Sport in Germany

Germany is a leading sporting nation which has had success in a wide range of sports.

Motorsport

Michael Schumacher has claimed 91 race victories and 7 championships in his F1 career.

Germany is one of the leading motorsports countries in the world. Countless race winning cars and drivers have come from Germany. The most successful Formula One driver in history, Michael Schumacher rewrote the record books during his career. He has won more Formula One championships and races than any other driver since Formula One's debut season in 1946. In 2003 Schumacher set a new record for driver's championships, the former record of 5 was set by Juan Manuel Fangio and had stood for 46 years since 1957. He is also the highest paid athlete in sports history, with an annual salary of some $70 Million U.S. from the Ferrari team and it is believed he acquired around $25-30 million more from endorsements. In 2005 he became the worlds first billionaire athlete, according to Eurobusiness magazine. He is considered to be one of the greatest of all time as he won 7 championships before retiring, more than any other driver ever achieved. He is by far the most successful driver ever, holding all significant records in F1.

The DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) is the national touring car series. It is considered one of the best touring car series in the world. Many Formula 1 drivers have made the switch to the series, including, Mika Häkkinen, Jean Alesi and others. From 1995 only German marks of cars are allowed to compete in the series. Currently only Audi and Mercedes-Benz compete, but BMW, Opel and Alfa Romeo have a history in the sport. The races are held mainly in Germany, but some races occur around Europe. The races draw monster crowds and TV ratings and many celebrities have attended race days.

The 24 hours of Le Mans is a prestigious annual race held in France, Porsche has won the race 16 times, far more than any other constructor.

VLN is Germany's most popular series.

Olympics

In the all-time Olympic Games medal count through 2006 Germany ranks fifth, East Germany seventh and West Germany twenty-first. If all the medals are combined Germany ranks third. Germany has hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice, in Berlin in 1936 and in Munich in 1972. Germany hosted the Winter Olympic Games once, in 1936 when they were staged in the Bavarian twin towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen. Germany claimed the most gold medals and the most total medals during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

Football (soccer)

Main article: Football in Germany

Germany's top level football league, known as the Bundesliga, has the third highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world after the U.S.A.'s National Football League. As of 2005, the Bundesliga is placed 5th in UEFA rankings, which are based on the performance of clubs in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup. [1]

Bayern Munich (German: Bayern München) is the most successful German football club, with 20 national championships and 4 European Champions titles (3 European Cups and 1 Champions League) to its credit. Like many other German football clubs, Bayern Munich is a multi-sport club.

The German national football team is one of the traditional powers of international football. It won the FIFA World Cup in 1954, 1974 and 1990 and the European Football Championship in 1972 and 1980 as West Germany and in 1996 as Germany. Gerd Müller is the leading goal scorer for the national team with 68 goals, but his fame is perhaps eclipsed by that of Franz Beckenbauer. Germany also hosted the FIFA World Cup 1974 and the FIFA World Cup 2006, in which they placed third after losing a close semi-final contest to eventual cup winners Italy.

The women's national team is also a world power, with its wins of the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2003 and 2007, making Germany the only nation to win both the men's and women's World Cup and European titles – a rarity for a nation where the center of attention is usually the men's game. Women have their own Bundesliga, but it is semi-professional and does not command the fan support the men's competitions do.

Rugby Union

Rugby union reached Germany through affluent British students, who attended renowned private grammar schools in the German Confederation or studied in Heidelberg; others completed their military service in Hanover and played rugby in their spare time. This has influenced German rugby to this day: Heidelberg and Hanover are the centres of the sport in Germany.

The first German rugby team existed at Neuenheim College - now called Heidelberg College - in Heidelberg. Around 1850, the game started to attract the attention of the students. Students under the guidance of the teacher Edward Hill Ullrich were the ones who then founded the Heidelberger Ruderklub von 1872 (HRK 1872) in 1872, which is today the oldest German rugby club.

The German Rugby Federation was set up in 1900. Germany was Olympic silver medallist in rugby union in 1900 and beat France twice in the 1930s.

The Nazis barely tolerated rugby as it was 'too English' a sport. As a result it lost its financial support and much of the popularity it had gained in the western and northern cities of Heidelberg, Hanover, and Frankfurt. The sport was decimated by World War II as most of the players were killed.

However, today the sport is experiencing a major resurgence with over 10,000 registered players and 100 clubs across Germany. The Germany national rugby union team currently competes in the Second Division of the European Nations Cup, with promotion to the First Division possible in the coming season.

Bobsled

Germany has long been dominant in the sport of Bobsledding having won more medals in the Winter Olympics than any other nation except Switzerland. However, if medal wins by East Germany and West Germany from 1949 through 1990 are combined, Germany's medal count is nearly double that of Switzerland. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Andre Lange piloted both the two-man and four-man sleds to gold, sweeping the men's bobsledding events.

Cycling

Cycling is a popular sport in Germany and one of the greatest riders of recent times Jan Ullrich dominated the Tour de France in 1997 to win by the largest margin in the history of the tour. He finished a full 9 minutes in front of second place rider Richard Virenque. Jan was regarded as Lance Armstrong's only consistent rival, finishing second to him several times in the Tour de France.

Other team sports

Other popular team sports in Germany include field hockey, ice hockey, basketball and handball. Germany was the main base for NFL Europa, an American football league, hosting five of the six teams at the time that the NFL folded the league in 2007. In domestic gridiron, the German Football League was founded in 1979. One of the most popular non-football athletes to come out of Germany is Dirk Nowitzki, who plays power forward for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA.

Individual sports

The two most successful German tennis players of all time are Steffi Graf and Boris Becker.

As of 2007 Germany hosts three events on golf's European Tour, the Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe, the Mercedes-Benz Championship and the BMW International Open. Two times Masters champion Bernhard Langer is the only German who has won a major championship and is a former World No. 1.