Franz Beckenbauer

"At any rate, I can only see such a success having positive effects for everyone, particularly as our anticipation of the World cup would only increase further."

"The World Cup tournament overall and, naturally, the new stadiums at its heart, are the ideal platform to portray Germany as a positive and exceptional location, and above all of course, as a highly capable economic location."

"Back then, a half-a-century ago, the situation was totally different. Economically, we were practically on our knees, and politically, we were still excluded from the community of nations. Today, in this respect, we have a totally different and much more stable basis."