BERLIN — German football legend Franz Beckenbauer expressed his amazement on Friday at the criticism of Argentinian coach Diego Maradona which has emanated mainly from Brazil's three-time World Cup winner Pele.
Beckenbauer - whom Maradona is attempting to emulate in winning the World Cup both as a player and as a coach - said that he disagreed with Pele's claim on Thursday that Maradona's previously troubled private life would affect his squad - who take on Germany in the World Cup quarter-final on Saturday in Cape Town.
"Above all one must not underestimate him (Maradona)," said Beckenbauer, who won the 1974 World Cup as a player and the 1990 one - against a Maradona-captained Argentina - as coach.
"He was an exceptional player (he captained Argentina to victory over the Beckenbauer-coached West Germans in the 1986 final) and nobody is entitled to give him lessons on football. What's more, his players are ready to march through fire for him," 'Der Kaiser' told Bild from South Africa.
Beckenbauer, who also 'won' a third World Cup as he was largely responsible for Germany winning the right to host the 2006 edition and headed up the highly successful hosting of it, said that he was also not impressed by midfielder Bastia Schweinsteiger's goading of the Argentinians.
Schweinsteiger, who at 26 is amazingly one of the veterans of the German side, had accused the Argentinians of being provocative - something he got first hand in 2006 as the South Americans reacted angrily to losing to the Germans on penalties.
"They were maybe not very intelligent remarks," Beckenbauer said of Schweinsteiger's comments.
Beckenbauer, a well-groomed and youthful looking 64, said that the key to Germany repeating their victory of 2006 was to muzzle the individual talents of playmaker Lionel Messi, as Inter Milan had done so effectively in the Champions League semi-final.
"It is imperative that we muzzle him (Messi)..... Inter Milan showed how to do this in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, isolating him and stopping him from passing the ball so freely, this will be the job of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira," said Beckenbauer.
Beckenbauer conceded that this clash would be the toughest yet for the Germans, who have won three of their four matches here twice scoring four times and losing one a 1-0 defeat by Serbia, but that if they progressed, then a fourth world title, but first since Germany was unified, would be on the cards.
"This match against Argentina will be by far the toughest that our side has played up till now in the finals," said Beckenbauer, who earlier in the finals apologised for derogatory remarks he made about the England team though he was proved right in the end as the Germans humbled them 4-1 in the last 16 clash.
"But if we emerge victorious from the match, the dream of a world title will become reality."
The winners of the match will play either European champions Spain or South American outsiders Paraguay in the semi-finals.
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