In the end, Germany sailed through the final and deservedly picked up their fourth World Cup title after an unbelievable extra time goal by Mario Gotze. After the 7-1 demolition of Brazil last week (truly heartbreaking for us!), surely the purists would have expected no less?
The Die Welt newspaper celebrated Monday with a three-word headline in the national colors of black, red and gold that read simply: “It is true,” while Der Spiegel magazine’s website listed Germany’s titles: “1954. 1974. 1990. 2014!”
Last night’s World Cup-winning squad was a testament to the development system in the country and the strength of the Bundesliga, which has the highest audience attendance figures in the whole of Europe. Nine of the players who started against Argentina also play in their domestic competition, which has undoubtedly led to the success of the national team.
It is also a tribute to Joachim Loew, who has been part of the national programme for a decade and has guided, selected, nurtured and developed these young players to the point at which they are now world champions.
The party resumes on Tuesday morning, when the team is due to land at Berlin’s Tegel airport and then celebrate its triumph at the Brandenburg Gate.
