Germany (GER)
With three world titles to their name, Germany are one of the great
football nations of the world. A German team has played in every FIFA
World Cup™ finals, except the 1930 and 1950 tournaments, and they boast
an outstanding record of success.
In 1954, the famous 'Walter's Eleven' raised the trophy for the then
West Germany for the first time, defeating seemingly invincible Hungary
3-2 in the final in the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern, Switzerland. Fritz
Walter, Helmut Rahn and the rest of the team became idols and standard
bearers for a whole country.
Twenty years later Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller led the West
Germans to FIFA World Cup glory again, this time on home turf. 'Kaiser'
Beckenbauer captained the hosts in a riveting final against a brilliant
Netherlands side. Johan Neeskens put the Dutch ahead, but Paul Breitner
equalised, paving the way for Muller, the greatest German striker of
all time, to score the winning goal in a 2-1 victory. It was magical
stuff for German supporters and football fans everywhere.
Germany's third and most recent FIFA World Cup triumph came in 1990 in
Italy after successive defeats in the finals of 1982, when they lost
3-1 to Italy in Spain, and 1986, when Argentina saw them off 3-2 in
Mexico. Beckenbauer played a key role again, this time as coach to the
squad captained by Lothar Matthaus. In the final, Andreas Brehme
converted a penalty against Argentina, giving Germany a 1-0 win and
restoring honour after their defeat by the Gauchos four years earlier.
An unremarkable decade on the world stage followed before Germany
bounced back with a vengeance at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™,
battling to the final only to go down 2-0 to Brazil. The runners-up
spot still represented a sensational achievement for Rudi Voller's men
just two years after a dismal UEFA EURO 2000 campaign in Belgium and
the Netherlands.
The 1996 European champions fared poorly at EURO 2004 in Portugal and
Voller resigned following his side's ignominious group stage exit,
making way for a new coaching crew headed by Voller's former
international strike partner Jurgen Klinsmann, who set his sights high
right from the start. "Our target is to win the World Cup," the new man
declared on taking the helm.
German hopes rest squarely on the shoulders of Bayern Munich playmaker
Michael Ballack, as the national captain seeks to inspire the
youngsters around him with his experience and class. Rising stars such
as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski impressed at the FIFA
Confederations Cup 2005, unleashing a wave of euphoria among the home
faithful. Germany finished third after a narrow 3-2 defeat by Brazil in
the semi-finals, boosting hopes of stirring performance at the 'main
event' in summer 2006.
