In late February 2020, myself and a handful of other British journalists were given a tour of the German Football Museum, which looms opposite the central station in Dortmund. Our affable guide provided anecdote and colour for the huge array of artefacts spanning the sport’s history both pre-and post-reunification – and then we reached Beckenbauer Corner.
The momentos celebrating the career of Franz Beckenbauer, spanning more than four decades as player, coach, administrator and influencer (in the more traditional sense of the word) were gathered and cordoned off, in a sort of museum purgatory. The collection’s long-term fate would be decided, our guide explained, after the Fifa Ethics Committee concluded its investigation into bribery centred around Germany’s successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup. In early 2021 the investigation closed, when a statute of limitations expired, and the charges were dropped.
