Uli Hesse in Germany

In Germany, there has been a lot of talk over the past few months about the Golden Generation. Not about the Portuguese team starring Rui Costa, Joao Pinto and Luis Figo, for which this phrase was originally coined. No, people are talking about our own Golden Generation - the current German team under coach Joachim Low.

Quite a few are even comparing the side to the legendary 1972 team, generally regarded as the best German team of all time. Exactly 40 years ago, the side defeated hosts Belgium in the semi-finals before demolishing the Soviet Union in the final to win the European Championships for the first time.