The Germany women's national football team represents Germany in international women's association football and is directed by the German Football Association (DFB). Initially called "West Germany" in informal English, the team played its first international match in 1982. After German reunification in 1990, the DFB squad remained the national team of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The German national team is one of the most successful in women's football. They are two-time world champions, having won the 2003 and 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup. Germany is the only nation to have won both the men's and the women's World Cup. The team has won seven of the ten UEFA Women's Championships, claiming five titles in a row. Germany has won three bronze medals at the Women's Olympic Football Tournament, finishing third in 2000, 2004 and 2008. Birgit Prinz holds the record for most appearances and is the team's all-time leading goalscorer. Prinz has also set international records; she has received the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times and is the joint overall top goalscorer at the Women's World Cup.
Women's football was long met with scepticism in Germany, and official matches were banned by the DFB until 1970. But the women's national team has grown in popularity since winning the World Cup in 2003, when it was also chosen as Germany's Sports Team of the Year. Silvia Neid has been the team's head coach since 2005, succeeding Tina Theune after nine years as her assistant. As of December 2012, Germany is ranked No. 2 in the FIFA Women's World Rankings, behind only the United States. (Full article...)