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World Cup 2014
Germany Greatest All-time 23-member team
This is my all-time team for Germany. If there were an All-Time World Cup, this would be the 23 players I would bring to the tournament.
Please also see
All-Time World Cup Team Index.
North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria.
East German Players after 1990
German Americans/American Germans
German Turks
German-born Players Capped by Other National Teams
Germany All-Time Team After Beckenbauer
Germany All-Time Team before 1972
East Germany
Germany All-Time Team Without Bayern Munich Players
Germany is the most successful European footballing country. They won the World Cup in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014. They finished second in 1966, 1982 and 1986. They also have the best record at the European Championship. They won the tournament a record 3 times in 1972, 1980 and 1996, and finished second in 1976 and 2008.
While West Germany won their first World Cup in 1954, football in Germany did not become a force until the later 1960's with the emerge of Franz Beckenbauer. Their moment came when they beat England in the quarterfinal of the 1972 European Championship and went on to win the tournament. Many historians marked the game as the turning point in football history. Germany produced great team after great team from 1972 to 1996. After the Euro 2000, Germany had a brief dark age, but they reemerged as a world power around the WC Finals in 2006. In 2014, they won their 4th World Cup, beating host Brazil 7-1 in the semifinal.
If there were an All-Time World Cup, this would be the 23 players I would bring to the tournament. The team is not an All-Star team. I tried to be as realistic as possible. A few of the players are selected for tactical reasons at the expense of more famous players.
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West Germany 1990
Team
GK: Sepp Maier
Nicknamed "The cat from Anzing", Maier was considered one of the greatest goalkeeper ever in the 1970's. He had 95 caps for West Germany, winning the European Championship in 1972 and the World Cup at home in 1974. For club football, he played his entire career with Bayern Munich. He also won three straight European Cups for Bayern Munich. He was German Footballer of the Year: 1975, 1977, 1978.
GK: Oliver Kahn
Kahn is one of the most successful German players in recent history. For Bayern Munich, he won eight Bundesliga titles, six DFB-Pokals, the UEFA Cup in 1996, the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup, both achieved in 2001. For Germany, his heroic performance helped Germany to finish 2nd at Korea/Japan 2002. He was the Gold Ball winner in that World Cup Finals.
GK: Manuel Neuer
Neuer established as Germany's number 1 before the World Cup Finals in 2010. Since then, he has been considered one of the best keeper in the world. He helped Germany winning their 4th World Cup in 2014. In 2014, Neuer finished third in the voting, behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award. He started with Schalke 04, but moved to rival Bayern Munich in 2010. He is the second most expensive keeper of all-time.
RB: Berti Vogts
Nicknamed “Der Terrier”, Vogts was one of the greatest rightback in German history. He won 5 Bundesliga titles and two UEFA Cups with the great Borussia Mönchengladbach of the 1970's. He had 95 caps, winning both the World Cup in 1974 and the European Championshipmin 1972. He famously marked Johan Cruyff out of the World Cup Final in 1974.
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RB/LB/DM: Philipp Lahm
Philipp Lahm was the captain of the 2014 World Cup winning team. He had 113 caps for Germany from 2004 to 2014. He was included in the World Cup team of the tournament in 2006 and 2010. For club football, he played his entire career with Bayern Munich, except for a two year loan spell with VfB Stuttgart. He also won the treble in 2013 when Bayern Munich won the Champions' League, the German Cup and the Bundesliga on the same year. He is a member of Bayern Munich's Hall of Fame.
Philipp Lahm
CB: Jurgen Kohler
Jurgen Kohler was regarded one of the best defenders in the 1990's. He earned 105 caps for West Germany/Germany between 1986 and 1998. He won the World Cup in 1990 and the European Championship in 1996. For his club career, he played with Koln, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund. He won the Champions' League in 1997 with Borussia Dortmund.
CB: Karl-Heinz Forster
With West Germany, Forster earned 81 caps. He won the European Championship in 1980, and came 2nd at the World Cup in both 1982 and 1986. He was regarded one of the best defenders in the 1980's. He played with VFB Stuttgart and Marseille. With Stuttgart, he won a Bundesliga in the 1983–84 season. He won two league titles in France.
SW/CM: Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer was one of the best ever player in history. Known as Der Kaiser, he was credited with revolutionizing the sweeper position. He was twice selected European Footballer of the Year. Beckenbauer appeared 103 times for West Germany and played in three FIFA World Cups, winning the World Cup in 1974 and the European Championship in 1972. At the club level, he won three straight European Cup with Bayern Munich in 1974, 1975 and 1976. He also played for Hamburger and NY Cosmos.
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Franz Beckenbauer
SW: Matthias Sammer
With Borussia Dortmund as a player, Sammer won the Bundesliga and DFL-Supercup in 1995, the Bundesliga, DFL-Supercup, and European Footballer of the Year in 1996, and the UEFA Champions League and Intercontinental Cup in 1997. He also played for Inter Milan and Dynamo Dresden. With Die Mannschaft as a player, Sammer won the UEFA Euro 1996, where he was named the tournament's best player, and was subsequently awarded the Ballon d'Or later that year. Sammer retired with 74 total caps, 23 for East Germany and 51 for the unified side.
LB: Andreas Brehme
Andreas Brehme is best remembered for his career with Kaiserslautern and Inter Milan. He was the Serie A Foreign Player of the Year in 1989, in an era where the best players played in Italy. He had 86 caps. He was an important player for West Germany in the 1990 WC Finals, where he scored the winning goal in the Final. He also played in 1986 and 1994 World Cup Finals, and three European Championship.
LB/CM: Paul Breitner
Breitner was the first player to score a goal at two different WC Final match. From 1971 to 1982, he had 48 caps for West Germany. He won the European Championship in 1972 and then, a the World Cup in 1974. He spent most of his career with Bayern Muinch and went to play for Real Madrid in Spain. During his club career, Breitner won seven National Championships with Bayern Munich (1972, 1973, 1974, 1980, 1981) and Real Madrid (1975, 1976), the Champions' Cup (1974) as well as the German (1971, 1982) and Spanish Cups (1975).
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Paul Breitner
CM: Bastian Schweinsteiger
Bastian Schweinsteiger was an important player for both club and country. He was capped 121 times. He went to three European Championships and as many World Cups, including their victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Schweinsteiger is the youth product of Bayern Munich. He won the 2013 Champions' league title with Bayern Munich. Late in his career, he played for Manchester United and Chicago Fire.
CM: Toni Kroos
Toni Kroos became a member of Bayern Munich's first team at the age of 17, Kroos played a loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen, before going back to Munich and winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles and the 2012–13 Champions League. After winning the World Cup in 2014, he joined Real Madrid . In Madrid, he won the two UEFA Champions League. He was a key player for Germany since 2010. He won the World Cup in 2014 as one of Germany's star players.
CM: Lothar Matthaus
Matthaus captained the West German team in winning the World Cup in 1990. He was the European Player of the Year and the first ever World Player of the year in 1990. He played in five FIFA World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998), a record for an outfield player, and holds the record for the most World Cup matches played by a single player (25 games). He also won the Euro 1980 in Italy, and played in the 1984, 1988, and 2000 European Championships. At the club level, he was remembered for his spell with Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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Lothar Matthaus
RW: Helmut Rahn
Rahn was known as "Der Boss" (English: "The Boss") because of his on-field leadership and occasionally also as "The Cannon from Essen". He was considered one of the best ever German winger. His club career was associated with Rot-Weiss Essen. Capped 40 times. He was a star of the 1954 World Cup team. He scored the winning goal in the final vs Hungary. He also went to the WC Finals in 1958.
LW: Hans Schafer
Hans Schafer played for 1. FC Köln between 1948 and 1965. He also played for the West Germany, earning 39 caps and scoring 15 goals. He played in three World Cups, in 1954, 1958, and 1962, earning a winner's medal in 1954 and scoring a total of seven goals. Between 1957 and 1962, Schäfer captained Germany 16 times. He was German Player of the Year in 1963. He spent all of his career with Koln.
LM/CM: Wolfgang Overath
Overath was one of the best left midfielders in history, He won the 1974 WC, where he kept Netzer from the starting lineup. In total he won 81 caps for the national side between 1963 and 1974, scoring 17 goals. In addition to 1974 World Cup Finals, he also went to the 1966 and 1970 World Cup Finals. He spent all of his career with Koln.
CM: Gunther Netzer
Gunther Netzer was the star of the great Borussia Mönchengladbach of the 1970's. He played 37 times for Germany. He won the European Championship in 1972 and then, the World Cup in 1974. His best performance, however, was in 1972, where he was the star at the quarterfinal against England. He later joined Real Madrid in 1973 and outperformed Johan Cruyff's Barcelona in the early 1970's in a period dominated by Real Madrid.
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Gunter Netzer
AM/FW: Fritz Walter
Fritz Walter was the captain of the 1954 World Cup winning team. His brother Ottar Walter was also on that team. He had over 60 caps and also went to the 1958 World Cup Finals. He was selected as the UEFA Golden Player for Germany at the 50th anniversary of UEFA in 2004. During the War, he captured as a POW and his life was spared because the guards recognised him as a famous footballer. He played his entire career with Kaiserslautern between 1937 and 1959.
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Fritz Walter in 1954
FW: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was one of the best players in the world during the 1980's. He was the European Player of the Year in 1980 and 1981. He won the European Championship in 1980 and was part of the squad that finished runner-up at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain and at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. He was a young star in Argentina 1978. He spent the best parts of his club career with Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
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Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
ST: Uwe Seeler
Seeler was captain of both his club team and the national team for many years. He played in 4 WC Finals(1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970), but sandwiched between Germany's two World Cup winning years(1954 and 1974). West Germany came second in 1966 and reached the semifinal in 1970 while playing next to Gerd Muller. However, he is still regarded one of Germany's greatest players. He spent his entire career with SV Hamburger.
ST: Jurgen Klinsmann
Klinsmann won the WC in 1990 and then, captained the 1996 European Championship winning team. He played in all major international tournaments from 1988 until his retirement in 1998. He had successful club spells with Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspurs. He was a popular player while in England, despite a lot of negative press at the time of his signing. He won both the FWA Footballer of the Year and PFA Player of the Year in 1995.
ST: Gerd Muller
"Der Bomber" was widely considered to be the greatest striker in history. He scored 68 goals in 62 matches for Die Mannschaft. He scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga appearance, mostly with Bayern Muinch. He won three straight European Cup with Bayern Munich in 1974, 1975 and 1976. At the international level, he played over 60 times for West Germany. He won the World Cup in 1974 and the European Championship in 1972. He was the European Player of the Year in 1970.
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Gerd Muller
Honorable Mention
Manuel Neuer, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, Toni Kroos, Mesut Özil, Willi Schulz, Manfred Kaltz, Hans Peter Briegel, Paul Janes, Horst Hrubesch, Richard Hofmann, Bernd Schuster, Horst Szymaniak, Guido Buchwald, Fritz Szepan, Michael Ballack, Pierre Littibarski, Andy Moeller, Stefan Effenberg, Helmut Haller, Thomas Hassler, Miroslav Klose, Klaus Fischer, Thomas Muller, Pierre Littbarski, Jürgen Grabowski, Rudi Voller, Thomas Berthold, Mat Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Oliver Bierhoff, Uli Stielike, Bert Trautmann, Manuel Neuer, Helmut Haller.
Squad Explanation
-- Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Lothar Matthaus and Fritz Walter does not need introduction. I considered them as Germany's greatest players. They were automatic selections. Sepp Maier, Oliver Kahn, Paul Breitner, Bertie Vogts, Philipp Lahm, Karl-Heinz Forster, Jurgen Kohler, Gunther Netzer, Uwe Seeler and Mathias Sammer were also close to automatic selection. So it is hard to break into the team with so many automatic selections and legends from Germany.
-- I excluded all GDR/DDR players although Toni Kroos and Matthias Sammer were born in areas that were under GDR at the time of their birth. Sammer was capped 23 times by East Germany before the Unification.
-- The "Miracle of Bern" was Germany's first major victory in their football's history. They beat the "Mighty Magyars" of Hungary. Hans Schafer, Fritz Walter and Helmut Rahn were the only players selected from the 1954 World Cup winning team. Walter needed no introduction. I selected Schafer and Rahn because I needed wingers.
-- Germany's path to one of the greatest footballing nation actually began in the early 1970's. From the 1970's, I have Sepp Maier, Franz Beckenbauer, Bertie Vogts, Wolfgang Overath, Bertie Vogts, Paul Breitner, Gerd Muller and Gunter Netzer. Uwe Seeler's career overlapped with them, but he retired by the 1974 World Cup Finals. In 1970, he formed a great partnership with Gerd Muller. He also played in the 1958 World Cup Finals with Walter and Rahn.
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Breitner, Becknebauer, Muller and Overath
-- West Germany won the European Championship in 1980 and finished second in the World Cup Finals twice in the 1980's, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Toni Schumacher and Karl-Heinz Forster were on the team that won the 1980 European Championship. Andreas Brehme and Lothar Matthaus also played in the 1980's. The two of them also won the 1990 World Cup alongside Jurgen Kohler and Jurgen Klinsmann.
-- In 1996, Germany won the European Championship. Jurgen Klinsmann and Matthias Sammer were the only member of the team who made this team. Sammer won Ballon d'or for his performance at the tournament. Dieter Eilts was probably the unsung hero of the tournament. I out him on honorable mention.
-- The 2014 World Cup team was underrepresented. Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm made the team. Miroslav Klose, Mesut Özil, Mat Hummels and Jerome Boateng made honorable mention.
-- Sepp Maier and Olivier Kahn were obvious choices for goalkeepers. Bert Trautmann never played for Germany. So I did not seriously consider him. I did look into contribution to the national team as an important factor. Manuel Neuer should take over the third spot after winning the World Cup in 2014. When I created this team in 2014, he needed more credentials to beat out Toni Schumacher. Finally, in 2021, I decided to replace Schumacher with Neuer. Neuer also did much better in club football. I never looked into other keepers as Sepp Maier, Olivier Kahn, Toni Schumacher, Bert Trautmann and Manuel Neuer were too strong for others to have any realistic chance of ever joining the team.
-- As the captain of 2014 World Cup winning team, Philipp Lahm overtook rightback Manfred Kaltz, and Paul Janes. Andreas Brehme won the Serie A Player of the Year during the period when the best players played in Italy and fullback seldom won individual awards. Bertie Vogts and Paul Breitner completed the list of fullbacks selected.
-- The four central defenders were easy decisions. Franz Beckenbauer, Matthias Sammer, Karl-Heinz Forster and Jurgen Kohler were the best ever in their positions. Willi Schulz, Guido Buchwald and Uli Stielike were a step behind them.
-- Karl-Heinz Schnellinger was the most famous defender not selected onto this team. I already have three leftbacks on the team (Philipp Lahm, Andrea Brehme and Paul Breitner) and he won't get ahead of Mathais Sammer and Franz Beckenbauer on the sweeper position. Lahm can play as a defensive midfielder and both sides of the fullback position. He is more versatile than Schnellinger. I also took Paul Breitner as a midfielder.
-- Franz Beckenbauer played as a box-to-box midfielder for most of his career. In 1966, he dominated the midfield at the World Cup Finals at the age of 20. He ran and down the field. He demonstrated his power and skills by scoring 4 brilliant goals. By 1970, he was playing a more withdrew position, but not yet the sweeper position where he would became known for. Finally, he played his first World Cup as a sweeper in 1974, where he was credited for revolutionising the position.
-- I almost took Bernd Schuster, but this team had too many central midfielders. Gunther Netzer, Paul Breitner, Wolfgang Overath, Franz Beckenbauer, Matthias Sammer and even Philipp Lahm can play there. I also feel the same way about Horst Szymaniak, Guido Buchwald, Fritz Szepan, Michael Ballack and Stefan Effenberg. Instead, I took an extra wide player Pierre Littbarski. This German All-Time Team was one of my earliest blog team. I was still trying to create a balanced and realistic German team. So I took Littibarski. He was not as highly rated as the other mentioned here, but the team did not have enough wingers. My later blog teams were less balanced. Pierre Littibarski probably won't make the team. However, in 2020, I updated the team. I dropped Littibarski and added Toni Kroos who was probably the best player in the 2014 World Cup Finals. When I finished the team in 2014, Kroos was still a relatively young player. So I took Bastian Schweinsteiger. Kroos' club career was also better some of the players mentioned.
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Toni Kroos
-- Bastian Schweinsteiger was taken because I wanted to award more players from the World Cup 2014 team. I was not sure if he was better than Schuster, Szepan and Szymaniak, but I simply wanted to spread around the team. Michael Ballack did not win enough trophies in his career. His team he played was known to finish second on many occasions.
-- Both Bernd Schuster and Stefan Effenberg did not play enough for the national team. I did use that to count against them, especially the midfield position had fierce competition.
-- As mentioned, the team was overloaded with central midfielders. So I needed wide attackers. I selected both Hans Schafer and Helmut Rahn. Rahn was the Ballon d'Or runner-up in 1958 after he won the Silver boot in the 1958 World Cup Finals. Pierre Littibarski was on the original team I created in 2014 while Jurgen Grabowski were a serious candidate.
-- Gunther Netzer lost his starting position on the national team during the 1974 World Cup Finals to Wolfgang Overath.. However, he was a great contributor to the 1972 European Championship winning team. The tournament was marked as the turning point in Germany's football history.
-- Fritz Walter was the only player who played before the War. In 2003, he was selected by Germany as its greatest footballer for the UEFA Jubilee Awards.
-- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Gerd Muller and Uwe Seeler should be automatic selections. The last spot for forwards went to Jurgen Klinsmann. He was probably the biggest question mark on this team.
-- I almost rewarded Miroslav Klose with a spot on the team for being the World Cup all-time leading scorer and Germany's all-time leading scorer, but his career outside the World Cup Finals was only fair. Jurgen Klinsmann did much better than him. He was an all-time great with both Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspurs. Furthermore, I gave him some credit as the captain of the Euro 1996 winning team.
-- Thomas Muller scored plenty of goals at the World Cup Finals, but he failed to break Klose's record in Russia. He also was not as highly rated outside the World Cup Finals than the players selected. At this point, he only got an honourable mention.
-- Horst Hrubesch got honourable mention because he is considered one of the greatest header of the ball. Manfred Kaltz also made honorable mention.
Starting up
Formation I: 3-5-2
This formation is based upon the German team of the 1990's. Lahm started on the team because I needed an offensive-minded wingback. Matthaus is the box-to-box midfielder, Netzer the creator in the backfield and Walter the attack midfielder.
Formation II: 4-3-3
West Germany used a 4-3-3 formation in the 1970's and 1980's. Beckenbauer was actually a box-to-box midfielder for two of his WC Finals he played in. Vogts started ahead of Lahm because the formation does not need a wingback. Rahn played the role of Littibarski at the World Cup in 1982.
Formation III: 4-3-3
For the formation, Overath could also start for Netzer. And then, Matthaus would move to the right.