privileged person, was part of the Cosmos midfield trident along with Beckenbauer and Pelé himself. They were great friends with both of them. “On trips we would go to eat, also with Carlos Alberto. We made a nice friendship with Franz. He was very funny. He called me Rudi because I told him that he had had his compatriot Rudi Gutendorf as a coach at Sporting Cristal. “We joked a lot”.

Ramón made walls with the ‘Kaiser’ and O’Rei. “I was on the right, Pelé on the left and he was in the middle. He is the best midfielder in history, of the players who do. .

“Franz loved being in the United States. There were many freedoms there because he could walk down the street and no one bothered him.”, Add. Beckenbauer and Ramón met in Spain 82, they shared together and also at the 1984 Euro Cup. The Peruvian, a friend of Pelé and close friend of Maradona, also knew how to get to know the ‘Kaiser’ off the pitch.

“He must be at the same level as Pelé and Maradona”

At the beginning of 1971, Bayern Munich set foot on Peruvian soil as part of their tour of South America. In their ranks were stars such as Sepp Maier, the ‘Torpedo’ Gerd Muller and the unmistakable Franz Beckenbauer. The Bavarians arrived in the capital with the objective of facing a team between Municipal and Alianza Lima. In the ranks of the local team were Hugo Sotil, Teófilo Cubillas, Perico León, Nemesio Mosquera and Víctor ‘Pitín’ Zegarra; That is, stars that left their mark on Peruvian soccer.

“That day there was no room for another pin in the old National stadium. There was a lot of expectation for that commitment. “Clearly they were well-known figures in world football.”remembers ‘Pitín’ Zegarra, who was dazzled by the enormous figure of a Beckenbauer, measuring 81 meters tall.

Bayern had already visited Peru in 1968: they beat Universitario 1-0, which had Héctor Chumpitaz. But this time luck was going to smile on us. Orlando Guzmán, who had entered in place of Luis Cruces, scored the first of the match after a great pass from Julio Baylón. The Lima venue exploded with excitement. The second and third were the work of an infallible connection: Sotil and Cubillas. The ‘Nene’ was in charge of conceding both goals before the astonished gaze of the German defenders. With a 3-0 lead, the Bavarian team scored a goal thanks to Jürgen Ey. However, after 83 minutes, the Peruvian team made it 4-1 with a goal from Julio Baylón.

They are used to clashes, they have always worked on their physicality. We had to be intelligent to face them: with deception, dribbling, mischievous play. “They were surprised by our game.”‘Pitín’ points out.

“Franz Beckenbauer must be at the same level as Pelé or Maradona. These last two are forwards, they score goals, but they need other very good players in defense and he was one of them.”he states before telling a curious and funny anecdote from that game: “My friend ‘Perico’ León has always been very funny, lively. I remember him telling me that he was talking to ‘his great friend’ Beckenbauer. I laughed and asked him if he knew German. And he told me: ‘no, I don’t understand anything, but he’s my friend anyway’, haha”.