German football team given heroes' welcome

Hundreds of thousands of jubilant fans massed at Berlin´s Brandenburg Gate Tuesday to cheer the World Cup winners and new national heroes bringing home football´s top prize for the first time to a reunified Germany.

 

The flag-waving crowd, which began gathering before dawn, erupted in applause under warm summer sunshine when the triumphant players arrived from Rio de Janeiro.

 

Germany coach Joachim Loew told more than 250,000 supporters at the so-called Fan Mile stretching behind the Gate, the symbol of national unity, that they shared the title with his players.

 

Captain Philipp Lahm hoisted the World Cup trophy to a giant roar from the crowd.

 

Team members wearing black shirts emblazoned with the number one took the stage in groups to greet ecstatic supporters. They carried a long banner reading "Obrigado Fans", "thank you" in Portuguese in a nod to tournament hosts Brazil, and "the fourth title is ours".

Mario Goetze, who scored the only goal in Sunday´s nail-biter final against Argentina, called the Mannschaft´s win "a dream".

 

"We played an amazing tournament," he said. "It´s an incredible feeling."Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger appeared with the black, red and gold German flag draped from his shoulders, with a bandage still affixed below his eye from an injury he suffered in a clash during the final.

The players jumped and danced in a raucous circle on the stage, singing "this is how the Germans win, this is how the Germans win".

The team arrived in the late morning at Berlin´s Tegel airport on a Lufthansa jet rebranded "Fanhansa" for the occasion on one side and "Victors´ Plane" on the other, with thousands of fans waiting on a viewing platform.

 

Fans had lined the team´s route as black buses ferried the players to central Berlin from the airport, while construction workers waved from scaffoldings and dozens of cyclists followed the motorcade, their bicycles draped with Germany banners. (AFP)

Brazil´s Neymar out of World Cup with back injury - Team Doctor

Brazil forward Neymar has been ruled out of the World Cup after fracturing his vertebrae in the closing stages of the 2-1 quarter-final win over Colombia on Friday, his team said.

"It´s not serious in the sense that it doesn´t need surgery, but he´ll need to immobilize it to recover," team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said after the player had been taken to hospital.

"Unfortunately, he´s not going to be able to play," he said, adding he expected the recovery period to take at least a few weeks.

"Neymar, who has scored four goals in the tournament to lead Brazil´s bid for a sixth world title, went down after a challenge by Colombia´s Juan Zuniga in the 88th minute and looked to be in pain.

His side will face Germany in the semi-final in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday but the absence of Brazil´s poster boy is a major blow for the hosts.

The 22-year-old, who plays for Spanish club Barcelona, had to be carried off on a stretcher and was replaced by defender Henrique for the final minutes of the game.

"We lost Neymar on that play, and based on what I´ve seen, I think it´s going to be tough for him to play," Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari had earlier told reporters.

Many Brazil fans had gathered outside the Fortaleza hospital, shouting "Forca Neymar" (be strong Neymar) as the player was being wheeled into the building.

Brazil beat Colombia 2-1 to take World Cup semi-final place

David Luiz smashed a 30-metre free kick to give Brazil a 2-1 victory over Colombia in Fortaleza on Friday and set up a World Cup semi-final clash against Germany.

But worryingly for the hosts striker Neymar was stretchered off the pitch late in the game and Brazil captain Thiago Silva scored his first World Cup goal and then got himself booked and suspended for the semi-final against Germany.

Colombia´s James Rodriguez scored a consolation goal for Colombia with his sixth goal of the tournament, from the penalty spot.