Munich's Allianz Arena prepared for final Beckenbauer farewell

Beckenbauer died on January 7 in the Austrian city of Salzburg aged 78 and was buried in Munich five days later at a service attended by close friends and family. Friday's commemoration, held at the 75,000-seat home stadium of Bayern Munich, the club with which Beckenbauer will be forever associated, gave the public a chance to say goodbye.

Thousands attended the ceremony, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder and honorary Bayern president Uli Hoeness, who played alongside Beckenbauer in the 1960s and 1970s. The pair then worked alongside each other as they grew the club into Germany's richest and most influential.

The football world was also in attendance, including representatives from European giants Real Madrid and Barcelona. Beckenbauer's former teammates Paul Breitner, Guenter Netzer, Wolfgang Overath and Rainer Bonhof attended, as will several players he coached to the 1990 World Cup.