German national football team. EURO 2008. Group B

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The German national football team is the football team representing the country of Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association which was founded in 1900.

From 1950 to 1990, the team was also informally called West Germany in English. The DFB is based in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) which was commonly referred to as West Germany from 1949 to 1990. The DFB continues to field the German national team that had been fully reinstated by FIFA after the 1950 FIFA World Cup, retaining all records and traditions.

Germany is one of the three most successful national teams at international competitions. They have won a total of three World Cups and three European championships. 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 has not lost a penalty shootout in major international tournaments since their penalty shootout loss to Czechoslovakia in Euro 76. In fact, the last penalty missed by a German player dates back to the semi-finals of the 1982 World Cup when French goalkeeper Jean-Luc Ettori saved Uli Stielike ’s shot. In particular, England suffered two heartbreaking semi-final losses to Germany on penalties in the 1990s.

At Germany’s last two appearances in a Final of a major tournament - Euro 96 and World Cup 2002. Germany won their first major international title after the reunification at Euro 96, becoming European champions for the third time. They defeated England, who were the hosts, again on penalty kicks (6-5, after a 1-1 draw) in the semi-finals, and the Czech Republic 2-1 in the final, a match decided by a golden goal scored by Oliver Bierhoff. The 1998 World Cup Germany were again eliminated by a less heralded opponent in the quarter-finals. They played 3-0 rout by Croatia. Vogts stepped down afterwards and was replaced by Erich Ribbeck.

The current coaching staff of the national team include:

• head coach Joachim Low
• assistant coach Hans-Dieter Flick
• goalkeeper coach Andreas Kopke
• athletic coach Mark Verstegen
• athletic coach Oliver Schmidtlein
• scout Urs Siegenthaler
• technical director Matthias Sammer
• team manager Oliver Bierhoff

Germany can boast of having the first and only goalkeeper to win the Player of the Tournament award following a World Cup, that being Oliver Kahn in 2002. Harald “Toni” Schumacher was runner-up for the award in 1986.

Squard list for EURO 2008.

No	Player	Club
	Goalkeepers
1	Jens Lehmann	Arsenal F.C.
12	Robert Enke	Hannover 96
23	Rene Adler	Bayer Leverkusen
	Defenders
2	Marcell Jansen	Bayern Munich
3	Arne Friedrich	Hertha Berlin
4	Clemens Fritz	Werder Bremen
5	Heiko Westermann	Schalke 04
16	Philipp Lahm	Bayern Munich
17	Per Mertesacker	Werder Bremen
21	Christoph Metzelder	Real Madrid
	Midfielders
6	Simon Rolfes	Bayer Leverkusen
7	Bastian Schweinsteiger	Bayern Munich
8	Torsten Frings	Werder Bremen
13	Michael Ballack	Chelsea
14	Piotr Trochowski	Hamburg
15	Thomas Hitzlsperger	Stuttgart
18	Tim Borowski	Werder Bremen
19	David Odonkor	Real Betis
	Forwards
9	Mario Gomez	Stuttgart
10	Oliver Neuville	Borussia Monchengladbach
11	Miroslav Klose	Bayern Munich
20	Lukas Podolski	Bayern Munich
22	Kevin Kuranyi	Schalke 04