Heidi Beckenbauer says the decision to name the Supercup after Franz Beckenbauer is a special honour that would have deeply moved the German great. With Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern due to meet in the Franz-Beckenbauer-Supercup on Saturday evening at 20.30 in the Signal-Iduna-Park, the match now carries meaning well beyond the season opener itself.
The renaming in 2025 gives the fixture a clear memorial edge after Franz Beckenbauer died in January 2024 at the age of 78 following years of health problems. It also links the occasion to the Gute-Freunde-Förderfonds, which has been created to support facilities for people with disabilities or limitations.
Heidi Beckenbauer: “A special honour”
Heidi Beckenbauer was careful to stress that awards were never the most important thing to Franz Beckenbauer. But she also made clear that this particular gesture would have meant a great deal because of what it says about his place in German football.
“Dass der Supercup jetzt den Namen von Franz Beckenbauer trägt, ehrt uns natürlich sehr, das ist eine besondere Auszeichnung, die Franz auch ein Stück weit bei uns lässt,” she said.
That is the key point here. The match may still be about Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern competing for the trophy, but the name now turns it into something more reflective: a tribute to one of the defining figures in the game.
Heidi Beckenbauer added that Franz Beckenbauer was never especially interested in collecting honours for their own sake. “Auszeichnungen zu bekommen war ihm nie so wirklich wichtig,” she said.
Even so, she is certain this one would have touched him. “Aber ich bin mir sicher, dass es ihn in diesem Fall sehr berührt und geehrt hätte, weil er alles im Fußball und für Menschen allgemein immer mit ganzem Herzen gemacht hat.”
Why the Supercup fits his legacy
For Heidi Beckenbauer, the connection between the man and the match is obvious. Franz Beckenbauer stood for German football at the very highest level, and the Supercup brings together the best teams in the country.
“Franz als einer der größten Fußballer Deutschlands und der Supercup als Spiel der besten deutschen Mannschaften – das finde ich sehr schön,” she said.
That link matters because Franz Beckenbauer’s legacy stretches across generations. He became world champion with Germany as a player in 1974, then again in 1990 as DFB team manager. In the 1960s and 1970s, he also helped lead FC Bayern to world-club status.
So when the Supercup takes on his name, it is not simply a ceremonial gesture. It is a statement about where he sits in the story of the Bundesliga and German football more broadly.
The values behind the tribute
The new fund attached to the renaming gives the tribute a practical side as well. Heidi Beckenbauer said the values behind it matched those Franz Beckenbauer lived by.
“Mitmenschlichkeit, Verantwortung und der Wunsch, Menschen in Not zu helfen, waren auch Werte unseres Stifters, also von Franz,” she said. “Diese Werte leben nun auch durch die Stiftung weiter. Und klar, der Bezug zum Sport und ganz besonders zum Fußball gehört in seinem Sinne auch dazu.”
She also returned to the simplest summary of his life in the game. “Franz hat immer für den Fußball gestanden, das war sein Leben,” she said.
And perhaps the most telling line came when she spoke about the way people still remember him. “Ah, der Franz, weißt du noch?” she said, before adding her hope for “dass die Leute immer positiv an ihn zurückdenken.”
That is what the Franz-Beckenbauer-Supercup is now designed to do: preserve memory, honour achievement and connect football to a wider social purpose. When Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern kick off on Saturday night, the trophy will still be contested in the usual way. But the name above it ensures Franz Beckenbauer remains part of the occasion.
