German heroes get huge welcome
Source: Agencies | Shanghai Daily, July 16, 2014, Wednesday | 
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German national team players cheer as they ride in an open-deck bus to Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate to celebrate their FIFA World Cup title. Germany won its fourth World Cup crown after a 1-0 win over Argentina in the final at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
GERMANY’S World Cup winners shared their fourth title with hundreds of thousands of fans by parading the trophy through cheering throngs to celebrate at the historic Brandenburg Gate yesterday.
An estimated 400,000 people packed the “fan mile” in front of the Berlin landmark to welcome home coach Joachim Loew’s team and the trophy — which returned to Germany for the first time in 24 years. It crowned years of work by Loew to modernize the team, and followed a string of near misses at recent tournaments.
“We’re all world champions!” Loew told the crowd.
“Of course, it was a long way to the title, and an incredibly tough one in the end. But we’re incredibly happy to be here with the fans now.”
Captain Philipp Lahm hoisted the World Cup trophy to a giant roar from the crowd.
“What a mood here, thanks so much to everyone,” Lahm said as he passed the golden statuette to his fellow players.
Team members wearing black shirts emblazoned with the number 1 took the stage in groups to greet ecstatic supporters.
They carried a long banner reading “Obrigado Fans”, “thank you” in Portuguese in a nod to tournament host Brazil, and “the fourth title is ours”.
Mario Goetze, the scorer in the 1-0 win over Argentina in the final at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, was greeted with deafening cheers by the sea of fans waving black, red and gold Germany flags.
The midfielder called the Mannschaft’s win “a dream”.
“We played an amazing tournament,” he said. “It’s an incredible feeling.”
Midfielder Toni Kroos led the crowd in a chant of “Miro Klose” — a tribute to veteran striker Miroslav Klose, whose two goals took his World Cup tally to 16 and made him the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.
The players jumped and danced in a raucous circle on the stage, singing “this is how the Germans win, this is how the Germans win”.
The team plane landed at Tegel Airport in midmorning after flying low over the “fan mile” — which by then had been packed for hours, with some waiting overnight to get places at the front.
Lahm led the team off the aircraft holding the trophy aloft, to cheers and a chorus of “Football’s Coming Home” from fans on the airport’s viewing terrace.
He was followed by midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, draped in a German flag and sporting a bandage under his right eye, the result of a cut in the final.
From the airport, the team set off on a two-hour trip to downtown Berlin in a bus painted with the years of Germany’s World Cup victories: The previous occasions were in 1954, 1974 and 1990. The players climbed aboard an open-top truck for the last part of the trip to the Brandenburg Gate, crawling through the crowds.
Forward Lukas Podolski posted a selfie with Schweinsteiger and the trophy. He tweeted: “The Cup is in Berlin!!!”
Midfielder Mesut Ozil tweeted photos of fans, writing “What a crowd! Unbelievable!”
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