Franz Beckenbauer really was one of those players who could talk with his feet, although there were some during his later life who felt his legacy would have been grander if he restricted himself to that.
No one was considering such controversies when the German great surged forward from defence in the manner that became his signature; there was only the purity of the play. One of his esteemed contemporaries, Gerd Muller, was meanwhile only considering what Beckenbauer wanted next. He would tell him with the type of pass played. If it was sharp, it meant Muller had to do something with it himself. If it was soft, it meant Beckenbauer wanted it back for the trademark one-two move that dictated and decided so many big matches.
