ABSTRACT
Germany is Europe’s most successful football nation. Playing as Germany from their affiliation to FIFA in 1904 up to 1914 and again from 1920 to 1942, as West Germany in the post-war period (from 1950) and, once again, as Germany from 1990 following reunification of the country’s East and West, the Germans have participated in seven World Cup finals since 1954, winning three of them, as well as in five European Championship finals since 1972, again winning three. As the German FA itself notes, this success on the international stage ‘is an important basis for the international reputation that German soccer has gained worldwide’ (Deutscher Fußball-Bund 2005). However, is the Germans’ reputation to be ascribed solely to their enviable record of success or are there other features of note in the imagined identity of Germany? When European football writers report on the Germans playing football throughout the twentieth century, what are the key features of the portrayal and how have they evolved? Initially, this chapter will present an indication of how the Germans view themselves through the fortunes of their own football team before moving on to consider representations of Germany in the quality daily presses of England, France and Spain.
