Germany History

Never write off the Germans

Given that the scale of their success in international football is unequalled in Europe and surpassed globally by only Brazil, it is strange that football grew slowly in Germany after its initial introduction by the British in the latter half of the 19th century.

Unremarkable beginnings
Early international fixtures were unremarkable and the Germans laboured in the shadow of the Austrian wunderteam of the inter-war period. By the 1934 FIFA World Cup, however, the Austrians were in decline and the Germans beat them to third place. They bolstered the Nationalmannschaft with an Austrian contingent for the 1938 tournament only to lose in the first round to Switzerland.

Miraculous win
Labouring under the pain of post-war economic reconstruction, West Germany were thought unlikely to make any impact on the 1954 World Cup tournament especially when they succumbed 8-3 to favourites Hungary in the group stages. But coach Sepp Herberger, who rested many key players for the Magyar clash, was playing a waiting game as he sought to conserve his resources. By the time the two teams met again in the final, Germany were the fresher and, despite falling 2-0 behind, they ran out 3-2 winners.

Turning point
The restructuring of their regional leagues into the Bundesliga and the establishment of a coaching academy in Cologne in 1963 laid the foundations for several decades of success. Despite losing the 1966 World Cup final to England, the arguable turning point in modern German football was not far away.

Indian sign
Before 1970, no European side had a made a convincing claim for post-war continental pre-eminence, or indeed won more than a single international trophy. But by coming back from 2-0 down to beat England 3-2 in the World Cup quarter-finals in Mexico, Germany not only cemented their reputation as fierce competitors but sowed the seeds of the Indian sign they would hold over the English for the rest of the century.

Tactical acumen
The German victory demonstrated the development of their tactical acumen. Previously, they had been regarded as rigid and rather old-fashioned tacticians, but in this game Helmut Schön introduced fresh-legged winger Jürgen Grabowski to run at the tiring English full-backs. With the flexibility afforded his side by a marauding Franz Beckenbauer, and the finishing instincts of Gerd Müller, the tournament's top scorer with ten goals, the Germans helped usher in an exciting era in European football.

European success
Italy beat the tired Germans in the semi-finals, but success soon arrived. Inspired by playmaker Günter Netzer, Germany secured the 1972 UEFA European Championship with a 3-0 final win against the Soviet Union, before tasting World Cup triumph on home soil in 1974 with 2-1 victory over the Netherlands.

Third triumph
Despite losing the 1976 European Championship final on penalties to Czechoslovakia, European honours were snaffled again in 1980 with a 2-1 victory against Belgium. Runners-up slots in the World Cups of 1982 and 1986 were merely the prelude to a third World Cup triumph, under Beckenbauer, in 1990, when an Andreas Brehme penalty decided the final against Argentina.

Recent revival
The disappointment of defeat by Denmark in the 1992 European Championship final was erased by a third European victory in 1996, when Oliver Bierhoff's golden goal put the Czech Republic to the sword at Wembley. And while Germany looked a tired side in the finals of the 1998 World Cup and UEFA EURO 2000™, Rudi Völler's new-look team - based around the brilliance of Michael Ballack and the goalkeeping of Oliver Kahn - were surprise runners-up at the 2002 World Cup finals.

Country Info

United in a new century

AREA: 357,021 sq km
POPULATION: 82,398,326
NEIGHBOURS: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland
LANGUAGES: German
CAPITAL CITY: Berlin

With the world wars of the 20th century now receding into history, the reunited Germany has taken its place at the heart of modern Europe, and in footballing terms, they remain second only to Brazil as a world power.

Old empires
Some of modern man's earliest known forebears, the Neanderthals, made their home in Germany, but the recorded history of Germany generally begins in the first millennium AD as the Romans, the Franks and Otto the Great's Holy Roman Empire all making partially successful attempts to conquer the huge territory.

Napoleonic invasion
With ultimate power eventually deriving to the Vienna-based Hapsburg dynasty, Medieval Germany was a patchwork of tiny states, and while Protestant challenges to prevailing Roman Catholic orthodoxy were to devastate the country, it was not until Napoleon's armies marched across from France that modern Germany took shape.

Germany unites
With the state of Prussia eventually fending off Napoleon's advances, chancellor Otto von Bismarck annexed the rest of Germany in the name of the Prussian crown and Wilhelm I was subsequently crowned as the first Kaiser of the reunited Germany in 1871.

Years of struggle
However, his dynasty was to lead Germany to ruin in World War I and, as the people struggled in the inter-war years, Adolf Hitler's party won over the German public, eventually triggering a second world war.

Divided nation
Subsequently divided into East and West Germany, the former communist, the latter a western democracy, Germans were to undergo decades of unrest and dislocation before the wall which divided the two halves of Berlin finally fell in 1989 and Germany emerged again as a unified nation.

Footballing strength
In footballing terms, the West had far outperformed the East, winning the 1954 FIFA World Cup and losing in the final of the 1966 edition as a prelude to their increased dominance in subsequent decades. They won the World Cup again in 1974 and 1990, and took the honours at the UEFA European Championships of 1972 and 1980.

Continued success
More recently, the reunited Germany were losing finalists at EURO '92, winners at EURO '96™ and lost out to Brazil in the final of the 2002 World Cup. Once more, at UEFA EURO 2004™, they will be a major force.

Today year 2004 Germany team

Player name list

Ballack Michael Midfield Baumann Frank Defender Bobic Fredi Forward Ernst Fabian Midfield Freier Paul Midfield Friedrich Arne Defender Frings Torsten Midfield Hamann Dietmar Midfield Hinkel Andreas Defender Jeremies Jens Midfield Kahn Oliver Goalkeeper Kehl Sebastian Defender Klose Miroslav Forward Kuranyi Kevin Forward Lahm Philipp Defender Lehmann Jens Goalkeeper Nowotny Jens Defender Schneider Bernd Midfield Wörns Christian Defender

Group D
	PLD	W	D	L	GS	GA	PTS
Czech Republic	2	2	0	0	5	3	6
Germany	2	0	2	0	1	1	2
Netherlands	2	0	1	1	3	4	1
Latvia	2	0	1	1	1	2	1

←Back