Yesterday a BBC report found that Germany was the most positively viewed major country on the globe in a poll conducted in 22 countries.
But in footballing terms a love-in is certainly deserved. Germany has managed to restructure its football landscape from top to bottom, which has yielded great returns for its national and club sides.
It can be argued whether tomorrow's all German Champions League final is a flash in the pan or the start of a period of dominance.
In any case, you might want to enjoy tomorrow's Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund match in authentic fashion - by learning a bit of the lingo.
I love Jurgen Klopp = Ich liebe Jurgen Klopp
Everyone loves the Dortmund manager. Maybe even Bayern does deep down. But if you are worried that 'I love Jurgen Klopp' is part of a sentence that must end with '...and I would love to have his babies...', you can go with the much safer "Jurgen Klopp is a legend" which is "Jurgen Klopp ist eine Legende".
Football = Fuβball
Pretty self explanatory. Or if you want to call it the beautiful game, you can say "das schöne Spiel".
Mario Gotze is a traitor = Mario Gotze ist ein Verräter.
The young German star announced that he was leaving Dortmund, who he joined aged 9, to hook up with their biggest rivals Bayern Munich just weeks before this final. In a sense, he is lucky that he won't be facing his future team tonight. Imagine if he had to take a penalty in a shootout!
Goal = Torschuss/Tor/Treffer/Ziel
Hopefully it isn't a cagey affair and a few of these go in.
Striker = Stürmer
This is on Robert Lewandowski and Mario Mandzukic's CVs in big bold letters. If rumours are true Lewandowski's agent has been spamming big clubs around Europe with a very impressive resumé. It reads quite well. Apparently he speaks Polish, German and English, and scored four goals in a Champions League semi-final match against Real Madrid.
Pass the ball! = den Ball zuspielen!
Bastian Schweinsteiger is quite good at this, as are most modern German players. Incidentally, Schweinsteiger's name roughly translates as "pig climber" which may or may not be a euphimism. His team-mates have been known to call him "Schweini" which means "Piggy". Unconfirmed reports suggest he doesn't like it.
Penalty = Strafstoß/Elfmeter
No player wants to miss one of these in front of a global audience of billions. Germans are quite good at this. The English considerably less so.
Red card = rote Karte
No one wishes this on any of the players on show at Wembley tomorrow. But if one of these is shown, you can blame this guy...
Referee = Schiedsrichter/Schiri
'Schiri' is easiest to use especially when you are starting a sing-song like "the referee's a...".
Yes = Ja
Pronounce as "JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" provided things are going your way. However if the opposite is true...
No = Nein
Scream the number '9' and elongate as per your choosing.
Beer = bier
Germans know their beers.
It's better for Pep Guardiola if Bayern lose = es wäre besser für Pep Guardiola, wenn Bayern verliert
Pep Guardiola has a tough act to follow when Juup Heynckes steps down as Bayern boss. This will be even more daunting if Bayern win tomorrow.
The way the German Football Federation has restructured its game from top to bottom, with a particular emphasis on youth development is an example to us all = ?
Ah here, leave it out!
