Germany open World Cup defence to backdrop of fears over the future | Donald McRae

The Nationalmannschaft are enjoying unprecedented success but, according to the experts, the domestic game is awash with troubling developments

On a lazy Sunday afternoon in Berlin, while the rest of the city sinks into summery lethargy, Uli Hesse is hard at work in the offices of 11 Freunde. Once seen as the German version of When Saturday Comes, 11 Freunde has grown into a brilliant monthly “Magazin für Fußballkultur”. Hesse says: “We’re completing our World Cup issue and it’s been interesting looking at the national team.

“There are lots of doubts within German football but, if you include the Confederations Cup, then Germany has made the semi-final of a major tournament eight times in a row. Every time since 2005 is incredible – and unprecedented even for Germans. Our great team from the 1970s never did anything like that. So the mind boggles.”

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