Nearly half a million jubilant Germans lined Berlin's fan mile, which stretches for 1.3 kilometres from the west of the city up to the famous Brandenburg Gates, to greet manager Joachim
Löw and his side after they became world champions with a 1-0 extra-time win over Argentina in Sunday's FIFA World Cup final at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Right-back and captain Philipp Lahm held the famous trophy aloft as he exited the plane first after it landed at the city's Tegel Airport earlier, followed by team mate Bastian Schweinsteiger who was draped in a German flag.

The team, all sporting matching black T-shirts with "1" on the front, then boarded an open-top bus and set off on a two-hour trip into Berlin as they lapped up the cheers from the thousands lining the root.

Germany has been in full-on party mode since Sunday's win, with television channels blanketing the airwaves with coverage and newspapers dedicating whole editions to the victory.

Germany captain Philipp Lahm holds the World Cup trophy aloft at Tegel Airport in Berlin ©Bongarts/Getty Images



Mario Götze's stunning volley in extra-time earned Germany its first World Cup win since 1990 and the first since the reunification of East and West.

That win at Italia 90 - also secured with a 1-0 win over Argentina - was the third time that West Germany, as it was known then, were crowned world champions following wins in 1954 and 1974.

It was also a first international title since the 1996 European Championships in England, where an Oliver Bierhoff golden goal saw them overcome Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium.

Manager Löw, who has been in charge of the German national side since 2006, bellowed to the crowd "we are world champions" when the team arrived at the Brandenburg Gate.

"It was a long way to the title, and an incredibly tough one in the end," added Löw, who was part of Jurgen Klinsmann's backroom staff when Germany finished third in 2006 when they hosted the World Cup.

"But we're incredibly happy to be here now."

Germany manager Joachim Löw leads the celebrations in Berlin today ©Getty Images



Meanwhile, midfielder Toni Kroos led the crowd in a chant of "Miro Klose" in 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 ahead of Ronaldo of Brazil.

After taking over from Klinsmann Löw guided Germany to another third place finish at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

They also finished as runners-up to Spain at the 2008 European Championships before losing out to the reigning champions at the semi-final stage in 2012.

More than 400,000 people lined the streets of the German capital to welcome home the 2014 FIFA World Cup winners ©Getty Images



Six of the starting 11 for Germany in yesterday's final played in the final of the 2009 European Under-21 Championship, which they won after beating England 4-0, including Manuel Neuer who picked up the Golden Glove award as goalkeeper of the tournament in Brazil.

With a relatively young squad Germany have already been installed as favourites for the 2016 European Championships in France and to retain their World Cup crown in Russia in 2018.

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