|
|   |
German FApng
|
|   |
GER
|
|   |
''Die Nationalelf''
|
|   |
Deutscher Fußball-Bund — DFB
|
|   |
UEFA ( Europe )
|
|   |
Joachim Löw
|
|   |
Michael Ballack
|
|   |
Lothar Matthäus (150)
|
|   |
Gerd Müller (68)
|
|   |
5
|
|   |
1
|
|   |
August 1993
|
|   |
23
|
|   |
March 2006
|
|   |
4
|
|   |
1
|
|   |
1990-92, 1993-94, 1996-97
|
|   |
28
|
|   |
1923
|
|   |
_blackshoulderspattern_b1=_Germany local 2006pattern_ra1=_blackshoulders
|
|   |
FFFFFFbody1=FFFFFFrightarm1=FFFFFFshorts1=000000socks1=FFFFFF
|
|   |
pattern_b2=pattern_ra2=
|
|   |
000000body2=FF0000rightarm2=FF0000shorts2=FFFFFFsocks2=FF0000
|
|   |
5 - 3 Germany <br/>( Basel , Switzerland 5 April , 1908 )
|
|   |
Germany 16 - 0 Russia <br/> ( Solna , Sweden July 1 , 1912 )
|
|   |
England Amateur 9 - 0 Germany <br/>( Oxford , England 16 March , 1909 )
|
|   |
16 <!--includes 2006-->
|
|   |
1934
|
|   |
- Winners, 1954 , 1974 , 1990
|
|   |
European Championship
|
|   |
9
|
|   |
- 1972
|
|   |
- Winners, 1972 , 1980 , 1996
|
|   |
2
|
|   |
1999
|
The () is the
Association Football team representing the
Country of
Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the
DFB (''Deutscher Fußball-Bund'', German Football Association) which was founded in 1900.
As a result of the occupation of Germany after
World War II , and its division into
Separate Allied Administrative Zones , separate national teams were also fielded by
East Germany and the
Saarland , while the DFB continued to field the national team in the Federal Republic of Germany (commonly referred to as
West Germany ).
Saarland rejoined the federal republic after a 1956 plebiscite and subsequently no longer organized a separate side as its independent football association became part of the DFB. During the
Cold War period a separate league structure and related governing body emerged in the
Soviet -occupied area of the country and was soon followed by the formation of a
GDR (German Democratic Republic) national team in
1952 . After
German Re-unification in 1990 the entire East German football structure was dissolved, much of it being incorporated into the DFB.
Germany has been one of the most successful European national teams at international competitions, having won a total of three World Cups and three European championships; in addition, the team representing East Germany team won the Olympic title in 1976.
The current coaching staff of the national team include head coach
Joachim Löw , assistant coach
Hans-Dieter Flick , goalkeeper coach
Andreas Köpke , athletic coach Mark Verstegen, athletic coach Oliver Schmidtlein and team manager
Oliver Bierhoff .
Between 1899 and 1901, prior to the formation of a national side, 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 dedicated coach at that time.
The first coach of the Germany national team was
Otto Nerz , a school teacher from
Mannheim , who served in the role from 1923 to 1936. Germany did not travel to Uruguay for the first World Cup staged in 1930, but finished third in the
1934 World Cup in their first appearance in the competition. After a poor showing at the
1936 Olympic Games in Berlin,
Sepp Herberger became coach and in 1937 he put together a squad which was soon nicknamed the ''Breslau Elf'' (the Breslau Eleven) in recognition of their 8-0 win over Denmark in the town of
Breslau ,
Lower Silesia (now Wroclaw, Poland).
{Link without Title}
After
Austria was made part of Germany in the March 1938 ''
Anschluss '', that country's national team - one of Europe's better sides atthe time - was disbanded despite having already qualified for the upcoming World Cup. A number of Austrian players, many from the club
Rapid Wien , were ordered to join the German team on short notice in a staged show of unity orchestrated for political reasons. In the
1938 World Cup , this "united" German team managed only a 1-1 draw against Switzerland and was then knocked out after losing the replay 2-4. That early exit stands as Germany's worst ever World Cup result.
During World War II, the team played over 30 international games between September 1939 and November 1942, when national team play was suspended as most players joined the armed forces. Many of the national team players were gathered together under coach Herberger as ''
Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg '' through the efforts of a sympathetic air force officer trying to protect the footballers from the most dangerous wartime service.
After the
Second World War , Germany was banned from competition in most sports until late 1950 or longer, with all three new German states being barred from entering the
1950 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
As in most aspects of life, the pre-war traditions and organisations of Germany were carried on by the and
Republic Of Ireland being the only non-
German Language opponents in friendly matches during 1951.
After only 18 post war games in total, Germany had qualified for the
1954 World Cup , having prevailed against Norway and the "third German state", the Saarland.
The
Saar (protectorate) , otherwise known as
Saarland , had been split off from Germany and put under French control between 1947 and 1956. They had separate teams in the
1952 Summer Olympics and also in the
1954 World Cup Qualifiers , when
Saarland National Football Team finished below Germany but above
Norway in their qualification group, having won in Oslo. Legendary coach
Helmut Schön was the manager of the Saarland team from 1952 until 1957, when it was merged with the Federal Republic of Germany.
From 1949 to 1990, the socialist
German Democratic Republic which was founded in the Soviet-occupied
East Germany were represented by the separate DFV association and its
East Germany National Football Team . East Germany were also the only team able to beat the (West) German team that won the
1974 World Cup , a highly symbolic event for both parts of the nation. They went on to win the gold medal in
Football At The 1976 Summer Olympics . After the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and
German Reunification in 1990, the
New Länder joined the Federal Republic of Germany, and the clubs and players joined the DFB.
Germany, captained by
Fritz Walter , met in the
1954 World Cup some of the teams they had played in friendly matches, namely
Turkey ,
Yugoslavia and
Austria . When playing favorites
Hungary in the group stage, coach
Sepp Herberger did not field his best players, saving them from the experience of a 3-8 loss. They would meet Hungary again in the final, with their legendary team of
Mighty Magyars , which had gone unbeaten for 32 consecutive matches, a record that still stands today. In a shocking upset, Germany 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 " (''Das Wunder von Bern''). 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 only the quarter-finals in the
1962 World Cup , the DFB had to make changes. Professionalism was introduced following examples set abroad, and the best clubs from the different Regionalliga were assembled into the new
Bundesliga .
Helmut Schön took over as coach in 1964 .
In the '' ("Wembley goal") in Germany, was controversial at the time. Later video evidence indicates that the ball never crossed the line after hitting the crossbar. As the Swiss referee did not see the situation properly, the opinion of the Soviet linesman who believed that the ball bounced back from the net rather than the crossbar led to one of the most contentious goals in the history of football. While the Germans pushed hard to tie the game, spectators entered the field in the final seconds, and Hurst scored another controversial goal giving England a 4-2 win.
Germany gained a measure of revenge in the
1970 World Cup by knocking England out in the quarter-finals 3-2, having been 2-0 down, before they suffered another memorable extra time loss, this time in the semi-final against
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. Memorably,
Franz Beckenbauer remained on the field even with a dislocated shoulder, his arm in a sling strapped to his body, as Germany had used up their two allowed substitutions. Eventually won 4-3 by Italy, this match with five goals in extra time is one of the most dramatic in World Cup history, and is called "
Game Of The Century " in both Italy (''Partita del secolo'') and Germany (''Jahrhundertspiel''). While the exhausted Italians lost to Brazil, 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 Germany to great success as they became both the European and World Champions. They won the European Championship at their first attempt 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 the
Olympiastadion .
Two matches in the 1974 World Cup stood out for Germany. The first group stage saw a politically charged match as Germany, representing the FRG, played the
East Germany National Football Team representing the socialist GDR. Both teams already were qualified for advance to the next round, and the East Germans won 1-0. The (West) Germans adjusted their line up after the loss and advanced to the final which was the other outstanding match, against the
Johan Cruijff -led Dutch team and their brand of "
Total Football ". Cruijff was brought down early in the German
Penalty Area following a solo run before any of the German players had even touched the ball, and the Dutch took the lead from the ensuing
Penalty 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.
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, with
Uli Hoeneß famously kicking the ball sky high. Then in the
1978 World Cup , they were eliminated in the second group stage after losing 3-2 to
Austria which was already eliminated at that time, but surprised the Germans with their zeal to beat them anyway. Schön retired as coach afterwards, and the post was taken over by his assistant
Jupp Derwall .
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. 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 beaten 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 as coach to replace Derwall. In the
1986 World Cup , 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 , Germany finally won their third World Cup title in the unprecedented third consecutive final appearance. At the time,
German Unification was not yet official, so no East German player was eligible for the DFB team yet. 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, 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.
During the period of the 1970s and 80s, West Germany achieved some success at the
Olympic Games , most notably in the
1988 Olympics , when they won the bronze medal, while also reaching the Second Round in both
1972 and
1984 .
The process of
Reunification Of Germany by five
New Länder joining the 11 existing states of the Federal Republic of Germany had been in progress since late 1989. Political unification was formalised on
3 October 1990 while clubs and players had joined the DFB and its leagues already for the new season. However, due to FIFA rules, Germany played two more internationals in October 1990 without East German players against
Sweden and
Luxembourg . The first game for which
players from East Germany, such as
Matthias Sammer and
Ulf Kirsten , were eligible was against
Switzerland on
19 December .
After the World Cup win in 1990, assistant
Berti Vogts took over from Beckenbauer as the national team coach. In
Euro 92 , Germany reached the final, but lost 2-0 to surprise winners
Denmark . 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 as of a team that almost always reach the later rounds of major tournaments, was starting to be discouraged by disappointing results.
In
Euro 2000 , they went out in the first round after failing to win any of their three matches, including a 1-0 defeat to rivals
England and an embarrassing 3-0 loss to a second-string
Portugal side (the Portuguese having already advanced).
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. However, with the pivotal
Michael Ballack suspended due to accumulated
Yellow Card s, Germany's chances had declined. In a hard-fought match, Germany lost 2-0. German captain and goalkeeper
Oliver Kahn won the
Golden Ball , the first time in the World Cup's history a goalkeeper was named best player of the tournament. Simultaneously, he won the Yashin-Award as the best goalkeeper.
Germany failed to build on their success in 2002, and again exited in the first round of
Euro 2004 without winning a match. As was the case in 2000, the Germans bowed out after losing to the second-string side of a team that had already advanced, in this case that of the Czech Republic. Völler resigned afterwards, denouncing the constant media criticism in a famous TV interview, and the national team had to find their third new coach in six years, after having had only six coaches in the previous 75 years. As 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. In similar style to Beckenbauer's former role as team manager without a coaching license, experienced Joachim Löw from Stuttgart would take care of the actual coaching responsibilities. Klinsmann's main task was to lead the national team to a good showing at the
2006 World Cup , which Germany were going to host.
Although the host nation, hopes prior to the start of the tournament proper were not as high for Germany in the
2006 World Cup as in previous tournaments, even in Germany itself. Critics had pointed out the apparent lack of quality players in the squad and coach Klinsmann's decision to live in America rather than Germany.
Germany, however, won the opening game of the World Cup against
Costa Rica 4-2. They continued to develop both confidence and support across the group stage, conceding no further goals as they beat Poland 1-0 and Ecuador 3-0, with
Miroslav Klose scoring twice and
Lukas Podolski adding another in the last match. Germany finished on top of the group with three wins.
The team went on to easily defeat
Sweden 2-0 in the round of 16, with
Lukas Podolski netting both goals in only 12 minutes, from assists by
Miroslav Klose .
]]
Germany faced favourites Argentina in the quarter-finals, a team that Germany had not defeated since the 1990 World Cup. Germany's shutout streak was broken shortly after half time as Argentina scored first to grab a 1-0 lead. However,
Michael Ballack 's cross, flicked on by
Tim Borowski , allowed Klose to head in the equalizer with 10 minutes to spare. During penalties,
Jens Lehmann stopped two spot kicks while his teammates made all of the necessary goals to win the decisive shootout 4 - 2. These results produced much expectation in Germany, many thinking that a record eighth appearance at the final was possible.
The team then lost 0-2 to Italy in the semi-finals, conceding two goals in the dying ninety seconds of the
Extra Time .
Despite having their dreams of playing in the final dashed, Klinsmann's squad quickly recovered their composure, and journalists noted the team's upbeat mood in the practices after the semi-final. Three starters, including captain Michael Ballack, would not be available for the third place match. They faced a full strength Portuguese team, with goalkeeper
Ricardo having only conceded one goal in regular play. Nonetheless, Germany thoroughly routed Portugal 3-1, at one point being up three goals to nil from
Bastian Schweinsteiger 's two goals and an own goal, also off his shot, by Portugal's
Petit .
Germany managed to end the World Cup on a high, not only with a 3-1 win over Portugal in the battle for third place, but also with several awards:
Miroslav Klose was awarded the
Golden Boot for his tournament-leading five goals, and fellow striker
Lukas Podolski won the 'Best Young Player' award. Furthermore, four of Germany's players (
Jens Lehmann ,
Philipp Lahm ,
Michael Ballack and
Miroslav Klose ) were selected for the 'Mastercard All-Star Team'. In addition, at 14 goals scored, the German side put away more goals than any other team. At the end of their tournament, more than 500,000 people celebrated the team's return by giving them a heroes welcome at the
Brandenburg Gate in
Berlin . All in all, Germany had a much better World Cup than many - at home and abroad - ever believed possible.
Germany's entry into the Euro 2008 qualifying round was marked, not least, by the arrival of new coach
Joachim Löw . For the preliminary round, (which runs from
2 September 2006 -
21 November 2007) Germany were placed into Group D, along with Cyprus, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Ireland, San Marino, Slovakia and Wales.
Thus far, Germany has performed well, though not against very high-ranking opponents.
Their first match, played was diverted into the net by
Robbie Keane , and gave Löw and the German team an opening victory to the tournament.
The second, played , dated back to
1934 ), and their best post-
Reunification victory. Again, Lukas Podolski was the star, with four goals, but contributions were received from
Michael Ballack (one goal),
Manuel Friedrich (one goal),
Miroslav Klose (two goals)
Thomas Hitzlsperger (two goals),
Bernd Schneider (one goal, a penalty), and
Bastian Schweinsteiger (two goals).http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5322128.stm San Marino were, as the scoreline suggests, overwhelmed by their opponents: this is not surprising, given that Germany's Elo ranking is 186 places above theirs.
Germany's third game against
Slovakia continued Löw's unbeaten run - though not his clean sheet. It was played on the
11 October 2006, and resulted in another victory, with the Germans finishing up 4-1. Lukas Podolski was impressive again, scoring twice, with a further goal each to Michael Ballack and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Stanislav Varga scored the home team's single goal.
The team's final qualifier of 2006 was played against
Cyprus on the
15th November , and brought a halt to their winning record. While Michael Ballack scored an early goal (his 35th for Germany), Cyprus struck back just before half-time with a goal by
Ioannis Okkas , creating a scoreline which remained static until the final whistle.
On March 24, 2007, Germany consolidated top group standings as they beat the
Czech Republic 2-1, after two headed goals by
Kevin Kuranyi .
Milan Baros snatched a late goal, but the Germans held on for the decisive group leading win. On June 2, Germany beat San Marino again, 6-0, after a flurry of goals in the second half. Kevin Kuranyi would only put the hosts 1-0 up at half-time. Four days later, Germany beat Slovakia 2-1, after a Thomas Hitzlsperger header separated the two sides who each canceled out own goals. On September 8, Germany remained five points clear of the Czechs by beating
Wales 2-0, despite not having a handful of their regular first team players like Michael Ballack,
Torsten Frings ,
Bernd Schneider and
Philipp Lahm . Miroslav Klose marked his 70th cap with two pinpoint goals to take his tally to 35 international goals.
Germany has won the
World Cup three times, behind only
Brazil (five titles) and
Italy (four titles). It has finished as runners-up four times, two more than any other side. In terms of semifinal appearances, Germany leads with 11, one more than Brazil's 10, which had participated in two more tournaments (all 18, in fact). In the last 14 World Cup tournaments, Germany has always reached at least the stage of the last eight teams. Germany has also qualified for every of the 16 World Cups it has entered — it did not enter the inaugural competition in Uruguay of
1930 for economic reasons, and could not qualify for or compete in the post-war
1950 World Cup as the DFB was re-instated as a FIFA member only two months after this tournament.
Germany has also won the
European Championship three times (
France is the only other multiple-time winners with two titles), and finished as runners-up twice. The Germans have qualified for every European Championship tournament except for the very first EC they entered in
1968 . For that tournament, Germany was in the only group of three teams and thus only played four qualifying games. The deciding game was a scoreless draw in
Albania which gave Yugoslavia the edge, having won in their neighbor country.
Germany played in the
FIFA Confederations Cup twice, in
1999 (first round exit) and in
2005 (third place) as hosts.
See also
East Germany and
Saarland for the results of these separate German teams, and
Austria for the team that was merged into the German team from 1938 to 1945.
- Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on Penalty Kicks .''
- ---Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.''
- Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on Penalty Kicks .''
- ---Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.''
Squad called up for the
Euro 2008 Qualifier against
Wales on
8 September and the friendly against
Romania on
12 September 2007 .
Caps and goals as of
September 8 ,
2007 .
The following players have been called up to the German squad since the
2006 World Cup and are still available for selection.
Fritz Walter ,
Uwe Seeler ,
Franz Beckenbauer and
Lothar Matthäus are "Honorary team captains" (''Ehrenspielführer'').
- denotes players still available for selection):
See Also: List of leading goalscorers for the German national football team
- denotes players still available for selection):
;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
August 22 ,
2007 .
in the Federal Republic of Germany.]]
- Germany is the only nation to have won both the men's and women's World Cups.
- Germany does not have a national stadium, and rotate their home matches among various stadiums across the country.
- Adidas AG is the longstanding Kit provider to the national team, a sponsorship that began in 1954 and is contracted to continue until at least 2018 . Nike, Inc. had been courting the team, and in August 2007 reportedly offered as much as €500 million to outfit the team for an eight-year period - a figure that is six times what adidas currently pays - but the federation decided to remain with Germany-based adidas. "German FA turns down Nike offer, sticks with Adidas" guardian.co.uk. 24 August 2007
- The national team's home dress has always been a white jersey and black shorts, while the away jersey colour has changed several times. Historically, green shirt with white shorts is the most often used alternative colour combination, derived from the DFB colours (and the ones of a playing field). Other colours such as grey and black have also been used. The last change, from black to red, came in November 2004 on the request of Klinsmann, citing that teams in red are statistically more successful, and perceived as more intimidating. He hoped to use the red away shirt as first choice for the 2006 World Cup despite less than impressive results when playing in these colours (for example, the 1-4 loss in Italy), but eventually Germany played in its traditional colors.
- The green away jersey comes from the fact that the DFB's (Deutscher Fußball-Bund) official color is green yet a very common myth associated with Germany's use of a green-coloured away jersey is in recognition of the fact that Ireland were supposedly the first nation to play Germany in a friendly game after World War II. This is false. Their first match after WWII was in fact against the Swiss. {Link without Title}
- Since their or in the UEFA Champions League , yet they had to win first to get there.
- German teams have something of a tradition of beginning their history against vs France, a goal that was not chosen for the Top 10 of the WC Goal Of The Century )
- Germany can boast of having the first and only goalkeeper to win the Player Of The Tournament award following a World Cup, that being Oliver Kahn in 2002. Harald "Toni" Schumacher was runner-up for the award in 1986.
- Toni Schumacher , along with Sergio Goycochea , holds the record for the most World Cup penalty shootout saves, with four. He saved two against France in 1982 and another two against Mexico in 1986.
- German first-choice goalkeepers have all been a part of the national team's string of successes; Harald Schumacher won Euro 1980 and reached the finals of the 1982 and 1986 World Cup. Bodo Illgner helped to win the 1990 World Cup, Andreas Köpke won Euro 1996, Oliver Kahn reached the 2002 World Cup finals, and Jens Lehmann reached the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup.
- Germany also has one of the world's greatest ever goal scorers in Gerd Müller , who racked up fourteen goals in just two World Cups. His ten goals in 1970 are the third most in a tournament, just behind France's Just Fontaine and Hungarian Sándor Kocsis . Though Müller's all time Finals score was broken by Ronaldo in 2006, it took the latter three tournaments to do so (1998, 2002, 2006). France's Just Fontaine is in third place all-time, with thirteen goals scored at the 1958 World Cup .
- During the period of the 1970s and 80s, non-professional teams representing Germany also achieved small success at the Olympic Games , most notably in the 1988 Olympics , when they won the bronze medal, while also reaching the Second Round in both 1972 and 1984 . In the 1972 Olympics, Germany played against East Germany in the second group stage, losing 3-2.