After years of peaks and troughs – from the 7-1 in Brazil to the 6-0 in Spain – will Löw go out in a blaze of glory at Euro 2020?

Robert Lewandowski is a goalscoring genius, but he may never beat a record set by two Wolfsburg strikers 12 years ago

Raúl was 33 when he left Real Madrid for Schalke but he had not lost his competitive streak or his goalscoring touch

Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are separated by just three points at the top of the Bundesliga

RB Leipzig are unloved for a good reason, but they deserve respect for trusting young players, promoting exciting managers and challenging Bayern Munich’s hegemony

Germany began the year among the favourites to win the World Cup. They end it in the second tier of the Nations League

Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry are 34 and out of contract this summer. It may be time for Bayern Munich to bid them farewell

Paderborn topped the Bundesliga in 2014 but now face the prospect of playing amateur clubs in the fourth tier – unless 1860 Munich come to their rescue

Philipp Lahm has won eight Bundesliga titles, six German cups, the Champions League and the World Cup. Now he is going out at the top

A year ago Marco Russ was accused of doping and then diagnosed with testicular cancer. This week he helped Eintracht Frankfurt reach the German Cup final

Lukas Podolski professionalism, jovial charm and steely determination helped him win 130 caps and score 49 goals for Germany. He earned all the praise

Long before Red Bull took over a fifth-tier club and sullied Leipzig’s reputation, it was a place steeped in football history

Joshua Kimmich is the perfect Pep Guardiola player – smart, versatile and adept on the ball – and now he is even scoring goals for Bayern Munich and Germany

When Mario Götze scored the winner at the 2014 World Cup final, Mario Gómez was watching at home – if at all – but the striker has rediscovered his form at Besiktas and is likely to be the more effective forward for Germany at Euro 2016

They have both won the Bundesliga in the last decade but VfB Stuttgart are now coming to terms with relegation and VfL Wolfsburg are in need of a new identity

TSG Hoffenheim were just another village team until one of their former youth players decided to invest his fortune in the club. Now they are competing in the Bundesliga with the youngest head coach in the league’s history

Sceptics who judge Pep Guardiola solely on his Champions League results should recognise the good he has done for Germany’s football culture

Most managers are sacked after suffering relegation but SC Freiburg’s board and supporters stood by Christian Streich when they fell out of the Bundesliga this summer. The charismatic coach is proving that their faith was well founded