Germany national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Germany women's national football team.

Germany

Nickname(s)	Die Mannschaft (The Team), used by non-German-speaking media Die DFB-Elf (The DFB-Eleven) Die Nationalelf
Association	German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund – DFB)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Joachim Löw
Captain	Philipp Lahm
Most caps	Lothar Matthäus (150)
Top scorer	Gerd Müller (68)
FIFA code	GER
FIFA ranking	3[1]
Highest FIFA ranking	1[1] (December 1992, August 1993, December 1993, February 1994 - March 1994, June 1994)
Lowest FIFA ranking	22[1] (March 2006)
Elo ranking	2
Highest Elo ranking	1 (1990–92, 1993–94, 1996–97)
Lowest Elo ranking	28 (1923)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Switzerland 5–3 Germany (Basel, Switzerland; 5 April 1908)
Biggest win
Germany 16–0 Russia  (Stockholm, Sweden; 1 July 1912)[2]
Biggest defeat
England Amateurs 9–0 Germany (Oxford, England; 13 March 1909)[3][4]
World Cup
Appearances	17 (First in 1934)
Best result	Champions, 1954, 1974, 1990
European Championship
Appearances	10 (First in 1972)
Best result	Champions, 1972, 1980, 1996
Confederations Cup
Appearances	2 (First in 1999)
Best result	3rd Place, 2005

The Germany national football team (German: Die deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) 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^[5] 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)^[6][7] 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 (1954, 1974, 1990)^[8] and three European Championships (1972, 1980, 1996)^[8]. They have also been runners-up three times in the European Championships, four times in the World Cup, and further won four 3rd places^[8]. 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's rivals include England, Netherlands, Italy 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.^[9]

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^[10] 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).^[11]

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.^[12]

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

Main article: Saarland national football team

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

Main article: East Germany national football team

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

'Miss Germany' being introduced to players at the World Cup 1954 in Bern

Main article: 1954 FIFA World Cup Final

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^{[citation needed]}. The triumph is credited^{[by whom?]} 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

Main article: 1974 FIFA World Cup Final

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

Franz Beckenbauer

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

Main article: Germany Olympic football team

Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Bronze	1988 Seoul	Team

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, Miroslav Klose won the Silver Boot and 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^[who?] 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.

People watching the Germany vs. Argentina match at the Donau Arena in Regensburg

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.^{[citation needed]}

Germany's entry into the Euro 2008 qualifying round was marked partially by the promotion of Joachim Löw to head coach, since Klinsmann retired in spite of a public outcry for him to continue managing the Mannschaft. 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 favourites. 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 favourites but Germany was believed to be one of the few sides able to challenge them. Spain controlled the game and took the lead through 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. Germany comfortably qualified as top of the group with 8 wins and two draws (both against Finland).

2010 FIFA World Cup finals

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup

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, Englands highest World Cup loss ever. At 2–1, however, the game controversially had a goal scored by Frank Lampard disallowed, despite video replays that showed the ball 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. In an internet poll, Germany has been voted the World Cups Most Entertaining Team, albeit FIFA has not officially announced the award yet. German youngster Thomas Müller won the Golden Boot with the most goals and assists scored (succeeding teammate Miroslav Klose), and he was also given the Best Young Player Award (succeeding teammate Lukas Podolski).^[13]

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.^[14] Despite this transition, Germany kept the traditional strength as a team that excels when playing at major tournaments with a well atuned team. Prior to the World Cup the Mannschaft lost in a friendly to England 2-1, another friendly against Argentina 1-0, and less than a year after the World Cup Germany lost against Australia 2-1. While loosing on home soil in friendlies, Germany decisively thrashed all these three teams in the tournament in South Africa, scoring four goals in each match.

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup Group D

Teamv · d · e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Germany 3 2 0 1 5 1 +4 6  Ghana 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4  Australia 3 1 1 1 3 6 −3 4  Serbia 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1 3

13 June 2010 20:30	Germany	4 – 0	Australia	Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban Attendance: 62,660 Referee: Marco Antonio Rodríguez (Mexico)
	Podolski  8' Klose  26' Müller  68' Cacau  70'	(Report)

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18 June 2010 13:30	Germany	0 – 1	Serbia	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Attendance: 38,294 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
		Report	Jovanović  38'

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23 June 2010 20:30	Ghana	0 – 1	Germany	Soccer City, Johannesburg Attendance: 83,391 Referee: Carlos Eugênio Simon (Brazil)
		Report	Özil  60'

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27 June 2010 16:00	Germany	4 – 1	England	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein Attendance: 40,510 Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay)
	Klose  20' Podolski  32' Müller  67', 70'	Report	Upson  37'

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3 July 2010 16:00	Argentina	0 – 4	Germany	Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Attendance: 64,100 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
		Report	Müller  3' Klose  69', 89' Friedrich  74'

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7 July 2010 20:30	Germany	0 – 1	Spain	Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban Attendance: 60,960 Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
		Report	Puyol  73'

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10 July 2010 20:30	Uruguay	2 – 3	Germany	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Attendance: 36,254 Referee: Benito Archundia (Mexico)
	Cavani  28' Forlán  51'	Report	Müller  19' Jansen  56' Khedira  82'

Euro 2012 qualification

Main article: UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Germany qualified top of Group A in qualification for UEFA Euro 2012 with a record of 10 wins out of ten matches against Kazakhstan, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, and Azerbaijan.

Teamv · d · e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Germany 10 10 0 0 34 7 +27 30  Turkey 10 5 2 3 13 11 +2 17  Belgium 10 4 3 3 21 15 +6 15  Austria 10 3 3 4 16 17 −1 12  Azerbaijan 10 2 1 7 10 26 −16 7  Kazakhstan 10 1 1 8 6 24 −18 4

Austria  — 3–0 0–2 1–2 2–0 0–0 Azerbaijan  1–4 — 1–1 1–3 3–2 1–0 Belgium  4–4 4–1 — 0–1 4–1 1–1 Germany  6–2 6–1 3–1 — 4–0 3–0 Kazakhstan  0–0 2–1 0–2 0–3 — 0–3 Turkey  2–0 1–0 3–2 1–3 2–1 —

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Teamv · d · e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Sweden 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Republic of Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Austria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Faroe Islands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Kazakhstan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Austria  — 15 Oct '13 11 Sep '12 16 Oct '12 10 Sep '13 7 Jun '13 Faroe Islands  6 Jun '12 — 10 Sep '13 11 Oct '13 16 Oct '12 12 Oct '12 Germany  6 Sep '13 7 Sep '12 — 26 Mar '13 11 Oct '13 16 Oct '12 Kazakhstan  12 Oct '12 6 Sep '13 22 Mar '13 — 7 Sep '12 10 Sep '13 Republic of Ireland  26 Mar '13 7 Jun '13 12 Oct '12 15 Oct '13 — 6 Sep '13 Sweden  11 Oct '13 11 Jun '13 15 Oct '13 12 Sep '12 22 Mar '13 —

Results

Recent results within last 12 months and upcoming fixtures.

Date	Competition	Venue	Home Team	Result	Away Team	Scorers
2011-02-09	Friendly	Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund	Germany	1–1	Italy	Klose  16'
2011-03-26	Euro 2012 Q	Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern	Germany	4–0	Kazakhstan	Klose  3', 88' Müller  25', 43'
2011-03-29	Friendly	Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach	Germany	1–2	Australia	Gómez  26'
2011-05-29	Friendly	Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim	Germany	2–1	Uruguay	Gómez  20' Schürrle  35'
2011-06-03	Euro 2012 Q	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna	Austria	1–2	Germany	Gómez  44', 90'
2011-06-07	Euro 2012 Q	Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku	Azerbaijan	1–3	Germany	Özil  30' Gómez  41' Schürrle  90+3'
2011-08-10	Friendly	Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart	Germany	3–2	Brazil	Schweinsteiger  61' (pen.) Götze  67' Schürrle  80'
2011-09-02	Euro 2012 Q	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen	Germany	6–2	Austria	Klose  9' Özil  23', 47' Podolski  28' Schürrle  84' Götze  89'
2011-09-06	Friendly	PGE Arena, Gdańsk	Poland	2–2	Germany	Kroos  68' (pen.) Cacau  90+4'
2011-10-07	Euro 2012 Q	Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul	Turkey	1–3	Germany	Gómez  35' Müller  66' Schweinsteiger  86' (pen.)
2011-10-11	Euro 2012 Q	Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf	Germany	3–1	Belgium	Özil  30' Schürrle  33' Gómez  48'
2011-11-11	Friendly	Olimpiysky National Sports Complex, Kiev	Ukraine	3–3	Germany	Kroos  38' Rolfes  65' Müller  77'
2011-11-15	Friendly	Imtech Arena, Hamburg	Germany	3–0	Netherlands	Müller  15' Klose  26' Özil  66'
2012-02-29	Friendly	Weserstadion, Bremen	Germany		France
Between 8 June 2012 and 1 July 2012 UEFA Euro 2012
2012-08-15	Friendly		Germany		Argentina
2012-09-07	2014 World Cup Q		Germany		Faroe Islands
2012-09-11	2014 World Cup Q		Austria		Germany
2012-10-12	2014 World Cup Q		Republic of Ireland		Germany
2012-10-16	2014 World Cup Q		Germany		Sweden
2013-02-06	Friendly		Italy		Germany
2013-03-22	2014 World Cup Q		Kazakhstan		Germany
2013-03-26	2014 World Cup Q		Germany		Kazakhstan
2013-08[15]	Friendly		Brazil		Germany
2013-09-06	2014 World Cup Q		Germany		Austria
2013-09-10	2014 World Cup Q		Faroe Islands		Germany
2013-10-11	2014 World Cup Q		Germany		Republic of Ireland
2013-10-15	2014 World Cup Q		Sweden		Germany
2014-03-05	Friendly		France		Germany

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), the current Olympiastadion provides seats for 74,500 spectators. 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

The 2006 World Cup 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.^[16]

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),^{[citation needed]} 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.^[17] This is false, as their first match after WWII was in fact against Switzerland.^[18] Other colours such as grey and black have also been used. A change, from black to red, came in 2006 on the request of Jürgen Klinsmann, citing that teams in red are statistically more successful, and perceived as more intimidating.^[19] 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^[8], behind only Brazil (five titles) and Italy (four titles). It has finished as runners-up four times^[8]. 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^[8] (France and Spain are the only other multiple-time winners with two titles), and finished as runners-up three times as well^[8]. 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

Main article: FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did Not Enter									–	–	–	–	–	–
1934	Third Place	3rd	4	3	0	1	11	8		1	1	0	0	9	1
1938	First Round	10th	2	0	1	1	3	5		3	3	0	0	11	1
1950	Banned									–	–	–	–	–	–
1954	Champions	1st	6	5	0	1	25	14		4	3	1	0	12	3
1958	Fourth Place	4th	6	2	2	2	12	14		–	–	–	–	–	–
1962	Quarter-Final	7th	4	2	1	1	4	2		4	4	0	0	11	5
1966	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	1	15	6		4	3	1	0	14	2
1970	Third Place	3rd	6	5	0	1	17	10		6	5	1	0	20	3
1974	Champions	1st	7	6	0	1	13	4		–	–	–	–	–	–
1978	Second Group Stage	6th	6	1	4	1	10	5		–	–	–	–	–	–
1982	Runners-up	2nd	7	3	2	2	12	10		8	8	0	0	33	3
1986	Runners-up	2nd	7	3	2	2	8	7		8	5	2	1	22	9
1990	Champions	1st	7	5	2	0	15	5		6	3	3	0	13	3
1994	Quarter-Final	5th	5	3	1	1	9	7		–	–	–	–	–	–
1998	Quarter-Final	7th	5	3	1	1	8	6		10	6	4	0	23	9
2002	Runners-up	2nd	7	5	1	1	14	3		10	6	3	1	19	12
2006	Third Place	3rd	7	5	1	1	14	6		–	–	–	–	–	–
2010	Third Place	3rd	7	5	0	2	16	5		10	8	2	0	26	5
2014	To Be Determined
2018
2022
Total	3 Titles	17/19	99	60	19	20	206	117		74	55	17	2	213	56

*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

Main article: FIFA Confederations Cup

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	Squad
1992	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1995	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1997	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1999	Round 1	3	1	0	2	2	6	Squad
2001	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2003	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2005	Third Place	5	3	1	1	15	11	Squad
2009	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2013
2017
2021
Total	2/8	8	4	1	3	17	17	-

*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

UEFA European Championship record

Main article: UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record										UEFA European Championship Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did Not Enter									Did Not Enter
1964	Did Not Enter									Did Not Enter
1968	Did Not Qualify									4	2	1	1	9	2
1972	Champions	1st	2	2	0	0	5	1		6	4	2	0	10	2
1976	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	1	0	6	4		6	3	3	0	14	4
1980	Champions	1st	4	3	1	0	6	3		6	4	2	0	17	1
1984	Group Stage	5th	3	1	1	1	2	2		8	5	1	2	15	5
1988	Semi Final	3rd	4	2	1	1	6	3		Qualified as Hosts
1992	Runners-up	2nd	5	2	1	2	7	8		6	5	0	1	13	4
1996	Champions	1st	6	4	2	0	10	3		10	8	1	1	27	10
2000	Group Stage	14th	3	0	1	2	1	5		8	6	1	1	20	4
2004	Group Stage	12th	3	0	2	1	2	3		8	5	3	0	13	4
2008	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	0	2	10	7		12	8	3	1	35	7
2012	Qualified									10	10	0	0	34	7
2016	To Be Determined									To Be Determined
Total	Champions	11/14	38	19	10	9	55	39		84	60	17	7	217	50

*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.

Note All tournaments from 1950 to 1990 inclusively were competed as West Germany

Honours

• FIFA World Cup

• Winner (3): 1954, 1974, 1990
• Runner-up (4): 1966, 1982, 1986, 2002
• Third place (4): 1934, 1970, 2006, 2010
• Fourth place (1): 1958

• UEFA European Championship

• Winner (3): 1972, 1980, 1996
• Runner-up (3): 1976, 1992, 2008,
• Semi-finals (1): 1988

• Confederations Cup

• Third place (1): 2005

• Olympic football tournament

• Bronze Medal (2): 1964, 1988

• U.S. Cup

• Winner (1): 1993

Personnel

Current technical staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Joachim Löw
Assistant coach	Hans-Dieter Flick
Goalkeeping coach	Andreas Köpke
Fitness coach	Shad Forsythe
Fitness coach	Yann-Benjamin Kugel
Fitness coach	Masaya Sakihana
Mental coach	Dr Hans-Dieter Hermann
Business manager	Oliver Bierhoff
Athletic supervisor	Matthias Sammer
Head scout	Urs Siegenthaler
Scout	Christofer Clemens
Team doctor	Professor Dr Tim Meyer
Team doctor	Dr Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt
Team doctor	Dr Josef Schmitt
Physiotherapist	Wolfgang Bunz
Physiotherapist	Klaus Eder
Physiotherapist	Christian Huhn
Physiotherapist	Christian Müller

Players

Current squad

Players called up for the friendlies against Ukraine on 11 November 2011 and against Netherlands on 15 November 2011.^[20]

Caps and goals as of 15 November 2011.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Manuel Neuer * 27 March 1986 (1986-03-27) (age 25) 25 0 Bayern Munich 12 GK Tim Wiese 17 December 1981 (1981-12-17) (age 29) 5 0 Werder Bremen 22 GK Ron-Robert Zieler 12 February 1989 (1989-02-12) (age 22) 1 0 Hannover 96 2 DF Marcel Schmelzer 22 January 1988 (1988-01-22) (age 23) 5 0 Borussia Dortmund 3 DF Benedikt Höwedes 29 February 1988 (1988-02-29) (age 23) 6 0 Schalke 04 4 DF Dennis Aogo 14 January 1987 (1987-01-14) (age 24) 9 0 Hamburger SV 5 DF Mats Hummels 16 December 1988 (1988-12-16) (age 22) 12 0 Borussia Dortmund 14 DF Holger Badstuber 13 March 1989 (1989-03-13) (age 22) 18 1 Bayern Munich 15 DF Christian Träsch 1 September 1987 (1987-09-01) (age 24) 10 0 VfL Wolfsburg 17 DF Per Mertesacker 29 September 1984 (1984-09-29) (age 27) 79 1 Arsenal 20 DF Jérôme Boateng 3 September 1988 (1988-09-03) (age 23) 19 0 Bayern Munich 6 MF Sami Khedira 4 April 1987 (1987-04-04) (age 24) 24 1 Real Madrid 7 MF Simon Rolfes 21 January 1982 (1982-01-21) (age 29) 26 2 Bayer Leverkusen 8 MF Mesut Özil 15 October 1988 (1988-10-15) (age 23) 30 8 Real Madrid 9 MF André Schürrle 6 November 1990 (1990-11-06) (age 21) 11 5 Bayer Leverkusen 10 MF Lukas Podolski 4 June 1985 (1985-06-04) (age 26) 95 43 1. FC Köln 13 MF Thomas Müller 13 September 1989 (1989-09-13) (age 22) 25 10 Bayern Munich 18 MF Toni Kroos 4 January 1990 (1990-01-04) (age 21) 24 2 Bayern Munich 19 MF Mario Götze 3 June 1992 (1992-06-03) (age 19) 12 2 Borussia Dortmund 21 MF Marco Reus * 31 May 1989 (1989-05-31) (age 22) 3 0 Borussia Mönchengladbach 24 MF Lars Bender 27 April 1989 (1989-04-27) (age 22) 3 0 Bayer Leverkusen 11 FW Miroslav Klose * 9 June 1978 (1978-06-09) (age 33) 113 63 Lazio 16 FW Cacau 27 March 1981 (1981-03-27) (age 30) 21 5 VfB Stuttgart 23 FW Mario Gómez 10 July 1985 (1985-07-10) (age 26) 50 21 Bayern Munich

Notes

^* only nominated for the match against the Netherlands.

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.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up GK René Adler 15 January 1985 (1985-01-15) (age 26) 10 0 Bayer Leverkusen v.  Azerbaijan, 7 June 2011INJ DF Philipp Lahm (Captain) 11 November 1983 (1983-11-11) (age 28) 85 4 Bayern Munich v.  Belgium, 11 October 2011 DF Arne Friedrich 29 May 1979 (1979-05-29) (age 32) 82 1 Unattached v.  Azerbaijan, 7 June 2011 DF Heiko Westermann 14 August 1983 (1983-08-14) (age 28) 24 3 Hamburger SV v.  Italy, 9 February 2011 MF Bastian Schweinsteiger 1 August 1984 (1984-08-01) (age 27) 90 23 Bayern Munich v.  Belgium, 11 October 2011INJ MF İlkay Gündoğan 24 October 1990 (1990-10-24) (age 21) 1 0 Borussia Dortmund v.  Belgium, 11 October 2011 MF Sven Bender 27 April 1989 (1989-04-27) (age 22) 1 0 Borussia Dortmund v.  Austria, 2 September 2011INJ MF Sebastian Rudy 28 February 1990 (1990-02-28) (age 21) 0 0 1899 Hoffenheim v.  Azerbaijan, 7 June 2011 MF Lewis Holtby 18 September 1990 (1990-09-18) (age 21) 2 0 Schalke 04 v.  Azerbaijan, 7 June 2011 MF Kevin Großkreutz 19 July 1988 (1988-07-19) (age 23) 3 0 Borussia Dortmund v.  Italy, 9 February 2011

Notes

^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.

Famous past players

Main article: List of Germany international footballers

Most capped players

Below is a list of the 20 players with the most caps for Germany as of 15 November 2011^[6] (* 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.

#	Player	Germany Career	Caps	Goals
1	Lothar Matthäus	1980–2000	150	23
2	Miroslav Klose*	2001–present	113	63
3	Jürgen Klinsmann	1987–1998	108	47
4	Jürgen Kohler	1986–1998	105	2
5	Franz Beckenbauer	1965–1977	103	14
6	Thomas Häßler	1988–2000	101	11
7	Michael Ballack	1999–2010	98	42
8	Berti Vogts	1967–1978	96	1
9	Sepp Maier	1966–1979	95	0
=	Lukas Podolski*	2004–present	95	43
=	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	1976–1986	95	45
12	Bastian Schweinsteiger*	2004–present	90	23
=	Rudi Völler	1982–1994	90	47
14	Andreas Brehme	1984–1994	86	8
=	Oliver Kahn	1995–2006	86	0
16	Philipp Lahm*	2004–present	85	4
=	Andreas Möller	1988–1999	85	29
18	Arne Friedrich*	2002–present	82	1
19	Karlheinz Förster	1978–1986	81	2
=	Wolfgang Overath	1963–1974	81	17
=	Bernd Schneider	1999–2008	81	4

Top goalscorers

Below is a list of the top 10 goalscorers for Germany, as of 15 November 2011 (2011 -11-15)^[update][7] (* 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

#	Player	Goals	Caps	Avg/Game
1	Gerd Müller	68	62	1.09
2	Miroslav Klose*	63	113	0.56
3	Jürgen Klinsmann	47	108	0.43
=	Rudi Völler	47	90	0.52
5	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	45	95	0.47
6	Lukas Podolski*	43	95	0.45
=	Uwe Seeler	43	72	0.60
8	Michael Ballack	42	98	0.43
9	Oliver Bierhoff	37	70	0.53
10	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 15 November 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.

Player	Period	Games	Notes
Fritz Szepan	1934–1939	30
Paul Janes	1939–1942	31
Fritz Walter	1951–1956	30	Honorary captain
Hans Schäfer	1957–1962	16
Helmut Rahn	1958–1959	8
Herbert Erhardt	1959–1962	18
Uwe Seeler	1962–1970	40	Honorary captain
Wolfgang Overath	1970–1971	14
Franz Beckenbauer	1971–1977	50	Honorary captain
Berti Vogts	1977–1978	20
Bernard Dietz	1978–1981	19
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	1981–1986	51
Harald Schumacher	1986	14
Klaus Allofs	1986–1988	8
Lothar Matthäus	1988–1994	75	Honorary captain
Jürgen Klinsmann	1994–1998	36
Oliver Bierhoff	1998–2001	23
Oliver Kahn	2001–2004	49
Michael Ballack	2004–2010	55
Philipp Lahm	2010–present	21

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

Main article: Germany national football team manager

Name	Period	Matches	Wins	Draws1	Losses	Win %	Honours
DFB committee	1908–1928	63	18	13	32	28.6
Otto Nerz	1928–1936	70	42	10	18	60	Third place at the 1934 World Cup
Sepp Herberger2	1936–1942 1950–1964	162	92	26	44	56.8	Winner of the 1954 World Cup, Fourth place at the 1958 World Cup
Helmut Schön	1964–1978	139	87	31	21	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	1978–1984	67	44	12	11	65.7	Winner of Euro 80, Runner-up of the 1982 World Cup
Franz Beckenbauer	1984–1990	66	34	20	12	51.5	Runner-up of the 1986 World Cup, Winner of the 1990 World Cup
Berti Vogts	1990–1998	102	66	24	12	64.7	Runner-up of Euro 92, Winner of Euro 96
Erich Ribbeck	1998–2000	24	10	6	8	41.7
Rudi Völler	2000–2004	53	29	11	13	54.7	Runner-up of the 2002 World Cup
Jürgen Klinsmann	2004–2006	34	19	9	6	58.8	Third place at the 2005 Confederations Cup, Third place at the 2006 World Cup
Joachim Löw3	2006–	75	52	13	10	69.3	Runner-up of Euro 2008, Third place at the 2010 World Cup
Total3		855	494	174	187	57.8

Notes

1. Includes matches won or lost on penalty shootouts.
2. 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).
3. Record as of 15 November 2011.^[21][22]

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

1. ^ ^{a b c} Germany: FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. FIFA.com. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
2. ^ "All matches of The National Team in 1912". DFB. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500395&no_cache=1&action=showMatchesByYear&lang=E&liga=Nationalmannschaft&year=1912&cHash=f675778cce143a221a74a4982d7ef31d. Retrieved 1 August 2008. 
3. ^ "All matches of The National Team in 1909". DFB. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500395&action=showMatchesByYear&lang=E&liga=Nationalmannschaft&year=1909&cHash=a80eadb1fb. Retrieved 1 August 2008. 
4. ^ Note that this match is not considered to be a full international by the English FA, and does not appear in the records of the England team
5. ^ The DFB, re-inaugurated in 1949, incorporated the clubs of West Berlin as well so in those times "Deutschland" would have been the team of the Federal Republic and West Berlin (nobody called it by that name, though)
6. ^ ^{a b} "Statistik: Rekordspieler" (in German). dfb.de. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500002&no_cache=1. Retrieved 11 October 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Statistik: Rekordtorschützen" (in German). dfb.de. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500005&no_cache=1. Retrieved 11 October 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Germany on FIFA.com. FIFA.com. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
9. ^ "Das Team hinter dem Team" (in German). dfb.de. http://team.dfb.de/de/team-hinter-dem-team/page/22.html?1274355670. Retrieved 21 May 2010. 
10. ^ In early times it was simply called "die 11 besten Spieler von Deutschland" or just "die Bundesauswahl" (the Federation XI). Tags like "National team" or "National XI" weren't introduced until after World War I
11. ^ "All matches of The National Team in 1937". dfb.de. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500395&action=showMatchesByYear&lang=E&liga=Nationalmannschaft&year=1937&cHash=0435f38e6e. Retrieved 1 January 2009. 
12. ^ "West Germany – International Results". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesd/duit-intres.html. Retrieved 1 January 2009. 
13. ^ "Muller named Hyundai Best Young Player". fifa.com. 9 March 2011. http://www.fifa.com/newscentre/news/newsid=1394236.html. Retrieved 5 November 2011. 
14. ^ Hytner, David (17 June 2010). "World Cup 2010: Germany reap the rewards of the liberation generation". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/17/world-cup-2010-germany-liberation. Retrieved 29 January 2011. 
15. ^ "DFB-Team spielt 2013 abermals gegen Brasilien" (in German). Kicker. 31 May 2011. http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/nationalelf/startseite/553276/artikel_dfb-team-spielt-2013-abermals-gegen-brasilien.html. Retrieved 31 May 2011. 
16. ^ "German FA turns down Nike offer, sticks with Adidas". London: guardian.co.uk. 24 August 2007. http://football.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6874205,00.html. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
17. ^ Ingle, Sean (10 June 2008). "The most violent European Championships ever – Plus: the best bench warmers; David Trezeguet's claim to fame; and why the Germans (used to) wear green.". London: Guardian Unlimited. http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,347342,00.html. Retrieved 11 June 2008. 
18. ^ "Statistics. All Matches of the national team in 1950". DFB. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500395&action=showMatchesByYear&lang=E&liga=Nationalmannschaft&year=1950&cHash=ae388f4cb6. Retrieved 20 June 2008.  (As can be seen from the DFB statistics page, the 1950 match against Switzerland was Germany's first international match in eight years. Republic of Ireland did not play Germany until October 1951.)
19. ^ Jürgen Zelustek, Thomas Niklaus / sid (1 February 2006). "Traditionstrikot vor dem Aus – Klinsmann steht auf Rot" (in German). Spiegel Online. http://www.spiegel.de/sport/fussball/0,1518,398580,00.html. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
20. ^ "The "Mannschaft"". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=128. Retrieved 11 October 2011. 
21. ^ "International game results". dfb.de. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=139. Retrieved 6 September 2009. 
22. ^ "National Team Coaches". dfb.de. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500704. Retrieved 6 September 2009. 

External links

• 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, 2010) Fourth (1958)
• Schwarz und Weiß: A website about the German National Team in English
• German Football Team News
• Germany Team Fans Site
• RSSSF archive of Germany results
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers

Titles

Preceded by 1950 Uruguay	World Champions 1954 (First title)	Succeeded by 1958 Brazil
Preceded by 1970 Brazil	World Champions 1974 (Second title)	Succeeded by 1978 Argentina
Preceded by 1986 Argentina	World Champions 1990 (Third title)	Succeeded by 1994 Brazil
Preceded by 1968 Italy	European Champions 1972 (First title)	Succeeded by 1976 Czechoslovakia
Preceded by 1976 Czechoslovakia	European Champions 1980 (Second title)	Succeeded by 1984 France
Preceded by 1992 Denmark	European Champions 1996 (Third title)	Succeeded by 2000 France