Germany is a European country that is one of the founding members of the European Union. Well known for its chequered historical past, the country has only been unified since 1990 after being divided into East and West following the end of World War II. The capital is currently Berlin and the total population stands at 82 million. The official language is German, but many speak English around tourist areas. Since the introduction of the European Union, Germany has conformed to many European protocols and has introduced the Euro. People may disagree on the level of European intervention within the country but there is one thing that they do agree on - football.

Germans are passionate about their football and avidly follow their local teams as well as the national side. The national team is one of the most successful in Europe, rivalled only by Italy. They currently sit at 5th in the FIFA world rankings but have hit 1st in the past, specifically in August 1993. The lowest that they have ever been is 23rd in March 2006, which testifies to the lack of form that some feel Germany has gone through in recent years.

Germany has attended the World Cup on sixteen different occasion, with their first appearance being in 1934. They have actually won it 3 times, in 1954, 1974 and 1990. They have also won the European Championship that many times as well – 1972, 1980 and 1996 being their victorious years. In total, they have appeared in the European Championship 9 times, starting in 1972 and thus being an ever-present ever since. Finally, the German team has also made 2 appearances in the Confederations Cup (1999 and 2005) and came 3rd in the competition in 2005.

The top flight league in Germany is known as the Bundesliga and is known as one of the best in the world, coming behind Spain’s La Liga, the English Premier League and Italy’s Serie A. The league was founded in 1963 and currently has 18 teams playing in it. The teams play each other twice and all have to have a license to play in the Bundesliga, which is something that very few other premier leagues expect of their teams. The license states that they are financially healthy and meet behaviour standards set by the national football governing body.

The DFB-Pokal is the most important cup in German domestic football and is played alongside the league, coming second only to that in importance. The top two division’s teams automatically enter the cup but others below that level have to play their way through a variety of regional tournaments and games in order to qualify.

The biggest clubs are and always have been Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Shalke 04, Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV. However VfB Stuttgart won the league last season and FC Nurnberg won the cup! There is only one team that has been an ever-present in the upper echelons of the Bundesliga – Hamburger SV.