Within hours of arriving here to add his considerable stature to Munich's campaign, Germany's greatest ever footballing icon said he hoped he could persuade as many wavering International Olympic Committee (IOC) voters as possible to cast their votes for the Bavarian capital.

"What we need to do in these last 24 hours is avoid mistakes, be nice and be friendly," said Beckenbauer.

"The members know exactly what we are doing here."

Beckenbauer, who masterminded Germany's World Cup bid that edged out South Africa by one vote before organising the tournament itself, has just stepped down from FIFA's Executive Committee after a distinguished career in football administration.

At an impromptu press briefing in a cramped hotel room, Beckenbauer was asked to what extent he could help Munich in the same way David Beckham did for London 2012 and Pele did for Rio's 2016 victory.

"Maybe it's not a disadvantage to have players of that calibre," he said modestly, refusing to name himself as someone of similar legendary status.

"It helps of course but it doesn't guarantee success.

"It's going to be a close decision tomorrow, there's no real favourite."

Beckenbauer, who made nearly 500 appearances for Bayern Munich in a 13-year career, skippered Germany to World Cup victory in 1974 and then coached them to success in 1990 before going on to organise the 2006 World Cup, widely considered to be the best of all time.

"I was born in Munich and hopefully I can do some last-minute work seeing IOC members I have known for a long time," said Beckenbauer, a keen cross-country skier.

"The World Cup in 2006 was fantastic.

"We called it the summer dream.

"Now we are looking forward to a winter dream.

"I'm convinced Munich is the right place."

Beckenbauer, a member of the Munich 2018 Board of trustees, has long been more comfortable with the way Olympic votes are settled than World Cup bids.

After the recent 2018 and 2022 debacles and the spate of scandals that followed, FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced that in future the Olympic model of allowing all members to vote would be copied.

"Why not try the Olympic way," said Beckenbauer.

"Everyone should have the right to be part of the decision, not only 24 [Executive Committee] members.

"Football is in a bad way right now."

Beckenbauer said there was one key difference between organising a World Cup and staging the Olympics.

"I remember visiting the Olympic Village in Seoul [in 1988] and seeing all these star athletes in the same area," he said.

"It left an impression on me."

Beckenbauer was joined by double Vancouver 2010 Olympic skiing champion Maria Riesch.

"For every athlete the biggest dream is have the Olympics in your home town," she said.

"A similar thing happened at the World Championships at Garmisch earlier this year.

"People were cheering even for skiers from weaker countries."

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