An estimated 400,000 people packed the 'fan mile' in front of Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate to welcome home coach Joachim Löw's team and the trophy - which returned to Germany for the first time in 24 years.
'We're all world champions!' Löw told the crowd.
'Of course, it was a long way to the title, and an incredibly tough one in the end. But we're incredibly happy to be here with the fans now.'
Thousands of Germany fans line the streets as
the national football team makes its way through the crowds to Berlin's
landmark Brandenburg Gate in an open top truck to celebrate winning the
World Cup
The team climbed aboard an open top truck for
the last part of the trip to the Brandenburg Gate, inching its way
forward through cheering crowds
German fans wait for the players during their team's victory ceremony in Berlin today
Mats Hummels, Philipp Lahm, Erik Durm, Benedikt
Höwedes and Thomas Müller play air guitar during celebrations to mark
the team's 2014 Brazil World Cup victory at the 'fan mile' public
viewing zone
Mario Götze and Miroslav Klose lead the celebrations with teammates during the victory celebrations
Mario Goetze, the scorer in the 1-0 win over Argentina in the final on Sunday, was greeted with deafening cheers by the sea of fans waving black, red and gold Germany flags.
Midfielder Toni Kroos led the crowd in a chant of 'Miro Klose' - a tribute to veteran striker Miroslav Klose, whose two goals took his World Cup tally to 16 and made him the tournament's all-time leading scorer.
The team's plane touched down at Berlin's Tegel Airport this morning after over the 'fan mile' - which by then had been packed for hours.
Captain Philipp Lahm led the team off the aircraft with the trophy held aloft, to cheers and a chorus of 'Football's Coming Home' from fans on the airport's viewing terrace.
He was followed by midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, draped in a German flag and sporting a plaster under his right eye, the result of a cut in the 1-0 win over Argentina in the final on Sunday.
From the airport, the team set off for downtown Berlin in a bus painted with the years of Germany's World Cup victories, before climbing aboard an open-top truck for the last part of the trip to the Brandenburg Gate, inching its way forward through cheering crowds.
Mario Götze and Toni Kroos applaud fans during celebrations to mark the team's 2014 Brazil World Cup victory
Mario Götze, Andre Schuerrle and Toni Kroos celebrate their World Cup victory with fans at the 'fan mile' public viewing area
Thomas Müller lifts the World Cup trophy as an
estimated 400,000 supporters pack the 'fan mile' in front of Berlin's
landmark Brandenburg Gate. Manager Joachim Löw (pictured with Julian
Draxler) told the crowd 'We're all world champions!' at the victory
celebrations
World Cup-winning goalscorer Mario Götze, right,
and Julian Draxler, centre, hold the trophy while goalkeeper Roman
Weidenfeller, left, looks on, as the team arrived in Berlin today
Forward Lukas Podolski posted a selfie with Schweinsteiger and the trophy. He tweeted: 'The Cup is in Berlin!!!'
Mario Götze, who scored the winner in the final, tweeted: 'Wow, what's going on here ... AMAZING!'
The 'Fan Mile' started filling up hours before the arrival, with some waiting overnight to get a place at the front.
'We're all excited to see what it will be like,' Schweinsteiger told ARD television. 'This time, thank God, we have the cup with us.
'It will only sink in for us in the next few days.'
Thomas Müller lifts the trophy next to
goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, centre right, as the open top truck makes its
way through the crowds
Thomas Müller and Per Mertesacker celebrate with
the World Cup trophy as they ride in an open top truck to Berlin's
Brandenburg Gate
Mesut Özil, Benedikt Höwedes and Per Mertesacker celebrate as the open top truck makes its way through the crowds in Berlin
The German football squad arrives in central
Berlin on an open top truck with the World Cup trophy, surrounded by
thousands of jubilant fans
An estimated 400,000 people packed the 'fan
mile' in front of Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate to welcome home
coach Joachim Löw's team and the trophy
The team's plane was delayed in Rio de Janeiro
for about an hour after a luggage truck hit the aircraft and damage to
the paintwork had to be inspected. Pictured is the open top truck as it
makes its way through thousands of fans
Thousands of German football fans descended on
to the Fan Mile at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin today to welcome home
their World Cup-winning heroes
The team's plane touched down at Berlin's Tegel
Airport midmorning after circling the 'fan mile' in front of the
landmark Brandenburg Gate
The
team's plane was delayed in Rio de Janeiro for about an hour after a
luggage truck hit the aircraft and damage to the paintwork had to be
inspected.
Germany fans across the world have been celebrating since the dramatic last-gasp winner from Mario Götze in the World Cup final on Sunday.
The goal, which came in the 113th minute of the match against Argentina, ensured Germany became World Cup winners for the fourth time following their victories in 1954, 1974 and 1990 - the first time as a unified nation.
Midfielder Götze, 22, came on as a substitute to net the winner, controlling the ball with his chest before volleying it into the Argentine goal, making the Germans the first European team to win the title in South America.
Following the victory Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said: 'We're going to celebrate for at least five weeks now.
Germany fans across the world have been celebrating since the dramatic last-gasp winner from Mario Götze in the World Cup final on Sunday.
The goal, which came in the 113th minute of the match against Argentina, ensured Germany became World Cup winners for the fourth time following their victories in 1954, 1974 and 1990 - the first time as a unified nation.
Midfielder Götze, 22, came on as a substitute to net the winner, controlling the ball with his chest before volleying it into the Argentine goal, making the Germans the first European team to win the title in South America.
Following the victory Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said: 'We're going to celebrate for at least five weeks now.
Germany's captain Philipp Lahm holds the World
Cup trophy aloft as he leads teammates Sebastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas
Müller and Sami Khedira, off the plane after arriving at Tegel Airport
in Berlin
Manager Joachim Löw makes his way from the plane
at Berlin Tegel Airport as the German national team return after
winning the 2014 World Cup
Captain Philipp Lahm holds up the World Cup as
the victorius German national team returns home. Lahm led the team off
the plane after it landed in Berlin, followed by midfielder Bastian
Schweinsteiger
Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm, Lars Bender, Sami
Khedira and Toni Kroos make their way from the plane with the World Cup
trophy after landing at Berlin Tegel Airport
From the airport, the team set off for downtown
Berlin in a bus painted with the years of Germany's World Cup victories:
The previous occasions were in 1954, 1974 and 1990
Philipp Lahm, Thomas Müller, Sebastian
Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira wave at fans after arriving at Tegel
airport in Berlin today
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer poses with the pilots and the World Cup trophy as his team make their way home from Brazil
'At some point we'll stop celebrating but we'll always keep waking up with a smile.'
After seeing out the final moments of the game, the German team and their fans, both back in Germany and in the stadium, burst into wild celebrations as the final whistle blew, while rivals Argentina looked to be ruing their missed opportunities to win the game earlier in the match.
Argentinian star Lionel Messi appeared stunned and close to tears as the Germans marked their win, having blasted the ball over the bar in the last seconds of the match.
The Die Welt newspaper celebrated Germany's victory with a three-word headline in the national colors of black, red and gold that read simply: 'It is true,' while Der Spiegel magazine's website listed Germany's titles: '1954. 1974. 1990. 2014!'
German astronaut Alexander Gerst congratulated the team from the International Space Station on its 'top performance.' He tweeted a picture of himself in a Germany jersey with an extra fourth star - 'as experts on stars, we already got one.'
Airport staff and fans wave at the Germany
football team as they leave the airport and head towards central Berlin
for the homecoming party
Germany fans wait in front of a stage installed as part of a victory parade for the World Cup-winning football team
The players were due to make the last part of the trip to the Brandenburg Gate on an open truck
Germany's Philipp Lahm lifts the World Cup and
celebrates victory with team-mates after the FIFA World Cup Final at the
Estadio do Maracana, Rio de Janerio, in Brazil
Supporters of the German national football team
celebrate as they gather on the 'Fan Mile' at the landmark Brandenburg
Gate in Berlin this morning to wait for the return of the victorious
team
Thousands descended on the area to attend the
party in the German capital, although the team itself was delayed for
about an hour in Rio de Janeiro
German fans gather in front of a giant screen
replaying the departure from Rio de Janeiro of the plane carrying
Germany's World Cup-winning football team
Twitter released the figures just hours before the Germany's victorious team were due to arrive in Berlin, another event which was predicted to have the country's football fans taking to social media to share their celebrations.
The most-tweeted about event during the entire tournament was perhaps its most astonishing - the 7-1 demolition of hosts Brazil by Germany in the first semi-final.
That remarkable result created a Twitter frenzy, with more than 35.6 million tweets about the match, a new Twitter record for a single event. The final itself garnered 32.1 million tweets.
The top five most-tweeted moments of the World Cup were all about Germany, with three coming during the win over Brazil.
Fans enjoy the atmosphere as they wait for the players during the German team victory ceremony in Berlin
Germany fans across the world have been
celebrating since the dramatic last-gasp winner from Mario Götze in the
World Cup final on Sunday
The winning goal, which came in the 113th minute
of the match against Argentina, ensured Germany became World Cup
winners for the fourth time following their victories in 1954, 1974 and
1990 - the first time as a unified nation
Midfielder Götze, 22, came on as a substitute to
net the winner, controlling the ball with his chest before volleying it
into the Argentine goal, making the Germans the first European team to
win the title in South America
The moment that had Twitter users tweeting most was when Germany finally beat Argentina in the final, with 618,725 tweets coming every minute.
Brazil star Neymar, injured in his country's quarter-final win over Colombia, was the most mentioned player of the tournament, followed by Argentina's maestro Messi and, thanks to the now infamous biting incident, Uruguay's Luis Suarez in third.
Twitter said in a blog about the World Cup: 'While this is the highest number we've announced related to an event, it's hard to compare the 32-day, 64-match World Cup to, for example, the single-game Super Bowl, the one-night Oscars, or the 16-day Olympics.'
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