German national team has money riding on World Cup

Associated Press

FRANKFURT, GERMANY

When Germany won its first major title in women’s soccer, coming home with the trophy from the 1989 European Championship, the players’ bonus was a coffee set. A tacky one to boot, with a design of red and blue blooming flowers — and a flaw.

The discount, second-choice product from a local manufacturer may have been a poor pick for a gift, but consider that this was the same German federation that had banned organized women’s soccer between 1955 and 1970.

The women’s game has come long way since its pioneer days. Should Germany win the Women’s World Cup, the players will be able to buy any tea set they want — and then some — with their bonuses of $85,410 each.

“The World Cup will give women’s soccer a new dimension,” says Katja Kraus, a former Germany goalkeeper who has risen to top management levels in the men’s Bundesliga.

Germany will be trying to become the first team to win three straight World Cups when it kicks off the three-week tournament against Canada on Sunday in Berlin’s Olympic stadium.

“This is going to be a great event to rival and maybe surpass the 1999 spectacle,” said ESPN analyst Tony DiCicco, who witnessed the sold-out stadiums and enthusiasm first-hand as the U.S. coach in 1999.

The Americans come into the World Cup as the top-ranked team in the world and defending Olympic champions. But it’s been 12 years since the “Golden Generation” — Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett and Kristine Lilly, just to name a few — won the United States’ second title, and the Americans have been uncharacteristically inconsistent of late.

After going more than two years without a loss, the U.S. dropped three games in five months. Germany has lost just three games since February 2009, though all three were to the Americans.