Seven of the twelve have previously played for the national team,[4] the exceptions being Nerz, Erich Ribbeck, Joachim Löw, Hansi Flick, and Julian Nagelsmann.
[2] Nerz had a disciplinarian style[2] and achieved respectable results with a hitherto unsuccessful team[2] – reaching third place at the 1934 World Cup.
[13] He was unable to fulfil the Nazi Party's high expectations at the 1936 Olympic Games (hosted in Berlin),[14] however, and was replaced by his assistant, Sepp Herberger[5] after the team was eliminated by outsiders Norway.
[16] Eventual success from the team was prevented by World War II, and subsequent sanctions against Germany, banning them from international football.
[6] Schön, who had managed the short-lived Saarland national team from 1952 to 1956,[6] began to establish West Germany as a consistent force in world football.
Then came the team's greatest successes[6] – a first European Championship title was won in 1972,[23] which was followed by the 1974 World Cup, where West Germany, as hosts, ran out tournament winners, beating the Netherlands in the final.
[26] Before the 1978 World Cup, Schön announced that this was to be his last tournament,[6] but was unable to go out on a high note, as the team was eliminated by neighbours Austria in Round 2.
[31] Derwall was replaced by Franz Beckenbauer,[32] who had made 103 appearances for the national team, and was captain of the successful side of the early 1970s.
He led the team to a second consecutive World Cup Final in 1986,[32][33] before reaching the semi-final of the 1988 European Championship, a tournament which West Germany hosted.
[32] He stood down immediately afterwards, to be replaced by Berti Vogts,[36] a former national squad team-mate[37] who had served on the coaching staff of the DFB.
[39] Vogts' greatest achievement was the 1996 European Championship,[36] which Germany won, beating the Czech Republic in the final, thanks to a golden goal from Oliver Bierhoff.
[50] After a tricky qualifying campaign,[51] Völler led the team to the final of the 2002 World Cup,[52] a result that was unexpected given the perceived lack of quality in the squad.
[58] Löw continued in the role[59] and qualified for the 2010 World Cup,[60] in which the Team lost the semi-final 1–0 against Spain after overwhelming victories against Argentina (4–0) and England (4–1).
Still under the management of Löw, Germany qualified top of Group A in qualification for UEFA Euro 2012 with a record of 10 wins out of ten matches against Kazakhstan, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, and Azerbaijan.