Based on the 'kicker' rankings, the following thread is dedicated to the 60 German footballers that reached 'World Class' status since 1955. -------------------Klaus ALLOFS -------------- ----------------------World Class ---------------------------1985 ----------------Michael BALLACK -------------- -------------------------World Class -----------------------------2002 --------------Franz BECKENBAUER -------------- --------------------------World Class ------------------1966, 1967, 1968, 1969 ------------------1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 ------------------1974, 1975, 1976, 1977
------------------Oliver BIERHOFF -------------- ---------------------------World Class ---------------------------1997, 1998 -------------------Rainer BONHOF -------------- ----------------------------World Class --------------------------------1976 ------------------Andreas BREHME -------------- ----------------------------World Class --------------------------------1990
----------------------Paul BREITNER --------------- -------------------------------World Class ------------------------1972, 1974, 1979, 1980 ---------------------------------1981, 1982 ------------------Hans-Peter BRIEGEL ----------------- -------------------------------World Class -----------------------------------1980 ------------------Guido BUCHWALD --------------------- -------------------------------World Class ------------------------------------1990
--------------------Bernhard DIETZ --------------- ----------------------------World Class --------------------------------1977 ----------------------Horst ECKEL ---------------------- ----------------------------World Class ---------------------------------1955 ------------------Stefan EFFENBERG --------------- ----------------------------World Class --------------------------------2000
----------------------Heinz FLOHE --------------- -----------------------------World Class ---------------------------------1977 -------------------Karlheinz FÖRSTER --------------- ------------------------------World Class ---------------------------1982, 1983, 1986 ---------------------Torsten FRINGS --------------- ------------------------------World Class ----------------------------------2006
-------------------Jürgen GRABOWSKI ----------------- ------------------------------World Class ----------------------------------1977 -------------------Helmut HALLER --------------- -----------------------------World Class ---------------------------------1966 ------------------Thomas HÄSSLER --------------------- ----------------------------World Class ------------------------1988, 1992, 1996
--------------------Fritz HERKENRATH --------------- --------------- ------------------------------World Class -----------------------------------1955 ------------------------Uli HOENESS --------------- ------------------------------World Class ----------------------------------1974 -----------------Horst-Dieter HÖTTGES ----------- -----------------------------World Class ----------------------------------1966
----------------------Bodo ILLGNER --------------- ------------------------------World Class ----------------------------------1998 --------------------Erich JUSKOWIAK ----------- ------------------------------World Class -------------------------------1958, 1959 -------------------------Oliver KAHN ---------------- -------------------------------World Class -----------------------1996, 1997, 1999, 2000 -------------------------------2001, 2002
----------------------Manfred KALTZ --------------- ------------------------------World Class ----------------------------1977, 1979, 1981 -------------------Jürgen KLINSMANN --------------- ----------------------------World Class ------------------------1988, 1993, 1994 ----------------------------1995, 1996 ----------------------Miroslav KLOSE --------------- -----------------------------World Class ---------------------------------2006
----------------------Jürgen KOHLER --------------- -----------------------------World Class -------------------------1988, 1989, 1990 -----------------------------1996, 1997 ----------------------Andreas KÖPKE --------------- -----------------------------World Class ---------------------1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 ----------------------Jens LEHMANN --------------- ------------------------------World Class ----------------------------------2006
-----------------------Werner LIEBRICH ------------------------- ----------------------------------World Class ---------------------------------------1955 ----------------------Pierre LITTBARSKI ----------------- -----------------------------------World Class ------------------------------------1982, 1985 -------------------------Felix MAGATH --------------- ----------------------------------World Class ---------------------------------------1983
-------------------------Sepp MAIER --------------- -------------------------------World Class ------------------------1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 ---------------------Lothar MATTHÄUS ---------------- --------------------------------World Class ----------------------------1986, 1990, 1999 ---------------------Andreas MÖLLER --------------- -------------------------------World Class ------------------------------------1993
-------------------------Gerd MÜLLER --------------- ---------------------------------World Class --------------------------1970, 1971, 1972, 1974 ----------------------------------1975, 1976 ---------------------------Günter NETZER ------------------ --------------------------------------World Class ----------------------------------1970, 1971, 1972 -------------------------Wolfgang OVERATH ------------------------- ---------------------------------------World Class -------------------------------1966, 1968, 1969, 1970
---------------------------Jupp POSIPAL -------------------- ----------------------------------World Class --------------------------------------1955 ----------------------------Helmut RAHN ------------------------- ------------------------------------World Class -------------------------------------1958, 1959 ---------------------Karl-Heinz RUMMENIGGE --------------------- --------------------------------------World Class -------------------------------1979, 1980, 1981, 1982
-----------------------Matthias SAMMER ----------------- ---------------------------------World Class -----------------------------1994, 1995, 1996 -----------------Karl-Heinz SCHNELLINGER ---------------- ----------------------------------World Class ---------------------------1960, 1961, 1962, 1963 -----------------------------------1966, 1970 ---------------------------Willi SCHULZ ------------------ -----------------------------------World Class ---------------------------1966, 1967, 1968, 1969
--------------------Harald SCHUMACHER ------------------ ---------------------------------World Class --------------------------1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 ----------------------------------1984, 1986 --------------------------Uwe SEELER --------------- --------------------------------World Class ------------------------1959, 1960, 1961, 1962 ------------------------1963, 1964, 1966, 1970 ----------------------------Uli STEIN --------------- ---------------------------------World Class --------------------------------------1992
------------------------Horst SZYMANIAK --------------- ----------------------------------World Class -------------------------------1957, 1958, 1959 -----------------------------------1960, 1961 ------------------------------Olaf THON ------------------- ------------------------------------World Class ----------------------------------------1997 -------------------------Hans TILKOWSKI ----------------- ------------------------------------World Class --------------------------------1959, 1960, 1964 -------------------------------------1965, 1966
Eckel looks like Lahm in this picture. Kaltz looks so different without a beard and it's interesting to note that Klinsmann wasn't considered to be "world class" during his Inter days.
-----------------------------Rudi VÖLLER ----------------------- -------------------------------------World Class --------------------------------------1985, 1990 -------------------------------Berti VOGTS ----------------------- ---------------------------------------World Class -------------------------------1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 -----------------------------------1974, 1975, 1976 -----------------------------Fritz WALTER --------------- --------------------------------------World Class --------------------------------------------1955
-----------------------------Wolfgang WEBER --------------- ----------------------------------------World Class -----------------------------------------1965, 1966 -------------------------------Dariusz WOSZ --------------- -----------------------------------------World Class ----------------------------------------------1997
So... who will be the 61st? It's world Cup season, if the nt makes a good appearance, one or the other might get added. Gomez, whoever will get to keep the German goal in the World Cup and Özil would be my prime suspects.
Kicker only started to rate foreign-based German players in 1992. Thus Klinsmann, Brehme & Matthäus probably missed out on World Class ratings in 1989 and 1991 (they were rated by Kicker in 1990 due to the World Cup performances).
Yes, that's the reason Bernd Schuster is not part of this. Bernd Schneider was never rated "World Class", the highest he got was "international class". Another player missing might be Klaus Fischer, like Schneider he never was rated "world class" by Kicker, which I consider pretty debatable!
The most notable thing here is that our EM and WM wins coincide with times when we have clusters of world class players. The late 60s through early 80s Germany had an enormous number of all-time great players. What a generation.