History of Germany captains: From Fritz Walter through to Joshua Kimmich
Joshua Kimmich is the newest permanent captain for Germany’s national team, and he has some big boots to fill when looking at his illustrious predecessors. Fritz Walter, Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthäus and Philipp Lahm have all lifted the World Cup before him. Who else has led one of football’s greatest nations?
Well over 100 men have worn the armband for Germany at some stage or another in the country’s now more than 1,000-game history, but the following players are recognised as being appointed captains.
Fritz Walter
A man named Arthur Hiller was the first player to captain Germany when they played their inaugural official international fixture against Switzerland on 5 April 1908. However, Walter was the first full-time captain of post-war Germany, chosen by legendary coach Sepp Herberger, whose response when Walter asked not to be picked anymore after a bad loss to France in 1952 was: “I need you for many more years!”
Walter spent his entire professional career at hometown club Kaiserslautern, whose stadium now bears his name, and earned 61 caps for Germany. Those came either side of a spell as a prisoner of war in Romania in 1945, where he was recognised as a footballer and saved from a Siberian gulag. The inside forward led Germany 30 times between 1951 and 1956, going down in history as the country’s first World Cup-winning captain after Germany stunned Hungary in the so-called Miracle of Bern in the 1954 final. The DFB’s prestigious medal for the country’s best youth players is named after Walter.
Hans Schäfer
Schäfer was described by many as the best outside left in the world following the 1954 World Cup triumph. Born in Cologne, where he would spend his entire playing career and also die in 2017, the man known as De Knoll would then captain Germany at the 1958 edition in Sweden, leading the team out in all six games and scoring three goals as they finished fourth.
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However, he wouldn’t represent his country for another three years after that, until Herberger decided his form – helping Cologne to the 1961/62 championship – couldn’t be ignored and included Schäfer in the squad for the 1962 World Cup in Chile. Although aged 34, he captained Germany in all four matches, with the last of his 39 caps (14 as skipper) coming in the 1-0 loss to Yugoslavia in Santiago on 10 June. The following year, he was named Germany’s Player of the Year and helped Cologne to the inaugural Bundesliga title in 1963/64. The south stand of the RheinEnergieStadion is named after him.
Known as Uns Uwe (Our Uwe) in his native Hamburg, Seeler was one of the greatest goalscorers Germany has ever produced, scoring 43 times from 72 caps, plus over 400 goals for boyhood club HSV. He made his Germany debut after the 1954 World Cup and first made a name for himself internationally at the 1958 edition. His first game as captain was in a 5-1 win over Denmark in 1961, where the 5’7’’ striker scored a hat-trick of headers. Schäfer’s return in 1962 meant Seeler took a step back but became full-time captain after the tournament in Chile, leading West Germany to the 1966 final in England.
Watch: Uwe Seeler's life and career
Although he retired from international duty in 1968, coach Helmut Schön convinced the experienced forward to return, being named captain again and playing off Gerd Müller at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where he got his last international goal in the quarter-final against England. That meant he’d scored in four World Cups – a feat only otherwise achieved by Pelé, Miroslav Klose and Cristiano Ronaldo. Seeler managed it three minutes before Pelé got his goal in 1970. The HSV legend captained Germany in 40 of his 72 games before his ultimate international retirement in 1970.
Wolfgang Overath was originally seen as Seeler’s successor as captain, but Beckenbauer was his deputy and first led out his country in April 1971 in Turkey, having made his debut back in 1965. And when Overath missed a few games in 1972, Germany had its first Bayern Munich captain as the man now known as the Kaiser took on the role full time and would help shape one of the country’s golden eras.
Watch: Franz Beckenbauer - the face of German football
The libero captained Germany to their first European Championship title in 1972 – the same year he won the Ballon d’Or and led the country to their first away win over England. He surpassed Seeler as Germany’s most capped player with 73 in November 1973 before going to his third World Cup – this time on home soil – where the Bayern hero lifted the trophy at his home ground after a 2-1 final win over the Netherlands. A runners-up finish at Euro 1976 means Beckenbauer is the only player to appear in two Euro and World Cup finals, while his 1977 move to the New York Cosmos spelled the end of his international career that spanned 103 games – all starts, only being subbed off six times – and saw him feature in 60 consecutive matches (a record) from 9 September 1970 to his last outing on 23 February 1977. That run included 50 games as captain. He's the only other man alongside Didier Deschamps of France to have won the World Cup as both captain and coach.
No player has made as many appearances in the Bundesliga for Borussia Mönchengladbach as Vogts, and the defender was also a cornerstone of the national team for over a decade. He featured in 85 percent of Germany’s fixtures between his debut in May 1967 and his last match at the 1978 World Cup, earning 96 caps – 95 of them starts and the last 20 as captain.
Watch: Berti Vogts - the Terrier and Gladbach legend
He played at the 1974 World Cup and Euro 1976 before succeeding Beckenbauer as captain in April 1977, leading Germany to the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. He scored an own goal past Sepp Maier in what would turn out to be his final international game in the 3-2 loss to Austria in Córdoba in the second group stage that meant elimination. Vogts returned to the Germany fold – again as Beckenbauer’s successor – as coach in 1990, leading the recently reunified country to a runners-up finish at Euro 1992 and glory four years later in England before stepping down after the 1998 World Cup.
Bernhard Dietz
The aforementioned Maier was named new Germany captain by incoming coach Jupp Derwall after the 1978 World Cup, but he only skippered six games before having to retire after a serious car accident. Dietz was already his deputy, so the Duisburg defender stepped up full time and led the team at Euro 1980, where he got to lift the trophy after the 2-1 win over Belgium. “You can hardly believe that the little worker from the Ruhr was suddenly up there and a European champion,” the former defender said afterwards.
It is perhaps a remarkable feat given that he spent most of his career with Duisburg (spanning over 400 games) and later Schalke battling against relegation. In fact, the 19-time captain of Germany holds the Bundesliga record for most games lost (221), but Dietz still holds a place in history as a title-winning captain of his country.
Fresh from helping Bayern win the last two of their three consecutive European Cups in the 1970s, Rummenigge was handed his senior Germany debut in October 1976 and wore the armband for the first time late in the Euro 1980 clash with the Netherlands. Once Dietz fell out of consideration, the forward was named new Germany captain by Derwall in 1981 and led the team to the final of the 1982 World Cup, scoring five goals in Spain but losing 3-1 to Italy at the very end.
Again ‘Kalle’ was the leader at the 1986 edition in Mexico, this time under the management of his former Bayern teammate and captain Beckenbauer. Although not fully fit, he helped Germany turn around a 2-0 deficit to Argentina in the final before Diego Maradona set up Jorge Burruchaga’s winner at the Azteca. It was his 51st and final game as captain (a record at the time), with his second World Cup final loss also the last of his 95 caps.
Matthäus had made his senior international debut at Euro 1980 and appeared at nine major tournaments through to Euro 2000, earning a record 150 caps over his 20-year Germany career. His 75 games, so exactly half, were as captain, having first led the team out in March 1987. That was a year before the midfielder made his move from Bayern to Inter Milan. It was there where he earned the reputation of being one of the best players in the world, and would later be described by Maradona as the best rival he ever had.
Watch: Lothar Matthäus - a world football legend
It was also in Italy where Matthäus enjoyed his greatest hour for the national team, leading them to World Cup glory in 1990 with a 1-0 final win over Maradona’s Argentina in Rome. That year he was named Germany’s Footballer of the Year and won the Ballon d’Or, as well as numerous other personal accolades. Injuries and a disagreement with coach Vogt meant he didn’t play at Euro 1992 or 1996 – when Germany were runners-up and winners respectively – but did become the first outfield player to appear at five World Cups when he featured at France ’98. His last international outing was at Euro 2000, having already moved to New York City’s MetroStars from Bayern in March that year.
From starting out at Stuttgarter Kickers to spells in Italy, England, Monaco, the USA and South Korea, Klinsmann’s playing and coaching career has taken him all around the world. The prolific striker ranks joint-fourth on Germany’s all-time list with 47 goals alongside Rudi Völler and fourth again for caps with 108, starting in 1987. His performance against Netherlands in the 1990 World Cup round of 16 was described by Süddeutsche Zeitung as “almost perfect” as Germany went on to lift the trophy.
He would net five goals in 1994 and three more in 1998 to become the first player to score in three consecutive World Cups, while he also captained his country at the latter, having first worn the armband in early 1995 during his time at Tottenham Hotspur. Klinsmann would then lead Germany to further glory on English soil, lifting the trophy at Euro 1996 while a Bayern player. He would later go on to coach Germany at the home World Cup in 2006, as well as spells in charge of the USA and South Korea. He is one of only three men alongside Morten Olsen and Didier Deschamps to have both played in and coached over 100 senior international matches.
Oliver Bierhoff
Striker Bierhoff enjoyed the best days of his playing career in Italy and was 27 by the time he won his first senior cap in February 1996, but he was included in the squad for the Euros and famously came off the bench to score the equaliser and subsequent golden goal in the final victory over the Czech Republic. The former Hamburg and Gladbach man scored the fastest hat-trick in Germany history (six minutes) against Northern Ireland in a 1998 World Cup qualifier.
It was after that tournament, where he scored three goals, that the then AC Milan man succeeded Klinsmann as captain and led the team into Euro 2000, but got injured at an open training session after the first group game. Although he went to the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, earning the last of his 70 caps in the final defeat to Brazil, Bierhoff’s last of 23 outings as skipper had come in a qualifier in October 2001.
Kahn was the latest in a long line of world-class German goalkeepers, making his debut in June 1995 but not claiming the number one spot until after Andreas Köpke’s retirement after France ‘98. He was one of German football’s more colourful characters and a huge presence at the back, first getting to wear the armband late on in a friendly against the Czech Republic in June 2000 and going on to deputise for the injured Bierhoff at the Euros.
Watch: Oliver Kahn - the Titan
Der Titan officially took on the rule in early 2002 and led Germany to the final of the 2002 World Cup, where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. It was little consolation after his mistake in the final allowed Ronaldo to score for Brazil. “It was the only mistake I made in seven games and it was brutally punished,” he said after. Kahn would retain the captaincy until after Euro 2004’s group elimination and would lead his team 49 times in his 86 appearances, including his last game in the third-place play-off at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where coach Klinsmann allowed him to play ahead of No.1 Jens Lehmann.
Ballack’s first cap came during his Kaiserslautern days in April 1999 under Erich Ribbeck, and he would go on to become one of Germany’s figureheads over the following decade. The midfielder earned places in the All-star team at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and in the Team of the Tournament at Euro 2004 and 2008. His first time wearing the armband came in the second half of a friendly against Malta in May 2004 in which he scored four goals.
Watch: Michael Ballack - a midfield marvel of the German game
Following the tournament in Portugal, new coach Klinsmann named him as Kahn’s successor, with Ballack going on to lead his country into the home World Cup and the final of Euro 2008. Unbeknownst to everyone, the last of his 98 caps and 54 games as captain came in a friendly on 3 March 2010. An ankle injury sustained in the FA Cup final for Chelsea ended up ruling him out of the summer’s World Cup in South Africa. Despite confirmation after the tournament by Joachim Löw that he remained the captain of the national team, Ballack wasn’t called up again.
Lahm had taken on the armband twice during matches before getting to lead Germany out as captain for the first time in a friendly against China in May 2009 before being named as Ballack’s cover for the 2010 World Cup. During the tournament, however, the Bayern defender stated he wished to remain as captain afterwards, finally being given the role officially in June 2011.
Watch: Philipp Lahm - Bayern and Germany's legendary captain
The full-back led Germany into Euro 2012 and reached the semis, before earning his 100th cap in a 2014 World Cup qualifier against Austria in September 2013. Lahm then played every minute of the tournament in Brazil, becoming the fourth man to lift the World Cup for Germany after the 1-0 win over Argentina in the final. It would be the last of his 113 caps – remarkably, all starts, with 51 as captain – as he announced his international retirement only five days later at the age of 30.
Lahm spent the majority of his club and international career playing alongside Schweinsteiger, who succeeded him as Germany skipper following the 2014 World Cup. The Bayern youth product had first appeared for the national team in June 2004 and featured at every major tournament after that.
Watch: Bastian Schweinsteiger - Bayern's Football God
The midfielder almost missed Euro 2016 due to an injury sustained late in the season with Manchester United but came off the bench to wrap up a 2-0 opening win against Ukraine and led the team out in the semi-final against France for his 120th cap. That was to be his last competitive fixture for his country, announcing his international retirement shortly after. Schweinsteiger’s testimonial alongside Lukas Podolski came against Finland in August of that year. He ranks sixth on the country’s all-time appearance chart with 121, of which he won 82 and led the team out 13 times.
Goalkeeper Neuer was swiftly named the new captain by coach Löw, although he was not the next person to lift a trophy for Germany. That honour went to Julian Draxler, who led somewhat of a B team to Confederations Cup glory in 2017. Neuer had the armband back for the World Cup in Russia the following year, having also worn it in Schweinsteiger’s absences since 2014.
Watch: The best of sweeper-keeper Manuel Neuer
He surpassed Maier as the goalkeeper with most caps in November 2020 and became the first keeper to reach a century for Germany in June 2017, also leading the country into the delayed Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup. A horrific skiing accident after that tournament kept Neuer out of the national team for 18 months and saw the captaincy eventually passed on after the goalkeeper had held the honour for 59 matches – second only to Matthäus. He announced his international retirement following Euro 2024.
Gündoğan had been in the national team fold since his Borussia Dortmund days in 2011. The Manchester City midfielder first led the team out in a November 2020 friendly against the Czech Republic and on a couple more occasions before doing so on a permanent basic in 2023 after Hansi Flick handed him the role in place of Neuer.
He retained the armband under new boss Julian Nagelsmann even after fellow Gelsenkirchen native Neuer returned to fitness, leading Germany into their home Euros in 2024. Gündoğan played in all five games as the hosts reached the quarter-finals before the then Barcelona man announced his international retirement after 82 caps, with 19 of those leading the team out.
The new incumbent actually first got to wear the armband before his predecessor when handed it late in the 2017 Confederations Cup semi-final. Kimmich has since been given the honour 17 times, including eight from the start. Now he’s got the role full time as the most experienced captain in Germany’s history, with the Bayern man boasting 91 caps already at the beginning of his official tenure.
It's easy to forget that Kimmich is still only 29, so he could be Germany’s figurehead for many more years to come. He starts with a UEFA Nations League campaign – one trophy Germany are yet to win – before targeting a place at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
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