Best Germany XI of All Time

As one of the best countries in the world of football,

has always been remembered by its shining football players. So far, Germany has won four World Cups and are holders of 3 European Championship titles. In fact, in the history of the World Cup, “Die Mannschaft” are the second most successful, while they are also the most successful team in the history of the European Championships.

Back in 1954, West Germany won their first important World Cup title against Hungary, which is interestingly called “The Miracle of Bern” (Das Wunder von Bern). Their first European Championship title was achieved in 1972 where they defeated the Soviet Union in the final.

The team achieved their second World Cup title in 1974 where they also were the hosts, and surpassed the Netherlands in the final in Munich.

Six years later, in the Euro 1980, Germany became the European Champions for the second time, beating Belgium in the final match.

In the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup finals, they finished the completion as the Runners-up. But four years later they defeated Argentina in the final in Italy, scoring the only goal of the match. As you may know, that was their last international title as West Germany.

In February 1990, months after Berlin Wall coming down, finally East and West Germany merged together in group 5 of UEFA Euro 1992 qualifiers. Their first unified game was against Sweden on 10 October.

After Beckenbauer’s retirements, assistant Berti Vogts was assigned as the national team coach.

Germany won its first major title as a unified team in 1996, becoming European champions for the third time in the Euro tournament.

Now that we have all these information about Germany national team, it’s time to go through

Germany best XI of all time

. Ready? Let’s carry on then.

Germany Best XI of all time

We all know that the Germans have been very successful in improving their playing system during these years, thanks to their discipline and programing. Knowing this fact, we will all agree that there are many successful and brilliant soccer players in the history of Germany which makes it hard to choose just 11 among them. However some of these players have been so extraordinary that we did not doubt to choose them. Without further ado, we give you the Germany All-Time Greatest XI.

Oliver Kahn

• Position:

  Goalkeeper

• Date of birth:

  15 June 1969

• International appearances:

  86

Born on 15 June 1969,

is regarded as one of the bests in the history of German football. He started his footballing career in 1975 by joining the Karlsruher SC Junior team.

He made his first appearance in international level on 23 June 1995 where Germany won the match with a 2–1 result against Switzerland.

Kahn is currently the only goalkeeper to have five clean sheets in a World Cup and the only shot-stopper to win the Golden Ball at the 2002 FIFA World Cup tournament. He sits also fifth in both the IFFHS Best Goalkeeper of the 21st Century and Best Goalkeeper of the Past 25 Years elections.

It is also interesting to know that the German all-time star is named "the Titan" or "Der Titan" due to his commanding presence in goal and aggressive style.

The 6’2 goalkeeper has also earned four back-to-back UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards and two German Footballer of the Year trophies.

Last but not least you have to know that Kahn never succeeded to win a World Cup but helped his team to complete 2nd in 2002 and 3rd in 2006.

Philipp Lahm

• Position:

  Right-back

• Date of birth:

  11 November 1983

• International appearances:

  113

The next amazing football player on our list is

. Born on 11 November 1983 is one of the bests in the history of Germany. Capable of kicking the ball both as a left-back, and right-back, though he is right-footed, we have decided to choose him as the best Right-back on our list.

He has performed in over 100 matches for the German national team where he captained the team in the 2010 World Cup before winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Overall, Lahm earned 22 awards in his career, including 8 Bundesliga titles, 1 Champions League title, and 1 World Cup.

It is interesting to know that being only 38, Lahm is considered to be one of the best defenders not only of his generation, but also of all time; that’s the reason he is the leader of Germany's so-called "golden generation."

You also should know that back in 2014, Lahm who was only 30 at the time, announced his retirement from international football but continued to perfect his 17-year career at Bayern Munich.

Paul Breitner

• Position:

  Left Back

• Date of birth:

  5 September 1951

• International appearances:

  48

Paul Breitner is the next name on our list of the

best Germany XI of all time

. Born on 5 September 1951, the all-time great player was known for his partnerships with Franz Beckenbauer and Berti Vogts in defence for the national team. Another interesting fact about the professional player is that he could both play as a midfielder and left-back.

In the case of his international career you must know that he was capped 48 times for West Germany and had an essential role in his team’s victory in the 1974 FIFA World Cup, netting in the final. Interestingly that was not the only time

scored in the World Cup final as he also scored in the 1982 FIFA World Cup final. Achieving this success, he became one of only four players to have scored in two different World Cup final matches, with Pelé, Vavá and Zinedine Zidane as the other three.

Jurgen Kohler

• Position:

  Center-back

• Date of birth:

  6 October 1965

• International appearances:

  105

With over 100 international appearances, Jurgen Kohler is the next on our list of the best Germany XI of all time. Born on 6 October 1965, he started kicking the ball for West Germany’s U-18 international team in 1983. In 1986 he joined Germany national team and continued kicking the ball for Die Mannschaft till 1998. During these years he performed at three FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships, winning the 1990 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996. He was also a member of the team in the 1992 UEFA European Championship, where the Germans finished as the runners-up.

Franz Beckenbauer

• Position:

  Center-back

• Date of birth:

  11 September 1945

• International appearances:

  103

The 76-year-old legendary footballer is interestingly known as “Der Kaiser”, which means the Emperor. Considered as one of the greatest players in the history,

initially started his playing career as a midfielder, but later on made his name as a central defender.

It is also interesting to know that he is one of three men to win the World Cup both as a player and as a manager, along with Mário Zagallo and Didier Deschamps. In addition, he was the first captain to lift the World Cup, European Championship, and the European Cup during the time of captaincy.

Kicking the ball in 103 West Germany matches, Beckenbauer netted 14 goals, while he also played in three FIFA World Cups and two European Championships.

The Emperor announced his retirement from international football in 1977, but still is remembered by his brilliant tactics, and especially his own invention, the modern sweeper role.

Toni Kroos

• Position:

  Midfielder

• Date of birth:

  4 January 1990

• International appearances:

  106

Toni Kroos is the next on our list of the

best Germany XI of all time

. Born on 4 January 1990,

is widely known for his unique technique, creativity, and ability to read the game. The right-footed Germany midfielder is also regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world.

Interestingly Kroos was Nicknamed as the "Garçom” by the Brazilians, because he is the one to deliver the most passes to the strikers. Garçom means the "waiter" in Portuguese.

In the case of Kroos Achievements, you should know that the brilliant player received both the Golden Player title at the 2006 UEFA European U-17 Championship and the Golden Gall and the Bronze Shoe title at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

He was also the one to help Germany national team to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup, being the top assist provider.

Last but not least, you should know that Kroos announced his retirement from international playing career after his Germany’s elimination from Euro 2020 which was in fact held in 2021, due to the Corona Virus lockdown.

Michael Ballack

• Position: Midfielder

• Date of birth: 26 September 1976

• International appearances: 98

The next German dazzling player on our list is

who has impressively earned the midfielder spot on this list. Born on 26 September 1976. He was only 7 when he started playing football and found his way to be one of the bests in the world of football. As one of the top goal scorers in the history of the German national team, so far he has won many titles and achievements. In 2002 he was selected as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year, while he has also won the German Footballer of the Year award in 2002, 2003 and 2005.

Interestingly, known as the "Little Kaiser", Ballack made his debut for Germany's under-21 team on 26 March 1996. Joining the adult team, he was a member of the German national team taking part in the UEFA European Football Championship in 2000, 2004 and 2008, while he was also a member of the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and 2006. 

In total the 44-year-old has played in 98 caps and managed to net 42 goals.

On 16 June 2011, it was officially announced that Ballack would no longer be a part of the German national team.

Lothar Matthaus

• Position:

  Midfielder

• Date of birth:

  21 March 1961

• International appearances: 

  150

Next on our list of the best Germany XI of all time, we have

, who has interestingly kicked the ball for West Germany Germany for almost 20 years and has also captained West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup. In 1991 he was awarded the Ballon d'or and was named the first FIFA World Player of the Year. He was also included in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020.

It is interesting to know that the 60-year-old former players is the most capped German player with a total of 150 matches played in which 83 was for West Germany. In total he has netter 23 goals for the international team.

The outstanding midfielder holds the record of having played in five World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998). Mexico's Rafael Márquez has also managed to set this record after taking part in the 2018 World Cup.

Aside from the World Cup competitions, Matthaus  has also won UEFA Euro 1980, and has played in the 1984, 1988 and 2000 UEFA European Championships.

Gerd Muller

• Position:

  Forward

• Date of birth:

  3 November 1945

• International appearances:

  62

Remembered by his awesome clinical finishing, the German all-time legend is the next on our list of the

best Germany XI of all time

.

At the International level,

made 62 appearances for West Germany and scored 68 times. Müller secured the all-time goal-scoring record in the World Cup with 14 goals for 32 years between 1974 and 2006.

The nation's Bomber was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1970 and achieved the Golden Boot award in World Cup the same year. In 1972, he won the UEFA European Championship, being the top goalscorer, as he scored two goals in the final.

His memorable goal against Netherlands in the 1974 World Cup earned the team a sweet victory.

Unfortunately the all-time legend was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2015 and suffered from the disease during the next six years, eventually passing away on 15 August 2021 in a nursing home in Wolfratshausen, at the age of 75.

Miroslav Klose

• Position:

  Forward

• Date of birth:

  9 June 1978

• International appearances:

  137

The next golden player on our list of Germany best XI of all time is

. Born on 9 June 1978 Klose is considered to be one of the greatest attackers of his age. Klose was born in Poland but relocated to Germany with his parents when he was a kid and he decided to play for Germany while he also had an opportunity to play for Poland national team.

The great striker performed in 137 international games for Germany, being the national team’s all-time record goalscorer with 71 goals, and the men's top goalscorer of the FIFA World Cup with 16 goals.

You might also like to know that Klose has an interesting record to his name, which is being the first player to score five headers in a FIFA World Cup. He celebrated two of these goals with his trademark front-flip, which earned him the nickname "Salto-Klose".

Klose announced his retirement from international football on 11 August 2014.

Time to move on to the last name on our list of the greatest Germany XI of all time. Shall we?

Thomas Muller

• Position:

  Forward

• Date of birth:

  13 September 1989

• International appearances:

  106

Coming to the end on our article of the best Germany XI of all time, here we go with a closer look at Thomas Muller’s international career.

Born on 13 September 1989,

is a German skilled forward and midfielder, internationally popular for his determined effort and productive passing, running into the box, getting himself into risky positions, and finishing skills.

Müller first joined Germany adult’s national team in 2010, scoring five goals in six appearances at the 2010 World Cup, where his team finished in the third place. Hence he was named the Best Young Player of the tournament and won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer.

Four years later, at the 2014 World Cup he played a major role, helping his team to win the trophy. He scored five times during the competition which earned him the Silver Ball as the tournament's second-top player and the Silver Boot as the second-top goalscorer, and was also named in the World Cup All Star XI and in the Dream Team.

As the last fact you should know that Müller is the most decorated German footballer in history, with 30 trophies.

That was all on our article about the best Germany XI of all time. What other names do you think have to be added to this list? Let us know in the comment section below. 

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