Chung honored with German order, praised by soccer legend

Franz Beckenbauer, a German football legend, appreciated the help of Chung Mong-joon, a former FIFA vice president from South Korea, in Germany’s successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup.

Beckenbauer, a two-time European Footballer of the Year, visited Seoul on Monday to attend an award ceremony for Chung.

Chung received the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit from the German government later Monday. It’s the highest order a foreigner can receive from Germany, and the South Korean legislator was recognized for his role in helping Germany host the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Beckenbauer led Germany’s successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup and was the chairman of the organizing committee. 

At a press conference in Seoul on Monday, Beckenbauer recalled that none of that would have happened without the aid of Chung, then the FIFA vice president who had chaired the organizing committee for the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.

“(Chung) helped us a lot, giving us advice on what we should do to organize the 2006 World Cup and what we shouldn’t do,” Beckenbauer said. “He had the experience of the 2002 World Cup. He also had friendships with a lot of members of the German Football Association, and a personal friendship with myself. He deserves to be decorated with the Order of Merit.”

Beckenbauer is currently the honorary president of Bayern Munich.

He is one of only two men to have won the World Cup both as a player and a head coach. He managed Marseille to the French league title in 1991 and then guided Bayern Munich to the Bundelisga title in 1994 and the UEFA Cup in 1996.

After Beckenbauer became Bayern Munich’s president in 1994, the team enjoyed even more success in domestic and continental competitions.

Bayern Munich of the top German league Bundesliga won the UEFA Champions League, the most prestigious club tournament in Europe, in an all-German final against Borussia Dortmund. Bayern Munich also swept up the Bundesliga and League Cup titles this year, becoming the first German team to win three major trophies in the same season. (Yonhap News)