Germany became the first country to qualify for the European Championships via the group stages and it would be no surprise if they were in the mix to lift the trophy come next summer. European football is currently in the process of rebuilding. Nations such as France, Italy and Portugal are coming to the end of their current generation. And Dutch football has entered a new dimension following the loss of key players. Combined with habitual under-performers England and Spain, it seems that Germany are in pole position to take their first piece of silverware since Euro '96.

Following that victory in England, German football went into serious decline. They were eliminated from France '98 by an emerging Croatian side spearheaded by Davor Suker before catastrophe in Euro 2000 where they lost all three group matches. To make matters worse they lost 3-0 to a Portuguese side without Luis Figo or Manuel Rui Costa. Sergio Conceicao’s hat-trick released Germany's fragile grip on the trophy.

German football reached a nadir in 2002 when England beat them 5-1 in Munich en route to World Cup 2002. Having scraped through to the competition themselves via a play-off, Germany reached the final due to a kindly draw (Paraguay, USA and South Korea in the knock-out rounds) and the heroics of Oliver Khan who claimed the Golden Ball and the Yashin Award, an unprecedented achievement.

'Germany are in pole position to take their first piece of silverware since Euro 96'


It proved a false dawn. Germany once again crashed out in the group stages of Euro 2004. However, hosting the World Cup in 2006 they finally found a team that clicked. Managed by former striker Jurgen Klinsmann the Germans played some thrilling football and produced some of the displays of the tournament.

That form has continued despite the departure of Klinsmann. The Germans are now under the stewardship of Joachim Low and have qualified with ease for Euro 2008. They have beaten San Marino 19-0 over both legs and also beat nearest rivals the Czech Republic 2-1 in Prague, although the Czechs turned the tables on them last night with a convincing 3-0 win in Munich to clinch their place in the finals. Until then Germany were undefeated in nine, with seven wins and two draws. So what brought such a remarkable turnaround?

Post Euro ’96 saw a team in their swansong tournament – Klinsmann, Andreas Moller, Lothar Matthaus and Matthias Sammer. The problem was there were no promising players to be introduced in their wake. The likes of Matthaus carried on far too long in international football, leading to a sharp decline. It was only in 1999 that players of the calibre of Michael Ballack and Bernd Schneider were introduced and they were not able to exert their influence at such an age.