The photographer Jana Milstein is based on Diane Sandmann, a photographer with whom Franz Beckenbauer had an affair from 1977-1988 while still being married to his wife Brigitte.
IN the scene during the 1974 soccer championship Franz Beckenbauer is asking one of his team mates how he dares to "play along this dirty shit" (Scheißdreck zusammenspielen). In 2018 Beckenbauer's former teammate Uli Hoeness, at that moment as the Manager of FC Bayern München, said the same thing about the FC-Bayern-player Juan Bernat. After a shit-storm in the German media he accused the media of disrespect for FC Bayern München on a press conference.