Germany national football team: Difference between revisions

Germany

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	Die Mannschaft (The Team)
Association	German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund)
Head coach	Jürgen Klinsmann, 2004-
Most caps	Lothar Matthäus (150)
Top scorer	Gerd Müller (68)
First colours Second colours
First international
Switzerland 5 - 3 Germany (Basel, Switzerland; 5 April, 1908)
Biggest win
Germany 16 - 0 Russia (Stockholm, Sweden; 1 July, 1912)
Biggest defeat
England 9 - 0 Germany (Oxford, England; 16 March, 1909)
World Cup
Appearances	16 (first in 1934)
Best result	Winners, 1954, 1974, 1990
European Championship
Appearances	9 (first in 1972)
Best result	Winners, 1972, 1980, 1996

The Germany national football team represents Germany in international football competitions, and is controlled by the German Football Association, the governing body of football in Germany.

The history and records of this article include three distinct periods of the Germany national football team:

• Germany national football team, before the division of Germany into West and East Germany
• West Germany national football team, representing West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) from 1949 to 1990
• Germany national football team, after the German reunification in 1990

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.

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.

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.

History

Early years

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.

The Miracle of Bern

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.

Memorable losses: "Wembley goal" and "Game of the Century"

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.

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.

World Cup title on home soil

File:74wcfinal.jpg

Müller (white jersey) scoring the winning goal in the 1974 World Cup Final

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.

Late 1970s and early 1980s

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.

Beckenbauer's triumph as coach

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.

Mixed results in the 1990s

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.

Into the 21st century

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. As a consolation, German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was voted the best player of the tournament.

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.

World Cup record

Germany, pre-division

• 1930 - Did not enter
• 1934 - Third place
• 1938 - Round 1
• 1950 - Not allowed to enter

West Germany

• 1954 - Champions
• 1958 - Fourth place
• 1962 - Quarterfinals
• 1966 - Runners-up
• 1970 - Third place
• 1974 - Champions
• 1978 - Round 2
• 1982 - Runners-up
• 1986 - Runners-up
• 1990 - Champions

Germany, post-unification

• 1994 - Quarterfinals
• 1998 - Quarterfinals
• 2002 - Runners-up
• 2006 - Qualified automatically as host

European Championship record

West Germany

• 1960 - Did not enter
• 1964 - Did not enter
• 1968 - Did not qualify
• 1972 - Champions
• 1976 - Runners-up
• 1980 - Champions
• 1984 - Round 1
• 1988 - Semifinals

Germany, post-unification

• 1992 - Runners-up
• 1996 - Champions
• 2000 - Round 1
• 2004 - Round 1

Famous past players

Franz Beckenbauer Paul Breitner Andreas Brehme Karl-Heinz Förster Thomas Häßler Helmut Haller Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Kohler Sepp Maier

Lothar Matthäus Andreas Möller Gerd Müller Günter Netzer Wolfgang Overath Helmut Rahn Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Matthias Sammer (also played for East Germany) Harald 'Toni' Schumacher

Bernd Schuster Uwe Seeler Toni Turek Berti Vogts Rudi Völler Fritz Walter Wolfgang Weber

Honorary team captains (Ehrenspielführer) are Fritz Walter, Uwe Seeler, Franz Beckenbauer and Lothar Matthäus.

Current players

Players who have been recently called up to the Germany national squad include:

Goalkeepers

• Timo Hildebrand
• Oliver Kahn
• Jens Lehmann

Defenders

• Arne Friedrich
• Andreas Hinkel
• Robert Huth
• Marcell Jansen
• Philipp Lahm
• Per Mertesacker
• Patrick Owomoyela
• Lukas Sinkiewicz
• Christian Wörns

Midfielders

• Michael Ballack
• Tim Borowski
• Sebastian Deisler
• Fabian Ernst
• Torsten Frings
• Thomas Hitzlsperger
• Bernd Schneider
• Bastian Schweinsteiger

Forwards

• Gerald Asamoah
• Mike Hanke
• Miroslav Klose
• Kevin Kuranyi
• Benjamin Lauth
• Oliver Neuville
• Lukas Podolski

Player records

Most capped players

Below is a list of the 20 players with the most caps for Germany, as of 13 November 2005 (* denotes active players):

#	Player	Germany career	Caps
1	Lothar Matthäus	1980-2000	150
2	Jürgen Klinsmann	1987-1998	108
3	Jürgen Kohler	1986-1998	105
4	Franz Beckenbauer	1965-1977	103
5	Thomas Häßler	1988-2000	101
6	Berti Vogts	1967-1978	96
7	Sepp Maier	1966-1979	95
=	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	1976-1986	95
9	Rudi Völler	1982-1994	90
10	Andreas Brehme	1984-1994	86
11	Andreas Möller	1988-1999	85
12	Oliver Kahn*	1995-2005	83
13	Karl-Heinz Förster	1978-1986	81
=	Wolfgang Overath	1963-1974	81
15	Guido Buchwald	1984-1994	76
=	Harald Schumacher	1979-1986	76
17	Pierre Littbarski	1981-1990	73
18	Hans-Peter Briegel	1979-1986	72
=	Uwe Seeler	1954-1970	72
=	Christian Ziege	1993-2004	72

Top goalscorers

Below is a list of the top 10 goalscorers for Germany, as of 13 November 2005 (* denotes active players):

#	Player	Goals
1	Gerd Müller	68
2	Jürgen Klinsmann	47
=	Rudi Völler	47
4	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	45
5	Uwe Seeler	43
6	Oliver Bierhoff	37
7	Fritz Walter	33
8	Klaus Fischer	32
9	Ernst Lehner	31
10	Michael Ballack*	29
=	Andreas Möller	29

Tournament records

• Most World Cups played in: Lothar Matthäus - 5 (all-time record tied with Mexico's Antonio Carbajal)
• Most World Cup match appearances: Lothar Matthäus - 25 (all-time record)
• Most World Cup goals: Gerd Müller - 14 (all-time record)
• Most European Championship match appearances: Thomas Häßler and Jürgen Klinsmann - 13
• Most European Championship goals: Jürgen Klinsmann - 5

Coaches

Name	Period	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	Honours
DFB committee	1908-1927	63	18	13	32
Otto Nerz	1928-1936	70	42	10	18
Sepp Herberger1	1936-1964	162	92	26	44	Champion of 1954 World Cup
Helmut Schön	1964-1978	139	87	30	22	Runner-up of 1966 World Cup, Champion of Euro 72, Champion of 1974 World Cup, Runner-up of Euro 76
Jupp Derwall	1978-1984	67	45	11	11	Champion of Euro 80, Runner-up of 1982 World Cup
Franz Beckenbauer	1984-1990	66	36	17	13	Runner-up of 1986 World Cup, Champion of 1990 World Cup
Berti Vogts	1990-1998	102	67	23	12	Runner-up of Euro 92, Champion of Euro 96
Erich Ribbeck	1998-2000	24	10	6	8
Rudi Völler	2000-2004	53	29	11	13	Runner-up of 2002 World Cup
Jürgen Klinsmann2	2004-	22	12	6	4
	Total	768	438	153	177

Notes

1. Record includes periods of pre-division Germany (65 matches: 40 wins, 12 draws, 13 losses) and West Germany (97 matches: 52 wins, 14 draws, 31 losses).
2. Record as of 13 November 2005.

Notes

• 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. The reason behind this strange choice is that Ireland were the first country to offer to play Germany after World War II (although Germany played Switzerland and Turkey before they got around to Ireland). Other colours such as grey and black have also been used. The last change, from black to red, came in November 2004.
• 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 penalty shootout loss to Czechoslovakia in Euro 76, Germany have not lost a penalty shootout in major international tournaments. In particular, England suffered two heartbreaking semi-final losses to Germany on penalties in the 1990s. As England striker Gary Lineker once said: "Football is a game with 22 people and in the end the Germans always win."
• German teams have something of a tradition of beginning their history against Switzerland: The first match of a German national team ever, the first match of a West German team after World War II, and the first match of the reunited German team were all against Switzerland.

See also

• Germany national under-21 football team
• Germany women's national football team

External links

• DFB statistics of the national team
• RSSSF archive of Germany results

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