Football in Germany

Germany united to mourn the death of Franz Beckenbauer on Monday, with figures from across the sporting and political landscape bidding farewell to the 'Kaiser'.

Beckenbauer, a World Cup winner as both a player and a coach, died on Sunday at the age of 78, with news of his death not announced until Monday evening.

Hertha Berlin's 10-season stay in the German Bundesliga ended on May 20 and as it slipped through the relegation trapdoor, it was left to cast envious glances at upwardly-mobile city rival Union.

Hertha only escaped relegation last season by winning a two-legged playoff against Hamburg. It had finished 10th or lower in the four previous seasons.

Bayern Munich midfielders Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka admitted on March 25 that Julian Nagelsmann's dismissal as head coach had come as a "disappointment" and a "shock."

"It's always difficult when a coach goes, and I had a very close relationship with Julian," Goretzka told ZDF broadcaster after Germany's 2-0 friendly international win over Peru.

World football giant Manchester City's Turkish-German midfielder İlkay Gündoğan, who tied the knot with Moroccon-Italian model Sara Arfaoui in Copenhagen in May, have held a traditional wedding ceremony in his hometown in the northwestern province of Balıkesir.

It had long been expected that Klopp would leave Liverpool and take a sabbatical after the 2023-24 campaign

The beautiful blonde is training the footballers of Borussia Dortmund

Greece and former Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos has signed for Greek champion Olympiakos in a deal worth a reported 1.2 million euros ($1.46 million).

The contract the 32-year-old Papastathopoulos had at Arsenal was canceled by mutual consent last week after he made 69 appearances at the London club.

Robert Lewandowski has been named best men's player for 2020 at the Best Fifa Football Awards.

The Bayern Munich striker beat out Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus to claim the prize.

Olympiakos and Panathinaikos had to work hard to score home wins for the Euroleague on Friday, against opposition that in other seasons would not have troubled them so much.

Robert Lewandowski scored again as Bayern Munich reached the Champions League knockout stages with a 2-0 victory over Olympiakos on Wednesday in the club's first game since coach Niko Kovac was fired.

Ivan Perisic added a late goal for Bayern as interim coach Hansi Flick oversaw a performance with few highlights on his debut.