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| Top 10 Best German football players of all time |
10 Best German football players of all time
Germany has won 4 World Cup titles and the European Championships 3 times. It is a prestigious national team that has had dozens of experienced players. But who are the prominent names who have worn the Mannschaft shirt, defended its colors, and contributed to making it one of the top nations in the game today.
How many times has Germany won the World Cup?
The German national team is considered one of the most prominent European and global teams, having won the World Cup title 4 times, equaling the record of the Italian national team, which has also won the title 4 times in its history. They are only one title behind the Brazilian national team, which has won the World Cup 5 times in its history. The German national team has achieved superiority over European teams after winning the 2014 World Cup in South America. They are the only European team to have won the title in South America. The German national team has participated in the World Cup competition 19 times out of 21 championships, finishing as runners-up 4 times, achieving third place 4 times, and fourth place once. They have not reached the quarter-finals twice.
Top 10 German football players in history
Who are the best 10 players in the history of Germany of all time?
- Franz Beckenbauer.
- Lothar Matthäus.
- Gerd Muller.
- Fritz Walter.
- Uwe Seeler.
- Michael Ballack.
- Karl-Heinz Rummenighe.
- Matthias Sammer.
- Miroslav Klose.
- Oliver Kahn.
10- Oliver Kahn
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| Oliver Kahn |
nicknamed "The Cat" for his numerous saves of high balls, was chosen as the best goalkeeper in the world three times (1999-2001-2002). He also won the title of the best player in the 2002 World Cup, marking the first time a goalkeeper has won this award.
Oliver began his football career in 1987 at Karlsruher SC, then moved to Bayern Munich in 1994 and played with them until his retirement in 2008.
The Cat has won many collective titles with the Bavarian giant and the German national team, including 8 Bundesliga titles, one UEFA Champions League title, and being selected as the best goalkeeper for 4 consecutive seasons.
9- Miroslav Klose
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| Miroslav Klose |
We cannot mention a list discussing the greats of Germany in the game without mentioning Miroslav Klose, the historical top scorer of the German national team with 71 goals, and the top scorer in the biggest football tournament, the World Cup, with 16 goals in 4 consecutive editions (2002-2006-2010-2014).
Klose is a player of Polish origin who started his professional career at the prestigious club Kaiserslautern and had several successful experiences with the teams he played for, including Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, and Lazio. He is known for his ability to score headers due to his height and jumping ability, as 90% of the goals he scored were with his head.
8- Matthias Sammer
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| Matthias Sammer |
He is nicknamed "The Sweeper" for his defensive toughness. He excels in playing in the defensive midfield and defensive line. He won the Ballon d'Or award in 1996 when he led the German national team to win the European Nations Cup for the third time in their history, and he was chosen as the best player in that edition.
Sammer is one of the legends of Borussia Dortmund, whom he joined in 1993 and played for them until his retirement in 1998. During these years, he managed to lead the Yellow Wall to win the UEFA Champions League in 1996-1997 and the German League twice in a row (1994-1995/1995-1996).
7- Karl-Heinz Rummenighe
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| Karl-Heinz Rummenighe |
One of the shining names in the history of Mannschaft, especially Bayern Munich, where he has an impressive goal record with the Bavarian club. Rummenighe scored 217 goals in just 310 matches, despite playing as a winger.
Rummenighe, like the aforementioned Michael Ballack, failed to win the World Cup twice in a row and finished in second place (1982-1986). As for his personal achievements, he won the Ballon d'Or in 1980 and 1981, making him the last German player in the history of Bayern Munich to receive this honor.
6- Michael Ballack
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| Michael Ballack |
One of the best players produced by German football, and if it weren't for the great misfortune that accompanied him in many important stages of his career, he would have had a different status in the world of football.
In 2002, it was the worst year for Ballack in his career, as he lost the German league and finished second behind Bayern Munich. He also lost the UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid and the World Cup final in the same year against the Brazilian national team. In 2008, history seemed to repeat itself as Ballack lost the English League and the Champions League to Manchester United and lost the Euro final against Spain.
But despite all this misfortune, Ballack will remain the owner of 42 international goals with his fantastic performance as one of the greatest midfielders in history.
5- Uwe Seeler
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| Uwe Seeler |
Uwe Seeler, along with his compatriots Miroslav Klose, Brazilian Pele, and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, is the only player to have scored in four different editions of the World Cup. Having his name alongside these legends is enough for you to get to know this great player who has been forgotten in the history books.
Seeler was the captain of the West German national team in the 1960s and scored 43 goals in 72 matches wearing the national jersey. He is also considered the all-time top scorer for Hamburg with 485 goals.
4- Fritz Walter
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| Fritz Walter |
He was chosen by the German Football Association in 2003 to receive the Golden Player Award for the last 50 years due to his great contributions to West Germany and his childhood club, Kaiserslautern, from 1940 to 1958.
Walter lived a difficult life as a player because he came during the period of World War II, and he was captured as a prisoner several times. However, he continued to play football with the Hungarians, who were masters of the game at that time, in the camps. In 1954, he led the German national team to win the World Cup against Hungary, a country that was suffering from significant economic damage. Walter financed the matches of the Hungarian national team and supported them financially in an attempt to repay the kindness they had shown him in the past.
3- Gerd Muller
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| Gerd Muller |
The German Fox is the greatest striker in the history of Germany and one of the best attackers in the history of football as well.
I had a special sense for scoring, and that's why I always beat the defenders by a fraction of a second, Muller once said about himself. He is the striker who managed to score 747 goals, making him the all-time top scorer for Bayern Munich with 565 goals and the second-highest scorer for the German national team with 68 goals. These records, along with others, still stand as his enduring legacy to this day.
Muller won the Bundesliga 4 times, the UEFA Champions League 3 times, the World Cup and the Euro once each, and also won the domestic championship in 1992 with Stuttgart.
2- Lothar Matthäus
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| Lothar Matthäus |
The captain of the German national team, with 150 international matches and 23 international goals, he led the German national team to win the 1990 World Cup against Argentina's Maradona. He was also a member of the team that won the European Cup in 1980.
Matthäus' club career was also filled with achievements, playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan. He won a total of 21 championships with them, most of them with Bayern. He played for Bayern in two periods, the first from 1984 to 1989, scoring 69 goals in 152 matches, and the second from 1992 to 2000, playing 258 matches and scoring 31 goals.
He won the Ballon d'Or as the best player in the world in 1990.
1- Franz Beckenbauer
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| Franz Beckenbauer |
Without surprises and as expected, the Emperor is the best player in the history of Germany without any dispute. His reputation spread remarkably in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as he led Germany to win the European Cup in 1972 and the World Cup in 1974. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side in the 1966 World Cup and the 1976 European Championship finals.
He won all possible titles with Bayern Munich, including the German League 4 times and the UEFA Champions League 3 consecutive times (1974-1975-1976). That period witnessed fierce competition between the Bavarian giants and Ajax Amsterdam, led by Cruyff, for European club supremacy.
Beckenbauer is known for his accuracy in long-range shots and tactical awareness at the highest level.
