Germany's extraordinary World Cup story begins in Switzerland in 1954.

It was the first time since the war Germany had been allowed to enter the tournament.

We were not allowed to take part in 48 at the Olympics in London, not allowed to take part in 1950 at the World Cup in Brazil. So here we were, the Germans, beaten, bruised but reentering the stage for the greatest show on earth. Divided after the war into East and West, this was the first ever West German team to qualify for the World Cup.

It was against Turkey that the West Germans lined up in band for their first game of the tournament. But nobody was expecting much.

We were outsiders. I remember precisely that one could bet on any team in the bookmakers in London except on Germany. It didn't exist. One couldn't place a single bet.

It was only 9 years after the war and Germany was consumed by poverty and guilt. Any sense of nationalism had been deeply buried and football was well down the agenda. It was only because of one man that West Germany even had what they could call a national team. That man was Sepp Herberger. He'd been the national coach from before the war and was determined to rebuild his team.

Herberger was a great idealist. He was fanatically inspired by the reconstruction of his football team. He never got things in perspective.

Although not a Nazi, Herberger had influence in high places, which he had used to keep his team alive during the war.

They would get jobs not too dangerous, postings not too dangerous. So that they would kind of be kept together and he had a master plan. He had a master plan that this German national team would make it in Europe. Herberger's captain was Fritz Walter, the unquestioned star of German football. His skill and creativity as a goal-scoring-midfielder was unrivaled. Herberger had successfully kept Walter from the front until the final stage of the war when he was captured by the Russians. A prison guard recognized him as a football legend and spared him the dreaded fate of being sent to Siberia.

Fritz Walter was the No.1 for us. He was also the team captain. He was the long arm of Sepp Herberger. And when Fritz Walter played well, we all played well. But Walter's war experiences left him scarred. Since catching malaria he found it particularly difficult playing in hot conditions. It was well known that the worse the weather, the better Fritz played.

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bookmaker: n. 赌注登记经纪人(赛马等)的接受和赔偿赌注的人

unquestioned: adj. 无疑问的

in high places: 在上层人士间