So, with Germany beating Algeria today, they have now managed to reach the Quarter Finals of the last 16 World Cups in a row.

Sixteen.

That's every single World Cup going back to 1954; the first post-war tournament they were allowed to enter, which they proceeded to win against the Hungary of {uskas in the final. They even racked up a 3rd place back in 1934, but the post-war period is the one in which a German team has always made it to the last 8 teams in the greatest tournament in the world.

How does that stack up against, say, Italy and Brazil, the other biggest hitters in World Cup history? Well, Italy have never managed to get to more than 3 in a row, and have only managed it 9 times total in the entirety of history. Even the mighty Brazil, most successful of all footballing nations, has only managed to put together runs of no more than 5 in a row, and only 14 times total, in all history.

So it seems that Germany, quite simply, not Italy or even Brazil themselves are the powerhouse of world football, and I think it's worth taking a look back at their record to commemorate this feat which dwarfs even Brazil's consecutive record by a factor of over 3x. To that end, let's refresh ourselves with the exact record of this stunning achievement:

1954: Final (W)
1958: Semis
1962: Quarters
1966: Final
1970: Semis
1974: Final (W)
1978: Semis
1982: Final
1986: Final
1990: Final (W)
1994: Quarters
1998: Quarters
2002: Final
2006: Semis
2010: Semis

I call that pretty impressive, personally. 7 Finals, 3 victories, and another 5 Semi-final appearances. Amazing, really, and again: how do such numbers stack up against their fellow heavyweights? Only Brazil can match them for number of Finals attended, of course having then won 5 of them, with another 3 Semi-final appearances. Italy fall just short at 6 Finals, winning 4 of them, and reaching another 2 Semis.
If we are including Semi-finals, then each of these nations stands with the following:

Germany: 12
Brazil: 10
Italy: 8

Germany may not have as many stars on their shirts as their two main rivals, but, they sure can boast about having been more consistent over the full course of football history. The Germans are always there, it seems, even if often the final hurdle is beyond them.

But, how else have they fard, in their more local tournaments? While nothing rivals the World Cup for stature and significance, the European Championships as often regarded as a close second, due to the wealth of powerhouses that Europe can boast compared to the rest of the world. So, how have Germany fared there? Well, since they first entered the tournament in 1972, they have achieved the following:

1972: Final (W)
1976: Final
1980: Final (W)
1984: First Round
1988: Semis
1992: Final
1996: Final (W)
2000: First Round
2004: First Round
2008: Final
2012: Semis

Holy cow! 5 more Finals (the first 3 in a row), 3 more victories, and another 2 Semi-finals. That's staggering, even if in this tournament at least they've been kept at bay in the group stages more often.

How about Italy? 3 Finals, 1 victory, and 2 more Semis. That brings their total international major tournament tallies up to:

Germany: 19
Italy: 13

(I would compare also with Brazil's record over in the Copa America, but I think that comparison can hardly be fair, considering how much smaller the country roster in South America is.)

All of this paints a picture, and its one of true dominance within the sport of football. Germany has constantly, nearly every international tournament, been one of the main contenders, consistently showing up ready to play and to give the rest of the world a run for their money, no matter what trends and eras other nations might experience.

Spain have this glorious period between 2008-2012 to remember for all time. England look back fondly to 1966, and the various periods of their league dominance. France can be proud of knowing that Platini and Zidane's eras were among the greatest in modern football. Argentina had the glorious days of Maradona, and Italy can boast of the 1930s, the Zoff and Maldini eras, and of course 2006.

And mighty Brazil, kings of raising the World Cup trophy, have the wonderful eras of Pele, Garrincha, Rivelino, Zico, Eder, Cafu, Romario, RIvaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, along with so many other glorious names written into footballing folklore over the decades.

But for the Germans? For their pride, for their 'golden' eras and for their memories of greatness, Germany have to look back upon pretty much the ENTIRE post-war history of football, almost without fail. To give a visual idea of this consistency I have made a graph which I believe illustrates this point very well:

Just look at the years that Germany has been at the very highest level of football, in one tournament or another.

For these reasons, I personally feel that if any nation deserves to be called the TRUE powerhouse of this sport we love, it is Germany, even more than mighty Italy, or peerless Brazil. Maybe, just maybe, this will be yet another year in which Die Mannschaft will be found with their hands lifting the greatest trophy of them all...

Please feel free to give feed-back, and discussion. I enjoyed writing this, and would love to see what others feel like writing, in either agreement or disagreement. :)

So, with Germany beating Algeria today, they have now managed to reach the Quarter Finals of the last 16 World Cups in a row.

Sixteen.

That's every single World Cup going back to 1954; the first post-war tournament they were allowed to enter, which they proceeded to win against the Hungary of {uskas in the final. They even racked up a 3rd place back in 1934, but the post-war period is the one in which a German team has always made it to the last 8 teams in the greatest tournament in the world.

How does that stack up against, say, Italy and Brazil, the other biggest hitters in World Cup history? Well, Italy have never managed to get to more than 3 in a row, and have only managed it 9 times total in the entirety of history. Even the mighty Brazil, most successful of all footballing nations, has only managed to put together runs of no more than 5 in a row, and only 14 times total, in all history.

So it seems that Germany, quite simply, not Italy or even Brazil themselves are the powerhouse of world football, and I think it's worth taking a look back at their record to commemorate this feat which dwarfs even Brazil's consecutive record by a factor of over 3x. To that end, let's refresh ourselves with the exact record of this stunning achievement:

1954: Final (W)
1958: Semis
1962: Quarters
1966: Final
1970: Semis
1974: Final (W)
1978: Semis
1982: Final
1986: Final
1990: Final (W)
1994: Quarters
1998: Quarters
2002: Final
2006: Semis
2010: Semis

I call that pretty impressive, personally. 7 Finals, 3 victories, and another 5 Semi-final appearances. Amazing, really, and again: how do such numbers stack up against their fellow heavyweights? Only Brazil can match them for number of Finals attended, of course having then won 5 of them, with another 3 Semi-final appearances. Italy fall just short at 6 Finals, winning 4 of them, and reaching another 2 Semis.
If we are including Semi-finals, then each of these nations stands with the following:

Germany: 12
Brazil: 10
Italy: 8

Germany may not have as many stars on their shirts as their two main rivals, but, they sure can boast about having been more consistent over the full course of football history. The Germans are always there, it seems, even if often the final hurdle is beyond them.

But, how else have they fard, in their more local tournaments? While nothing rivals the World Cup for stature and significance, the European Championships as often regarded as a close second, due to the wealth of powerhouses that Europe can boast compared to the rest of the world. So, how have Germany fared there? Well, since they first entered the tournament in 1972, they have achieved the following:

1972: Final (W)
1976: Final
1980: Final (W)
1984: First Round
1988: Semis
1992: Final
1996: Final (W)
2000: First Round
2004: First Round
2008: Final
2012: Semis

Holy cow! 5 more Finals (the first 3 in a row), 3 more victories, and another 2 Semi-finals. That's staggering, even if in this tournament at least they've been kept at bay in the group stages more often.

How about Italy? 3 Finals, 1 victory, and 2 more Semis. That brings their total international major tournament tallies up to:

Germany: 19
Italy: 13

(I would compare also with Brazil's record over in the Copa America, but I think that comparison can hardly be fair, considering how much smaller the country roster in South America is.)

All of this paints a picture, and its one of true dominance within the sport of football. Germany has constantly, nearly every international tournament, been one of the main contenders, consistently showing up ready to play and to give the rest of the world a run for their money, no matter what trends and eras other nations might experience.

Spain have this glorious period between 2008-2012 to remember for all time. England look back fondly to 1966, and the various periods of their league dominance. France can be proud of knowing that Platini and Zidane's eras were among the greatest in modern football. Argentina had the glorious days of Maradona, and Italy can boast of the 1930s, the Zoff and Maldini eras, and of course 2006.

And mighty Brazil, kings of raising the World Cup trophy, have the wonderful eras of Pele, Garrincha, Rivelino, Zico, Eder, Cafu, Romario, RIvaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, along with so many other glorious names written into footballing folklore over the decades.

But for the Germans? For their pride, for their 'golden' eras and for their memories of greatness, Germany have to look back upon pretty much the ENTIRE post-war history of football, almost without fail. To give a visual idea of this consistency I have made a graph which I believe illustrates this point very well:

Just look at the years that Germany has been at the very highest level of football, in one tournament or another.

For these reasons, I personally feel that if any nation deserves to be called the TRUE powerhouse of this sport we love, it is Germany, even more than mighty Italy, or peerless Brazil. Maybe, just maybe, this will be yet another year in which Die Mannschaft will be found with their hands lifting the greatest trophy of them all...

Please feel free to give feed-back, and discussion. I enjoyed writing this, and would love to see what others feel like writing, in either agreement or disagreement. :)

^agree with Tuan, very consistent but i prefer to watch creative sides. also, 2 of their titles were won after very controversial refereeing dicisions in their favour.

^agree with Tuan, very consistent but i prefer to watch creative sides. also, 2 of their 3 titles were won after very controversial refereeing dicisions in their favour.

^agree with Tuan, very consistent but i prefer to watch creative sides. also, 2 of their 3 titles were won after very controversial refereeing dicisions in their favour.

@Lodatz: where do you want to place that edit bit? i'll add it to the 1st post :)

^agree with Tuan, very consistent but i prefer to watch creative sides. also, 2 of their 3 titles were won after very controversial refereeing dicisions in their favour.

@Lodatz: edited the 1st post, i'll delete your comment :)

^agree with Tuan, very consistent but i prefer to watch creative sides. also, 2 of their 3 titles were won after very controversial refereeing dicisions in their favour.

@Lodatz: edited the 1st post, i removed the additional edit post :)

you mean Germany :)

Just to update, this is what that graph I made looks like now: