Yesterday saw the draw for the qualifying stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the Russia city of St. Petersburg, with Germany avoiding the likes of Italy and France and ending up with a challenging but workable five opponents
World Cup Draw 2018
Masterful, Magical, Magnificent. Miroslav Klose
It all began on a chilly and damp evening in Leverkusen, on 24th March 2001. Up against Albania in a crucial World Cup qualifier, the Nationalmannschaft had taken the lead five minutes into the second half after a stunning strike
The Fulfillment of a Dream: Philipp Lahm calls it a day
Just days after lifting the World Cup trophy in Rio de Janeiro, Germany’s much-respected Spielführer Philipp Lahm created a stir in the footballing world by announcing his retirement from the Nationalmannschaft. For many German fans who had expected him to
A Thing of Beauty
Over the past month and a bit it has been a busy time. Over forty articles and reports covering the buildup, the tournament, the reviews and the tributes – with more to come as I round off what has been
The Post-Tournament School Report
The victorious German team are back home or on holiday, the World Cup trophy is safely in the locker for another four years, and it’s now time for what will be one of most memorable tournament post-mortems. The recent retirement
The Fourth Star
OK, this is the final World Cup video blog, but there will be one more very short piece to come… I’ll leave you all to find out why. So, after just over a month of fantastic football in Brazil, the
Wir sind Weltmeister!
It’s a warm and bright late afternoon in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and the day has arrived. After over a month of competition, the two best teams are here compete for football’s biggest and most famous prize: the
Deutschland gg. Argentinien: Teil III!
After the 7-1 demolition of a sorry Brazilian side, the onus is now on Germany to finish the job and bring the trophy back home – and secure that coveted fourth star. Wir für Vier has been one of the
The Final Straight
Welcome to what will be the penultimate World Cup video blog, and what a tournament it has been! First we would see a hard-fought quarter-final win over France where Nationaltrainer Jogi Löw would revert back to the familiar and tried
Seventh Heaven
Have no fear, the match reports are coming… But during yesterday’s game I just couldn’t keep up with the “live” commentary as the goals kept flooding in. As soon as I started to put together the description of one another
Germany v France: Match Analysis and Player Ratings
We all can keep commenting, analysing and criticising, but they always come good in the end. The World Cup is like a magical elixir for the German national team, and after all of the pre-match discussion and debate Jogi and
Theories, Tactics, Tittle-tattle…
Welcome to the latest World Cup vlog, covering everything from the final group match against the United States to a preview of the quarter-final against France. The Algeria game and team tactics are discussed at length, as I try my