Franz Beckenbauer with Heidi

Munich: Franz Beckenbauer took time out from running the World Cup to get married in a clandestine ceremony in the Austrian Alps.

The head of Germany’s organising committee, who has used a helicopter to attend up to three matches a day, exchanged vows in a private ceremony in a small Austrian village near Kitzbuehel, a German newspaper reported on Saturday.

“It was supposed to be a day for just us without any stress or troubles,” Beckenbauer told the newspaper that published photos of Friday’s secret wedding.

“We wanted to avoid all the commotion. No one expected us to get married in the middle of the World Cup,” added Beckenbauer, 60, who has two children with the new Mrs. Beckenbauer ? formerly known as Heidi Burmester, 39.

(Reuters)