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Franz Beckenbauer's grandson Luca ready to live up to famous surname

  /  autty

THE name Beckenbauer comes with significant baggage in Germany.

Following in the footsteps of Franz 'Der Kaiser' Beckenbauer is no mean feat - he is considered the greatest player in German football history and it's not particularly close.

Being the captain of a team that won four Bundesliga titles, three successive European Cups and six other trophies will do that.

Not to mention winning the Ballon d'Or twice, being named as German Player of the Year four times - and being one of only three men to win the World Cup as a player and manager.

But one man trying at least has the name down: Luca Beckenbauer.

Franz's grandson may not ever reach the stratospheric heights of his gramps, but he sure is making waves in the Hannover 96 youth team, where he is the captain.

In recent weeks, Luca has been training with the first-team after an impressive first season for the club's Under-18s.

A centre-back like his grandfather before him, Luca spent time in the academies of Bayern Munich and Schalke before making the move to Hannover.

In his younger days, coaches would even change his name on the teamsheet so rivals didn't know it was a 'Beckenbauer' they were playing against - and to protect the youngster from the pressure of the name.

He no longer has to hide that, however.

Luca told Bild: "I don't feel any pressure at all.

"He's an inspiration to me but I really don't have to achieve what my grandpa's achieved.

"I just want to reach my own targets.

"Of course, my goal is to play in the Bundesliga myself someday."

The younger Beckenbauer also sports the same No5 jersey that grandad made famous - but insists it's not to follow in Der Kaiser's footsteps, but to suit his position.

Young Luca, who is dating Caprice Prizl, tries to model his game on Liverpool brick wall Virgil van Dijk and Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos.

He's even had a couple of Hannover team-mates tease him by calling him 'Der Kaiser'.

The elder Beckenbauer, who still has an active role in the running of Bayern Munich, has obviously been a massive part of Luca's football life.

"We talk on a regular basis, but that's about everything. Not just football," says Luca.

"He has not interfered in a big way.

"Of course we talked about [leaving Schalke for Hannover], but in the end it was my decision.

"He said I should just do what I feel best with."

But it's not just his grandad who has impacted Luca's football career, his whole family are footy mad.

"I grew up with football, everyone in my family played," he says.

"My younger brother Elias was also in the youth of Bayern, but today he plays only [for fun].

"Every now and then my big brother Dominik played with us, who is now a scout at Bayern.

"My mom is crazy about football too."

Luca's father, Stephan, was also a professional footballer - but tragedy struck after he retired.

He also came through the youth ranks of Bayern before spells at 1860 Munich and FC Saarbrucken among other smaller clubs.

Stephan retired at 28 to become a scout and youth coach with the German giants.

But when he was 46 - and Luca just 14 - Stephan tragically died because of a brain tumour.

Luca honoured his father's memory by getting a tattoo of his date of birth on his calf.