Germany national football team

Name	Germany
Badge	DFBEagle.svg
Badge size	180px
Fifa trigramme	GER
Nickname	Die Mannschaft (The Team), used by non-German-speaking mediaDie DFB-Elf (The DFB-Eleven)Die Nationalelf
Association	German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund – DFB)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Coach	Joachim Löw
Captain	Philipp Lahm
Most caps	Lothar Matthäus (150)
Top scorer	Gerd Müller (68)
Fifa rank	4
Fifa max	1
Fifa max date	June 1994
Fifa min	22
Fifa min date	March 2006
Elo rank	4
Elo max	1
Elo max date	1990–92, 1993–94, 1996–97
Elo min	28
Elo min date	1923
Pattern la1	_DFB_10h
Pattern b1	_DFB_10h
Pattern ra1	_DFB_10h
Pattern sh1	_DFB_10h
Pattern so1	_DFB_1012
Leftarm1	FFFFFF
Body1	FFFFFF
Rightarm1	FFFFFF
Shorts1	FFFFFF
Socks1	FFFFFF
Pattern b2	_DFB_10a
Pattern la2	_DFB_10a
Pattern ra2	_DFB_10a
Pattern sh2	_DFB_10a
Leftarm2	FFFFFF
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First game	5–3 Germany (Basel, Switzerland; 5 April 1908)
Largest win	Germany 16–0 (Stockholm, Sweden; 1 July 1912)
Largest loss	England Amateurs 9–0 Germany (Oxford, England; 13 March 1909)
World cup apps	17
World cup first	1934
World cup best	Champions, 1954, 1974, 1990
Regional name	European Championship
Regional cup apps	10
Regional cup first	1972
Regional cup best	Champions, 1972, 1980, 1996
Confederations cup apps	2
Confederations cup first	1999
Confederations cup best	3rd Place, 2005

The Germany national football team () is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund), which was founded in 1900.

From 1950 to 1990, it was more or less the team of West Germany as the DFB is based in Frankfurt, located in the former West Germany. Under Allied occupation and division, two other separate national teams were also recognized by FIFA: the Saarland team (1950–1956) and the East German team (1952–1990). Both have been absorbed along with their records (caps and goal scorers) by the current national team. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" in 1990.

Germany is historically one of the three most successful national teams at international competitions, having won a total of three World Cups and three European Championships. They have also been runners-up three times in the European Championships, four times in the World Cup, and further won four 3rd places. East Germany won Olympic Gold in 1976. Germany is the only nation to have won both the men's and women's World Cups. Germany rivalries include England, Netherlands, and Argentina.

The current coaching staff of the national team include head coach Joachim Löw, assistant coach Hans-Dieter Flick, goalkeeper coach Andreas Köpke, athletic coach Shad Forsythe, athletic coach Oliver Bartlett, scout Urs Siegenthaler, technical director Matthias Sammer, and team manager Oliver Bierhoff.

History

Early years

Between 1899 and 1901, prior to the formation of a national team, 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 in Basel, with the Swiss winning 5–3. Coincidentally, the first match after World War I in 1920, the first match after World War II in 1950 when Germany was still banned from most international competitions, and the first match in 1990 with former East German players were all against Switzerland as well. Germany's first championship title was even won in Switzerland.

At that time, the players were selected by the DFB as there was no dedicated coach. The first manager of the Germany national team was Otto Nerz, a school teacher from Mannheim, who served in the role from 1923 to 1936. The German FA could not afford travel to Uruguay for the first World Cup staged in 1930 during the Great Depression, 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. 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 then German city of Breslau, Lower Silesia (now Wrocław, Poland).

After Austria became part of Germany in the Anschluss of March 1938, that country's national team – one of Europe's better sides at the time due to professionalism – was disbanded despite having already qualified for the 1938 World Cup. As required by Nazi politicians, five or six ex-Austrian players, from the clubs Rapid Vienna, Austria Vienna, Vienna Wien, were ordered to join the all-German team on short notice in a staged show of unity orchestrated for political reasons. In the 1938 World Cup that began on 4 June, this "united" German team managed only a 1–1 draw against Switzerland, and then lost the replay 2–4 in front of a hostile crowd in Paris, France. 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 games was suspended as most players had to join the armed forces. Many of the national team players were gathered together under coach Herberger as Rote Jäger through the efforts of a sympathetic air force officer trying to protect the footballers from the most dangerous wartime service.

Three German teams

After the Second World War, Germany was banned from competition in most sports until about 1950, with none of the three new German states, West Germany, East Germany and Saarland, entering the 1950 World Cup qualifiers as the DFB was only reinstated as full FIFA member after this World Cup.

West Germany

As in most aspects of life, the pre-war traditions and organisations of Germany were carried on by the Federal Republic of Germany, which was referred to as West Germany. This applied also to the restored DFB which had its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and still employed coach Sepp Herberger. With recognition by FIFA and UEFA, the DFB maintained and continued the record of the pre-war team. Neighbouring Switzerland was once again the first team that played West Germany in 1950, with Turkey and Republic of Ireland being the only non-German speaking nations to play them in friendly matches during 1951.

After only 18 post war games in total, West Germany qualified for the 1954 World Cup, having prevailed against Norway and the "third German state", the Saarland.

Saarland

The Saar protectorate, otherwise known as Saarland, split from Germany and put under French control between 1947 and 1956. Saarland did not want to join French organisations and was barred from participating in pan-German ones. Thus, they sent separate teams to the 1952 Summer Olympics and also to the 1954 World Cup qualifiers, when Saarland finished below West 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 the territory acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. He went on to coach the championship-winning team of the 1970s.

East Germany

In 1949, the communist German Democratic Republic was founded in the Soviet-occupied eastern part of the country. A separate football competition emerged in what was commonly known as East Germany. In 1952 the Deutscher Fußball-Verband der DDR (DFV) was established and the East Germany national football team took to the field. They were the only team to beat the 1974 World Cup winning West Germans in a highly symbolic event for the divided nation that was the only meeting of the two sides. East Germany went on to win the gold medal at the 1976 Olympics. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and German reunification in 1990, the eastern football competition was reintegrated into the DFB.

Das Wunder von Bern

West 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, with good chances to qualify for the next round even in case of defeat, coach Sepp Herberger did not field his best players, saving them from the experience of a 3–8 loss. West Germany would go on to meet Hungary again in the final, facing the legendary team of Mighty Magyars again, which had gone unbeaten for 32 consecutive matches. In a shocking upset, West 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). The unexpected victory created a sense of euphoria throughout a divided postwar Germany. The triumph is credited with playing a significant role in securing the postwar ideological foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Memorable losses: Wembley goal and Game of the Century

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. Following examples set abroad, professionalism was introduced, and the best clubs from the various Regionalligas were assembled into the new Bundesliga. In 1964, Helmut Schön took over as coach, replacing Herberger who had been in office for 28 years.

In the 1966 World Cup, West Germany reached the final after beating the USSR in the semifinal, facing hosts England at Wembley Stadium. Wolfgang Weber's last minute goal took the game into extra time, a goal claimed to be controversial by the English, 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. The first extra time goal by Geoff Hurst, nicknamed Wembley-Tor (Wembley goal) in Germany, is still controversial after all this time. As the Swiss referee did not see the situation properly, the opinion of the Soviet linesman Tofik Bakhramov 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.

West 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 West 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, West Germany went on to claim third place by beating Uruguay 1–0, and Gerd Müller finished as the tournament's top scorer with 10 goals.

World Cup title on home soil

In 1971, Franz Beckenbauer became captain of the national team, and he led West Germany to great success as they became both the European and World Champions. They won the European Championship on their first try at Euro 72, defeating the Soviet Union 3–0 in the final. Then, as hosts of the 1974 World Cup, they won their second World Cup, defeating the Netherlands 2–1 in the final at the Olympiastadion in Munich.

Two matches in the 1974 World Cup stood out for West Germany. The first group stage saw a politically charged match as West Germany played a game against East Germany. 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 ruled offside.

Late 1970s and early 1980s

West Germany failed to defend their titles in the next two major international tournaments. 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. Since that loss, Germany has not lost a penalty shootout in major international tournaments. In fact, until Lukas Podolski's shot was saved by the Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković during group play of the 2010 World Cup, the last penalty missed by a German player dates back to the 1982 World Cup semifinals when the French goalkeeper Jean-Luc Ettori saved Uli Stielike's shot.

In the 1978 World Cup, Germany was eliminated in the second group stage after losing 2–3 to Austria, who had already been eliminated from the round of 16. Schön retired as coach afterward, and the post was taken over by his assistant, Jupp Derwall.

West Germany's first tournament under Derwall was successful, as they earned their second European title at Euro 80 after defeating Belgium 2–1 in the final. West Germany then reached the final of the 1982 World Cup, though not without difficulties. They were upset 1–2 by Algeria in their first match, but managed to advance to the second round with a controversial 1–0 win over Austria. Then, in the semifinal against France, they came back from down 1–3 during extra time to tie the match 3–3 and won the following penalty shootout 5–4. In the final, they were defeated by Italy 1–3.

During this period, West Germany also had one of the world's most productive goal scorers in Gerd Müller, who racked up fourteen goals in two World Cups (1970 and 1974). His ten goals in 1970 are the third-most ever in a tournament, behind France's Just Fontaine and Hungarian Sándor Kocsis. Though Müller's all-time World Cup record of 14 goals was broken by Ronaldo in 2006, it took Ronaldo three tournaments to do so (1998, 2002, and 2006). Germany's Miroslav Klose is in third place all-time, with fourteen goals, scored over three tournaments (2002, 2006, and 2010).

Beckenbauer's triumph as coach

After being eliminated in the first round of Euro 84, Franz Beckenbauer returned to the national team to replace Derwall as coach. In the 1986 World Cup, West Germany finished as runners-up for the second consecutive tournament after again beating France 2–0 in the semi-finals but losing to the Diego Maradona-led Argentina in the final, 2–3. 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 semifinals.

In the 1990 World Cup, West Germany finally won their third World Cup title in its unprecedented third consecutive final appearance. Captained by Lothar Matthäus, 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. West Germany won 1–0, with the only goal being a penalty scored in the 85th minute by Andreas Brehme. Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup as the national team's captain in 1974, thus became the first person ever (followed only by Mário Zagallo) to win the World Cup as both player and coach, and the first as both captain and coach.

Olympic football

Prior to 1984, Olympic football was an amateur event, meaning that only non-professional players could participate. Due to this, West Germany was never able to achieve the same degree of success at the Olympics as at the World Cup, with the only medal coming in the 1988 Olympics, when they won the bronze medal. Since then, however, no German team has managed to qualify for the Olympics. West Germany also reached the second round in both 1972 and 1984. On the other hand, East Germany did far better, winning a gold, a silver and two bronze medals (one representing the United Team of Germany).

After Reunification: Berti Vogts

In February 1990, months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the draw for the 1992 European Championship qualifying tournament saw East Germany and West Germany drawn together in Group 5. After West Germany's 1990 World Cup win, with assistant Berti Vogts taking over as the national team coach, the retiring Beckenbauer infamously predicted that the German team, with additional former East Germans to choose from, would be invincible for years to come. The reunification of Germany was confirmed in August to take effect on 3 October 1990, with the access of the former GDR to the Federal Republic of Germany. The members of the East German association Deutscher Fußball-Verband acceded to the DFB in November, while the 1990–91 seasons would continue, with the restructuring of leagues scheduled for 1991–92. The first game with a unified German team, including former East German internationals such as Matthias Sammer and Ulf Kirsten, was against Switzerland on 19 December.

In Euro 92, Germany reached the final, but lost 0–2 to surprise winners Denmark. As the defending champions in the 1994 World Cup, they were upset 1–2 in the quarterfinals by Bulgaria even though they led for the first part of the match.

Reunified Germany won their first major international title at Euro 96, becoming the European champions for the third time. They defeated hosts England on penalty kicks (6–5 after a 1–1 draw) in the semifinals 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 quarterfinals, this time in a 0–3 defeat to Croatia. Vogts stepped down afterwards and was replaced by Erich Ribbeck.

Oliver Kahn/Michael Ballack Era

Following another early World Cup exit in 1998 along with the retirement of many key players and discouraging results under Ribbeck, Germany's standing as one of the world's elite national sides was in question.

In Euro 2000, the aging team went out in the first round after failing to win any of their three matches, including an embarrassing 0–3 loss to an understrength Portugal side (who had already advanced to the next round). Ribbeck resigned amid strong public criticism and was replaced temporarily and then permanently by Rudi Völler - 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. This included not directly qualifying for the finals for the first time. The team nonetheless dealt a thrashing to Saudi Arabia 8–0 in their first match. In the knockout stages, riding on the heroics of Oliver Kahn and Michael Ballack 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. Unfortunately Ballack was suspended for the final due to accumulated yellow cards and Kahn was injured during the final proper. In a hard-fought match, Germany thus lost 0–2. Nevertheless, German captain and goalkeeper Oliver Kahn won the Golden Ball, the first time in the World Cup's history that a goalkeeper was named the best player of the tournament, as well as the Yashin-Award for the best goalkeeper in the tournament.

Germany failed to build on their success in 2002 and again exited in the first round of Euro 2004, this time drawing their first two matches and losing the third. As was the case in 2000, the team exited losing to an understrength side that had already advanced, in this case the Czech Republic. Even though Germany dominated the match, they could not score, losing to a Czech goal scored on the break. Völler resigned afterwards, denouncing the constant media criticism in a famous TV interview. The national team had to find their third new coach in six years after having had only six coaches in the previous 75 years. When 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, the experienced Joachim Löw from Stuttgart was appointed to assist him. Klinsmann made Michael Ballack the captain following Euro 2004. Klinsmann's main task was to lead the national team to a good showing at the 2006 World Cup being hosted in Germany.

Prior to the start of the tournament, hopes were not as high for Germany as in previous tournaments (even in Germany itself), even though it was the host nation. Critics pointed out the apparent lack of quality players in the squad and coach Klinsmann's decision to live in America rather than Germany. However, Germany 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 their group with three wins. The team went on to 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 favorites 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 0–1 lead. However, Michael Ballack's cross, flicked on by Tim Borowski, allowed Klose to head in the equalizer with 10 minutes to spare. During the subsequent penalty shootout, goalkeeper Jens Lehmann saved two shots while his teammates all converted their shots to win the shootout 4–2. After the game, the Argentinians started a brawl, which later resulted in a match ban for midfielder Torsten Frings after Italian television networks showed video footage of him participating in the fight.

Expectations rose in Germany following these results, with many thinking that a record eighth appearance in the World Cup final was possible even though a starter was missing and the players were tired after already playing a tough 120 minutes against Argentina. In the semifinal match against Italy, the match went to extra time again, and hopes grew high that another penalty shootout would take the team to the final match in Berlin. However, despite Klinsmann's focus on fitness, the speed and concentration of the German players faded, and they conceded two goals in the final ninety seconds of 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 leading up to the third-place match. Three starters, including captain Michael Ballack, would not be available for the third place match, and their opponent Portugal's goalkeeper, Ricardo, had up to that point conceded only one goal in regular play. Nonetheless, Germany thoroughly defeated Portugal 3–1, at one point leading 3–0 due to Bastian Schweinsteiger's two goals and an own goal, also off his shot, by Portugal's Petit.

With this victory, Germany ended the World Cup on a high, not only with the 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, becoming the first player from the united Germany to earn it, 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 tournament All-Star Team. In addition, with 14 goals scored, the German side scored more goals than any other team in the tournament. After the tournament, over 500,000 people honored the team by giving them a hero's welcome at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Germany had a much better World Cup than many—both at home and abroad—had believed possible.

Germany's entry into the Euro 2008 qualifying round was marked partially by the promotion of Joachim Löw to coach. In a group with the Czech Republic and the Republic of Ireland, Germany qualified comfortably, defeating San Marino in a record 13–0 away win along the way.

For the final tournament, Germany were placed into Group B alongside Poland, Croatia and longtime rivals Austria. Germany defeated Poland 2–0 but suffered an ignominious 1–2 defeat to Croatia, compounded by a red card for Bastian Schweinsteiger for an aggressive off-the-ball incident. Germany entered the knockout round with a victory over Austria in the last match of group play. The only scorer of the game was Michael Ballack, who scored in the 49th minute with a powerful long-distance free-kick that was later chosen as the German Goal of the Year. Their quarterfinal opponent was Portugal. Germany started well and took an early lead after Schweinsteiger converted a cross from Lukas Podolski. Miroslav Klose made it 2–0 after heading in a free kick by Schweinsteiger. Portugal responded with a goal right before halftime, but Germany reclaimed their two-goal lead in the second half when Schweinsteiger assisted another header, this time by Michael Ballack. Germany saw out the rest of the match comfortably, conceding a late consolation goal, leaving the final score at 3–2.

Germany went into their semifinal match against Turkey as the overwhelming favorites. However, the team put up a nervous and shaky performance, falling behind due to Uğur Boral's goal in the 22nd minute. Bastian Schweinsteiger equalised, and Miroslav Klose put Germany ahead with less than twelve minutes left only for Semih Şentürk to level the score in the last minutes of the match. Just as the game was heading for extra time, defender Philipp Lahm cut inside past Colin Kazim-Richards, exchanged passes with Thomas Hitzlsperger, and stole in at the near post to score in the final minute, sending Germany into the final against Spain.

Spain were the heavy favorites but Germany was believed to be one of the few sides able to challenge them. After the opening fifteen minutes in which Germany dominated and nearly scored a few times, Spain got into their game and took the lead with a goal by Fernando Torres. Germany ended up losing the match 0–1, finishing as the runners-up of the tournament.

For the qualification for World Cup 2010, Germany were placed in a group with Azerbaijan (led by former Germany coach Berti Vogts), Finland, Liechtenstein, Russia, and Wales.

2010 FIFA World Cup finals

The 2010 World Cup draw, which took place on 4 December 2009, placed Germany in Group D, along with Australia, Serbia, and Ghana. Throughout the tournament, Germany impressed by playing an attractive, attacking style of football. On 13 June 2010, they played their first match of the tournament against Australia and won 4–0. They lost their second match 0–1 to Serbia. Their next match against Ghana was won 1–0 by a goal from Mesut Özil. Germany went on to win the group and advanced to the knockout stage. In the round of 16, Germany humiliated England 4–1. However, the game controversially had a perfectly legitimate goal scored by Frank Lampard disallowed, despite video replays that showed the ball clearly beyond the goal line. In the quarterfinals, Germany defeated Argentina 4–0; this match was also celebrated striker Miroslav Klose's 100th international cap and the match in which he tied German legend Gerd Müller's record of 14 World Cup goals, one behind the all-time record of 15 World Cup goals, which is held by Ronaldo of Brazil. In the semi-final on 7 July, Germany lost 1–0 to Spain. Germany played Uruguay for Third Place, as in 1970, and won the match 3–2 on 10 July.

Germany scored the most with a total of 16 goals in the 2010 World Cup, in comparison, the winning nation Spain scored only 8 goals. The German team became the first team since Brazil in 1982 to record the highest goal difference in a World Cup without winning it.

The German team reflected the changing demographic of Germany. It was significantly multicultural, as 11 of the players in the final 23-man World Cup Finals roster were eligible to play for other countries, despite 10 of the 11 being born or raised in Germany. The 11th, Cacau, arrived from Brazil in his late teens.

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Euro 2012 qualifications

Germany will be competing in Group A in qualification for UEFA Euro 2012, together with Kazakhstan, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, and Azerbaijan.

Results

Recent results within last 12 months and upcoming fixtures.

Stadiums

Germany does not have a national stadium, so the national team's home matches are rotated among various stadiums around the country. They have played home matches in 39 different cities so far, including venues that were German at the time of the match, such as Vienna, Austria, which staged three games between 1938 and 1942.

National team matches have been held most often (42 times) in the stadiums of Berlin, which was the venue of Germany's first home match (in 1908 against England). Other common host cities include Hamburg (34 matches), Stuttgart (29), Hanover (24) and Dortmund. Another notable location is Munich, which has hosted numerous notable matches throughout the history of German football, including the 1974 World Cup final, which Germany won against the Netherlands.

Kit

saw an unprecedented widespread public display of the national flag in Germany.]] 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.

The national team's home kit has always been a white shirt and black shorts. The colours are derived from the 19th century flag of the north German State of Prussia. The away shirt colour has changed several times. Historically, green shirt with white shorts is the most often used alternative colour combination, derived from the DFB colors (and the ones of a playing field), though it is also reported that the choice is in recognition of the fact that Ireland, whose home shirts are green, were supposedly the first nation to play Germany in a friendly game after World War II. This is false, as their first match after WWII was in fact against Switzerland. Other colours such as grey and black have also been used. A change, from black to red, came in November 2004 on the request of Jürgen 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 colors (for example, the 1–4 loss in Italy), but Germany played every game at the 2006 World Cup in its home white colours. In 2010 the away colours then changed back to a black shirt and white shorts, but at the tournament the team dressed up in the black trousers from the home dress. The new away kit was worn by the team for the first time in a friendly against Argentina on 3 March 2010.

Nickname

In Germany, the team is typically referred to as the Nationalmannschaft (national team), DFB-Elf (DFB eleven), DFB-Auswahl (DFB selection) or Nationalelf (national eleven), whereas in foreign media, they are regularly described as Die Mannschaft (literally meaning "The Team").

Competition records

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. In terms of semifinal appearances, Germany leads with 12, two more than Brazil's 10, which had participated in two more tournaments. In the last 15 World Cup tournaments, Germany has always reached at least the stage of the last eight teams. Germany has also qualified for every of the 17 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 reinstated as a FIFA member only two months after this tournament.

Germany has also won the European Championship three times (France and Spain are the only other multiple-time winners with two titles), and finished as runners-up three times as well. 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.

FIFA World Cup record

:*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. :''**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. :***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Confederations Cup record

:*Denotes draws including 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.

European Championship record

Note All tournament wins except Euro 1996 were won as West Germany

Personnel

Current technical staff

Players

Current squad

Players called up for the for the friendly match against Uruguay on 29 May and the Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Austria on 3 June 2011, and Azerbaijan on 7 June. :Caps and goals as of 7 June 2011. |----- ! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" | |----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD" |----- ! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" | |----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD" |----- ! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" | |----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Germany squad within last 12 months and are still available for selection.

, 7 June 2011}} |----- ! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" | |----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD" , 3 June 2011^INJ}} , 29 March 2011}} , 29 March 2011}} , 9 February 2011 }} , 17 November 2010 }} , 17 November 2010^INJ }} , 12 October 2010 }} , 11 August 2010 }} , 11 August 2010 }} , 11 August 2010 }} |----- ! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" | |----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD" , 7 June 2011^INJ}} , 7 June 2011^INJ}} , 29 May 2011^INJ}} , 29 May 2011^INJ}} , 29 May 2011^INJ}} , 9 February 2011 }} , 17 November 2010 }} , 11 August 2010 }} , 11 August 2010^INJ }} , 11 August 2010 }} , 11 August 2010 }} |----- ! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" | |----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD" , 3 June 2011^INJ}} , 17 November 2010 }} , 17 November 2010 }} , 7 September 2010 }} ;Notes ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.

Famous past players

Most capped players

Below is a list of the 20 players with the most caps for Germany as of 7 June 2011 (* denotes players still available for selection). Players who had played for the separate East German Team (in the scope of this list: Streich 102, Dörner 100, Kirsten 100: 49 East Germany and 51 Germany, Croy 94 and Weise 86) do not appear in this list.

{|class="wikitable sortable" cellpadding="3" style="text-align: center;" |- !# !Player !Germany Career !Caps !Goals |- |1 |style="text-align: left;"|Lothar Matthäus |1980–2000 |150 |23 |- |2 |style="text-align: left;"|Miroslav Klose* |2001–present |109 |61 |- |3 |style="text-align: left;"|Jürgen Klinsmann |1987–1998 |108 |47 |- |4 |style="text-align: left;"|Jürgen Kohler |1986–1998 |105 |2 |- |5 |style="text-align: left;"|Franz Beckenbauer |1965–1977 |103 |14 |- |6 |style="text-align: left;"|Thomas Häßler |1988–2000 |101 |11 |- |7 |style="text-align: left;"|Michael Ballack |1999–2010 |98 |42 |- |8 |style="text-align: left;"|Berti Vogts |1967–1978 |96 |1 |- |9 |style="text-align: left;"|Sepp Maier |1966–1979 |95 |0 |- |= |style="text-align: left;"|Karl-Heinz Rummenigge |1976–1986 |95 |45 |- |11 |style="text-align: left;"|Rudi Völler |1982–1994 |90 |47 |- |12 |style="text-align: left;"|Lukas Podolski* |2004–present |89 |42 |- |13 |style="text-align: left;"|Bastian Schweinsteiger* |2004–present |87 |21 |- |14 |style="text-align: left;"|Andreas Brehme |1984–1994 |86 |8 |- |= |style="text-align: left;"|Oliver Kahn |1995–2006 |86 |0 |- |16 |style="text-align: left;"|Andreas Möller |1988–1999 |85 |29 |- |17 |style="text-align: left;"|Arne Friedrich* |2002–present |82 |1 |- |18 |style="text-align: left;"|Karlheinz Förster |1978–1986 |81 |2 |- |= |style="text-align: left;"|Wolfgang Overath |1963–1974 |81 |17 |- |= |style="text-align: left;"|Bernd Schneider |1999–2008 |81 |4 |}

Top goalscorers

Below is a list of the top 10 goalscorers for Germany, (* denotes players still available for selection):

Note: former East Germany players (in the scope of this list: Streich 55 and Kirsten 34: 14 East Germany and 20 Germany) are not included in this Wikipedia list, though they are included in DFB records

{|class="wikitable sortable" cellpadding="3" style="text-align: center;" |- !# !Player !Goals !Caps !Avg/Game |- |1 |style="text-align:left;"|Gerd Müller |68 |62 |1.09 |- |2 |style="text-align:left;"|Miroslav Klose* |61 |109 |0.56 |- |3 |style="text-align:left;"|Jürgen Klinsmann |47 |108 |0.43 |- |= |style="text-align:left;"|Rudi Völler |47 |90 |0.52 |- |5 |style="text-align:left;"|Karl-Heinz Rummenigge |45 |95 |0.47 |- |6 |style="text-align:left;"|Uwe Seeler |43 |72 |0.60 |- |7 |style="text-align:left;"|Michael Ballack |42 |98 |0.43 |- |= |style="text-align:left;"|Lukas Podolski* |42 |89 |0.47 |- |9 |style="text-align:left;"|Oliver Bierhoff |37 |70 |0.53 |- |10 |style="text-align:left;"|Fritz Walter |33 |61 |0.54 |}

Captains

This is the list of Germany captains since Germany's first participation in a World Cup in 1934 (current as of 26 March 2011).Note: the column "games" signifies overall games as captain, not overall caps. East German captains are not included. Captained games outside the player's main period are also included.

{|class="wikitable sortable" cellpadding="3" style="text-align: center;" |- !Player !Period !Games !Notes |- |style="text-align:left;"|Fritz Szepan |1934–1939 |30 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Paul Janes |1939–1942 |31 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Fritz Walter |1951–1956 |30 |style="text-align:left;"|Honorary captain |- |style="text-align:left;"|Hans Schäfer |1957–1962 |16 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Helmut Rahn |1958–1959 |8 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Herbert Erhardt |1959–1962 |18 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Uwe Seeler |1962–1970 |40 |style="text-align:left;"|Honorary captain |- |style="text-align:left;"|Wolfgang Overath |1970–1971 |14 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Franz Beckenbauer |1971–1977 |50 |style="text-align:left;"|Honorary captain |- |style="text-align:left;"|Berti Vogts |1977–1978 |20 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Bernard Dietz |1978–1981 |19 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Karl-Heinz Rummenigge |1981–1986 |51 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Harald Schumacher |1986 |14 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Klaus Allofs |1986–1988 |8 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Lothar Matthäus |1988–1994 |75 |style="text-align:left;"|Honorary captain |- |style="text-align:left;"|Jürgen Klinsmann |1994–1998 |36 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Oliver Bierhoff |1998–2001 |23 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Oliver Kahn |2001–2004 |49 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Michael Ballack |2004–2010 |55 | |- |style="text-align:left;"|Philipp Lahm |2010–present |15 |style="text-align:left;"| |}

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, Miroslav Klose – 14 (second behind Brazil's Ronaldo with 15)

Most European Championship match appearances: Thomas Häßler and Jürgen Klinsmann – 13

Most European Championship goals: Jürgen Klinsmann – 5

Managers

{| class="wikitable sortable" !width=13%|Name !Period !Matches !Wins !Draws¹ !Losses !Win % !Honours |- | DFB committee | align="center" |1908–1928 | align="center" | 63 | align="center" | 18 | align="center" | 13 | align="center" | 32 | align="center" | 28.6 |- | Otto Nerz | align="center" |1928–1936 | align="center" | 70 | align="center" | 42 | align="center" | 10 | align="center" | 18 | align="center" | 60 | Third place at the 1934 World Cup |- | Sepp Herberger² | align="center" |1936–19421950–1964 | align="center" | 162 | align="center" | 92 | align="center" | 26 | align="center" | 44 | align="center" | 56.8 | Winner of the 1954 World Cup, Fourth place at the 1958 World Cup |- | Helmut Schön | align="center" |1964–1978 | align="center" | 139 | align="center" | 87 | align="center" | 31 | align="center" | 21 | align="center" | 62.6 | Runner-up of the 1966 World Cup, Third place at the 1970 World Cup, Winner of Euro 72, Winner of the 1974 World Cup, Runner-up of Euro 76 |- | Jupp Derwall | align="center" |1978–1984 | align="center" | 67 | align="center" | 44 | align="center" | 12 | align="center" | 11 | align="center" | 65.7 | Winner of Euro 80, Runner-up of the 1982 World Cup |- | Franz Beckenbauer | align="center" |1984–1990 | align="center" | 66 | align="center" | 34 | align="center" | 20 | align="center" | 12 | align="center" | 51.5 | Runner-up of the 1986 World Cup, Winner of the 1990 World Cup |- | Berti Vogts | align="center" |1990–1998 | align="center" | 102 | align="center" | 66 | align="center" | 24 | align="center" | 12 | align="center" | 64.7 | Runner-up of Euro 92, Winner of Euro 96 |- | Erich Ribbeck | align="center" |1998–2000 | align="center" | 24 | align="center" | 10 | align="center" | 6 | align="center" | 8 | align="center" | 41.7 | |- | Rudi Völler | align="center" |2000–2004 | align="center" | 53 | align="center" | 29 | align="center" | 11 | align="center" | 13 | align="center" | 54.7 | Runner-up of the 2002 World Cup |- | Jürgen Klinsmann | align="center" |2004–2006 | align="center" | 34 | align="center" | 19 | align="center" | 9 | align="center" | 6 | align="center" | 58.8 | Third place at the 2005 Confederations Cup, Third place at the 2006 World Cup |- | Joachim Löw³ | align="center" |2006– | align="center" | 68 | align="center" | 47 | align="center" | 11 | align="center" | 10 | align="center" | 69.1 | Runner-up of Euro 2008, Third place at the 2010 World Cup |- !colspan="2" | Total³ ! 848 ! 489 ! 172 ! 187 ! 57.5 ! |}

;Notes # Includes matches won or lost on penalty shootouts. # 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; no national team matches and no national coaches between 1942 and 1950). # Record as of 7 June 2011.

See also

Germany national under-21 football team

Germany national youth football team (includes U-17, U-18, U-19 and U-20 squads)

Germany women's national football team

England and Germany football rivalry

Germany and Netherlands football rivalry

References

External links

Germany national football team Profile, Stats and Analytics at Footbalistic

DFB's German national football team page

team.dfb.de

DFB's statistics of the German team

FIFA website: GERMANY FIFA World Cup victories Winner (1954, 1974, 1990) Runners-Up (1966, 1982, 1986, 2002) Third (1934, 1970, 2006) Fourth (1958)

German Football Team News

Germany Team Fans Site

RSSSF archive of Germany results

RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers

Category:European national association football teams Category:FIFA World Cup-winning countries Category:UEFA European Football Championship-winning countries Football