Franz Beckenbauer Won the World Cup as Captain and Again as Manager

Franz Beckenbauer captained West Germany to the 1974 World Cup and managed West Germany to the 1990 World Cup. Only three men have won it in both roles. He also won the Ballon d'Or twice, as a defender, in 1972 and 1976.

He won three consecutive European Cups with Bayern Munich from 1974 to 1976, four Bundesliga titles, and the 1972 European Championship as captain. The player and manager double at a World Cup has been done by him, Mario Zagallo and Didier Deschamps, and nobody else in the history of the tournament.

The two Ballons d'Or are the statistic that should not exist. That award goes to forwards; it has been won by a defender a handful of times in seventy years. He won it twice, in an era when the ballot included Cruyff and Gerd Muller, because what he was doing did not fit an existing category.

Beckenbauer played the libero as an attacking position. Sweepers before him cleaned up behind the back line and passed sideways. He collected the ball deep and carried it upfield through midfield, arriving as an extra man in areas where opponents had nobody assigned to him, because no team had ever needed to assign anyone to a center back. Teams had to invent a response, and the modern ball-playing defender is that response.

Paolo Maldini is the counterargument on consistency and it is formidable: 902 games for Milan, 126 caps, four European Cups, and a level that did not drop across 25 years at both left back and center back. Franco Baresi anchored the greatest club defense ever assembled, the Milan side that went a full Serie A season unbeaten. Bobby Moore captained England to the 1966 World Cup and read the game as well as anyone.

Maldini has the longevity and Baresi has the peak defensive unit. Beckenbauer has the trophies in two separate careers, two Ballons d'Or, and the fact that he changed what the position is for.

The verdict: Beckenbauer for the innovation and the trophies. Maldini for the consistency. Baresi for the peak.