Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso said Friday German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, who died this week aged 78, was “one of the chosen ones”.

“He’s not just another player, he’s an icon,” the former Bayern Munich player told reporters. 

“There are players that have their own dimension and their own magnitude, like Pele, (Johan) Cruyff, (Diego) Maradona. 

“Beckenbauer, he was one of those... I had the chance to meet him a few times when I was in Munich and he was very important for the club, for German football, as a player and a manager, and as a personality.”

Beckenbauer died on Sunday in Salzburg, Austria, with his family announcing the news on Monday. 

Read full story on sport.timesofmalta.com

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