Gleeful press hails German ´heroes´

Germany’s papers could scarcely hide their glee on Sunday after their team’s 4-0 rout of Argentina sent them into the World Cup semi-finals and got the whole nation dreaming of a fourth World Cup triumph.

“1954, 1974, 1990 … ” ran the headline on Sunday’s Tagesspiegel daily, the dates of Germany’s three previous World Cup wins, the paper hoping 2010 would soon be added to the list.

“Thank you, you heroes,” screamed the Bild am Sonntag on its front page, with pictures of Argentina coach Diego Maradona “snivelling” and Chancellor Angela Merkel cheering her team on from the stands.

“1-0 Mueller, 2-0 Klose, 3-0 Friedrich, 4-0 Klose. Yes, you are our heroes. Yes, we’ll never forget you. Yes, we’re in the semi-finals,” added the paper. Related article:

“Unbelievable, incredible. You just can’t put it into words. The football god is smiling on Germany. We beat Argentina 4-0, we’re in the World Cup semi-final and we’re playing the most beautiful football in the whole world.”

The Berliner Kurier told its readers: “Call your sons Jogi”, referring to German coach Joachim Loew. “The sweetest win of all time.”

“How come no one has come up to us yet and shouted ‘Wake up, eyes open, it was all a dream?”

After Maradona’s pre-match barbs at the German team, Bild could not resist a bit of gloating at his downfall. “Cry for me Argentina,” the paper said, with a picture of Loew looking at him as he cried on his daughter’s shoulder.

And it was not just the tabloids raving about the game. The usually reserved Welt am Sonntag wrote: “Ooh, that was gooooood!”, bringing the universal sound of the vuvuzela onto its front page.

Under the headline “Germany’s most beautiful tango,” the paper said: “The football world lies at Germany’s feet.”

With Argentina and Maradona dispatched, the papers looked forward to their team taking “revenge” on Spain for their defeat in the final of the 2008 European Championships.

“This Spanish team holds no fear for us,” Bild said confidently, after Spain’s stuttering performance in their 1-0 quarter-final win against Paraguay.