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Die Nationalelf<br />(The National Eleven)
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German Football Association <br />(''Deutscher Fußball-Bund'')
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Jürgen Klinsmann , 2004 -
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Lothar Matthäus (150)
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Gerd Müller (68)
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Switzerland 5 - 3 Germany<br/>( Basel , Switzerland 5 April , 1908 )
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Germany 16 - 0 Russia <br/>( Stockholm , Sweden 1 July , 1912 )
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England 9 - 0 Germany<br/>( Oxford , England 16 March , 1909 )
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16 <!--includes 2006-->
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1934
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Winners, 1954 , 1974 , 1990
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European Championship
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9
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1972
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The represents
Germany in international
Football competitions, and is controlled by the
German Football Association , the governing body of football in Germany.
The current coaching staff of the national team include head coach
Jürgen Klinsmann , assistant coach
Joachim Löw , team manager
Oliver Bierhoff and goalkeeper coach
Andreas Köpke .
Germany are one of the most successful national football teams in the world. They have won the
World Cup three times, behind only
Brazil (five titles) and tied with
Italy , and finished as runners-up four times. The Germans have also qualified for every World Cup they have entered (they did not enter the inaugural competition in
1930 and were barred from entering the
1950 tournament). Germany have also won the
European Championship three times (
France are the only other multiple-time winners with two titles), and finished as runners-up twice. The Germans failed to qualify for the first European Championship they entered in
1968 but have qualified for every subsequent tournament.
Between
1899 and
1901 there were five unofficial international matches between different German and English selection teams, which all ended as large defeats for the German teams. Eight years after the establishment of the
German Football Association (DFB), the first official match of the Germany national football team was played on
5 April 1908 , against
Switzerland at
Basel , with the Swiss winning 5-3. The players were selected by the DFB as there was no coach at that time.
The first coach of the Germany national team was
Otto Nerz , a school teacher from
Mannheim , from
1923 to
1936 . Germany finished third in the
1934 World Cup in their first ever World Cup appearance. Two years later,
Sepp Herberger took over as coach. In the
1938 World Cup , some
Austrians played in the German team after
Anschluss . They were knocked out in the first round, the only time this has happened in a World Cup.
From 1949 to 1990,
East Germany (German Democratic Republic) were represented by a separate national football team. For the history and records of the East German team, see the article ''
East Germany National Football Team ''.
After the division of Germany and being barred from entering the
1950 World Cup , West Germany, captained by
Fritz Walter and still coached by Sepp Herberger, tasted their first success in the
1954 World Cup . Playing favorites
Hungary in the final, who had beaten them 8-3 in a first round match, they came back from an early two goal deficit to win 3-2, with
Helmut Rahn scoring the winning goal with only six minutes remaining. The success is called
The Miracle Of Bern , and it created a sense of euphoria in postwar Germany and is credited with playing a large role in the country's economic recovery.
After finishing fourth in the
1958 World Cup and reaching the quarter-finals in the
1962 World Cup ,
Helmut Schön took over as coach in
1964 . In the
1966 World Cup , West Germany reached the final, facing hosts
England at
Wembley Stadium .
Wolfgang Weber 's last minute goal took the game into
Extra Time , but
Geoff Hurst scored two goals there to complete his
Hat-trick , giving England a 4-2 win. The first extra time goal by Hurst, nicknamed "Wembley-Tor" (Wembley goal) in Germany, has remained controversial even to this date. Many Germans believed that the goal was given incorrectly, citing the possible bias of the linesman, and a 1995 research by
Oxford University using computer video analysis of the
Television footage that concluded the shot had not crossed the goal line. However, Weber's equaliser was itself controversial, with the ball appearing to hit the hand of a
German player as it travelled through the England
Penalty Area before he prodded it in.
West Germany suffered another memorable extra time loss in the
1970 World Cup , this time in the semi-finals to
Italy at
Estadio Azteca .
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger scored during injury time to level the match at 1-1, and during extra time, both teams held the lead at one time, while
Franz Beckenbauer remained on the field even with a dislocated shoulder, his arm in a sling strapped to his body. Eventually won 4-3 by Italy, this match is one of the most dramatic in World Cup history, and is called
Jahrhundertspiel (Game of the Century) in Germany. West Germany went on to claim third place by beating
Uruguay 1-0, and
Gerd Müller finished as the
Tournament Top Scorer with 10 goals.
In
1971 ,
Franz Beckenbauer became captain of the national side, and he led West Germany to great success as they became both the European and world champions. First they won the European Championship for the first time in
Euro 72 , after beating the
Soviet Union 3-0 in the final. Then as hosts of the
1974 World Cup , they won their second World Cup title, after beating the
Netherlands 2-1 in the final at
Olympiastadion .
Two matches in the 1974 World Cup stood out for West Germany. The first group stage saw a politically charged match as West and
East Germany played each other, which the East won 1-0. The other match was the final against the
Johan Cruijff -led Dutch team and their brand of
Total Football . It began dramatically as Cruijff was brought down in the German
Penalty Area following a solo run, and the Dutch took the lead from the ensuing
Penalty before any of the German players had even touched the ball and with just a minute gone on the clock. However, West Germany managed to come back, tying the match on a penalty scored by
Paul Breitner , and winning it with
Gerd Müller 's goal just before half-time. A second goal by Müller was mistakenly ruled offside.
West Germany failed to defend their titles in the next two major international tournaments. First they lost to
Czechoslovakia in the final of
Euro 76 in a
Penalty Shootout by a score of 5-3, after the match finished 2-2. Then in the
1978 World Cup , they were eliminated in the second group stage after losing 3-2 to
Austria . Schön retired as coach afterwards, and the post was taken over by his assistant
Jupp Derwall .
West Germany's first tournament under Derwall was successful, as they won
Euro 80 after beating
Belgium 2-1 in the final, their second European title. West Germany then reached the final of the
1982 World Cup , but not without difficulties. They were upset 2-1 by
Algeria in their first match, but managed to sneak into the second round with a controversial 1-0 win over
Austria as the result advanced both teams at the expense of Algeria. Then in their semi-final against
France , they came back from 3-1 down during extra time to tie the match 3-3, and won the following penalty shootout 5-4. In the final, they were comfortably defeated by
Italy by a score of 3-1.
After being eliminated in the first round of
Euro 84 ,
Franz Beckenbauer returned to the national team and replaced Derwall as coach. In the
1986 World Cup , West Germany finished as runners-up for the second consecutive time, after again beating
France 2-0 in the semi-finals, but losing to the
Diego Maradona -led
Argentina 3-2 in the final. In
Euro 88 , West Germany's hopes of winning the tournament on home soil were spoiled by the
Netherlands , as the Dutch gained revenge of their loss in 1974 by beating them 2-1 in the semi-final.
In the
1990 World Cup , West Germany finally won their third World Cup title after two consecutive second-place finishes. Captained by
Lothar Matthäus , they were worthy champions as they defeated
Yugoslavia (4-1),
UAE (5-1), the
Netherlands (2-1),
Czechoslovakia (1-0), and
England (1-1, 4-3 on penalty kicks) on the way to a final rematch against
Argentina . In a dull match, West Germany won 1-0 with the only goal being a penalty scored in the 85th minute by
Andreas Brehme . Beckenbauer, who won the title as captain in 1974, thus became the second person (after
Mário Zagallo ) to have won the World Cup as both a player and a coach, and the first as both a captain and a coach.
After the World Cup win in 1990, assistant
Berti Vogts took over from Beckenbauer as the national team coach. Moreover, the
Reunificiation Of Germany meant players from East Germany, such as
Matthias Sammer and
Ulf Kirsten , became eligible to represent the new unified team. In
Euro 92 , Germany reached the final, but lost 2-0 to surprise winners
Denmark . Then as defending champions in the
1994 World Cup , they were upset 2-1 in the quarter-finals by
Bulgaria after taking the lead.
Germany won their first major international title after the reunification at
Euro 96 , becoming European champions for the third time. They defeated
England , who were the hosts, again on penalty kicks (6-5, after a 1-1 draw) in the semi-finals, and the
Czech Republic 2-1 in the final, a match decided by a
Golden Goal scored by
Oliver Bierhoff . However, in the
1998 World Cup , Germany were again eliminated by a less heralded opponent in the quarter-finals, this time in a 3-0 rout by
Croatia . Vogts stepped down afterwards and was replaced by
Erich Ribbeck .
Entering the 21st century, Germany's standing as one of the best national sides in the world and a team that almost always reach the later rounds of major tournaments are starting to be threatened by disappointing results. In
Euro 2000 , they went out in the first round after failing to win any of their three matches, including an embarrassing 3-0 loss to a second-string
Portugal side.
Rudi Völler replaced Ribbeck as coach, initially on a temporary basis, and later permanently after planned successor
Christoph Daum was involved in a drug scandal.
Coming into the
2002 World Cup , expectations of the German team were low, due to poor results in the
Qualifiers , including a 5-1 home defeat against
England . However, they started out strong by thrashing
Saudi Arabia 8-0 in their first match. At the knockout stages, they produced three consecutive 1-0 wins, against
Paraguay , the
United States , and co-hosts
South Korea , setting up a final against
Brazil , the first World Cup meeting between the two most successful teams in World Cup history. However, with the pivotal
Michael Ballack suspended due to accumulated
Yellow Cards , Germany lost 2-0. German goalkeeper
Oliver Kahn was voted the
Best Player Of The Tournament , the first time in the World Cup's history a goalkeeper became the best player of the tournament. Simultaneously, he won the Yashin-Award as the best goalkeeper.
Unfortunately, Germany failed to build on their success in 2002, and again exited in the first round of
Euro 2004 without winning a match. Völler resigned afterwards, and the national team had to find their third new coach in six years, after having only six coaches in the previous 75 years. After prospective candidates including
Ottmar Hitzfeld and
Otto Rehhagel turned down the job, former national team player
Jürgen Klinsmann , who had never held any coaching jobs before, was appointed, with his main task being leading the national team to a good showing at the
2006 World Cup , which Germany will host.
Germany, pre-division
- 1930 - ''Did not enter''
- 1934 - Third place
- 1938 - Round 1
West Germany
- 1950 - ''Did not enter , because DFB was not FIFA-Member''
- 1954 -
- 1958 - Fourth place
- 1962 - Quarterfinals
- 1966 - Runners-up
- 1970 - Third place
- 1974 -
- 1978 - Round 2
- 1982 - Runners-up
- 1986 - Runners-up
- 1990 -
Germany, post-unification
- 1994 - Quarterfinals
- 1998 - Quarterfinals
- 2002 - Runners-up
- 2006 - Qualified (Host)
West Germany
- 1960 - ''Did not enter''
- 1964 - ''Did not enter''
- 1968 - ''Did not qualify''
- 1972 -
- 1976 - Runners-up
- 1980 -
- 1984 - Round 1
- 1988 - Semifinals
Germany, post-unification
Honorary team captains (Ehrenspielführer) are
Fritz Walter ,
Uwe Seeler ,
Franz Beckenbauer and
Lothar Matthäus .
Players who have been recently called up to the Germany national squad include: (caps and goals accurate up to
March 23 ,
2006 )
;Goalkeepers
;Defenders
;Midfielders
;Forwards
;Notes
# Record includes periods of pre-division Germany (1936-1942 -- 65 matches: 40 wins, 12 draws, 13 losses) and
West Germany (1950-1964 -- 97 matches: 52 wins, 14 draws, 31 losses).
# Record as of
March 22 ,
2006 .
- Germany do not have a national stadium, and rotate their home matches among various stadiums across the country.
- The national team's home shirt colour has always been white, while the away shirt colour has changed several times. Historically green has been the most often used colour. Other colours such as grey and black have also been used. The last change, from black to red, came in November 2004. Klinsmann hopes to use the red away shirt as first choice for the 2006 World Cup.
- Germany played in the FIFA Confederations Cup twice, in 1999 (first round exit) and in 2005 (third place) as hosts.
- Interestingly, Germany have not beaten a European team in the finals of either the World Cup or the European Championship since their victory over the Czech Republic in the Euro 96 final. It is also often reported in the media that they have not beaten a "major football power" since their 1-0 victory over England in 2000 . However, which national teams should be considered as "major football powers" is debatable. For example, Germany have beaten Mexico and the United States , who are both ranked in the top ten of the FIFA World Rankings , during this period.
- Since their or in the UEFA Champions League .
- German teams have something of a tradition of beginning their history against , and the first match of the reunited German team were all against Switzerland.
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