German football fans in Berlin make their glee known during the England match
Germany fans took to the streets to celebrate their historic win in Hamburg
Berlin's Fan Mile became a whirl of German flags
'Thanks lads - that was your revenge for Wembley!'
The headline on the Bild newspaper website last night summed up the arrogance, pride and joy of a nation whose young team steamrollered England out of the World Cup.
'What a beautiful revenge for Wembley,' the paper added, in reference to the 1966 England World Cup goal which most people in the Fatherland refuse to admit was a goal at all.
Amid much other ranting it went on to report, in English, the three cruellest words for the Three Lions; 'Bye, bye England!'
The open spaces of the northern German city of Hamburg became a heaving mass of supporters
Businesses are expecting high rates of absenteeism today as the celebrations continued through much of the night and into the early hours of the morning
Germany captain Philipp Lahm is seen on giant display before the start of the screening of the match at the 'Fan Mile' public viewing arena in Berlin
A couple boasting German flags on their faces share a celebratory kiss in Düsseldorf
Bild's website today trumped - in English 'Jungs, we love you!', while touching on the Lampard goal controversy by adding: '44 years after Wembley, Thank you, Football God!'
he Hamburg Morgen Post celebrated with a simple 'Yes!' on its front page today, while the Rheinische Post ran a picture of Frank Lampard's disallowed goal headlined 'Revenge for Wembley'
Meanwhile the Deggendorfer Zeitung and Der Tagesspiegel both looked ahead to Argentina
Today the newspaper declared; ‘Jungs (lads) - We Love You!’
It went on; ‘It was true England were robbed of a goal by the referee but we were so strong we would have gone on to win anyway.
‘This is a game that will never be forgotten.’
'Germany have played themselves with style into the next round,' said the staid Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. And on the same Wembley-revenge theme added; 'The referee missed the 'Wembley goal' but our double-pack in the second half sent them home in style,'
'Such a great result against England has never been achieved by Germany before,' said Der Spiegel magazine.
Capello's grim expression only got grimmer as the match progressed. The morale of the English was broken on the pitch. Germany deserved its win.'
It also showed a photo of Rolling Stone Mick Jagger in the stadium with the words, also in English, used around the world to sum up England’s gloom: 'We can’t get no satisfaction.'
'Quits for Wembley,' said the BZ tabloid in Berlin. 'That goal in 1966 wasn’t a real one but England went on to win. Not this time.
'There will now be a debate about video playbacks on the field. But that is for another day. For now, we are on the way to victory in the World Cup!'
And so on. Across Germany there was an outpouring of emotion not seen since - said some commentators - the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Over half a million people watched the game at the Fan Mile site in Berlin alone and later headed into the city to quench their thirsts and strut their stuff.
'I can’t believe we have handed down such a thrashing to a team that came into the tournament as one of the favourites,' said Jan-Philip Litz, 23, a child care worker from Bielefeld who travelled to the capital for the match.
'I really thought it would be all over for us. But England were tired and lame. Where was Rooney? What is the hype around him anyway?
'I wasn’t here when the Berlin Wall came down but some old guys were and they said it was a great night - but this is better. After all, we hate the English footballers more than we hated the Communists, they said.'
German confidence in the team is now sky high and most believe they have the enthusiasm and skill to take down Argentina when they clash at the weekend.
Absenteeism was expected to be high at factories and offices across the country today as the parties celebrating victory lasted late into the night.
Teams of municipal workers toiled into the early hours clearing up the Fan Miles in places like Düsseldorf, Berlin and Munich where hundreds of thousands gathered to watch the action on
Brewers said beer purchases jumped by seven percent over the past few days, aided by a hot spell as well as by the goal-getting skills of the national 11.
Traffic snarl-ups were reported in some towns as people piled into their cars following victory to put on the kind of motorised fiesta usually seen in South American countries after a football success.
Cars with horns blaring drove down the main Kurfuerstendamm in Berlin afterwards where drivers chanted; 'England’s going home, they’re going home, they’re going home!'
In Hamburg posters of the England team were burned on a fire called ‘Die drei Loewen Grillfest’ - the three lions barbecue.
At Irish - and the odd English - bars across Germany, the mood was less celebratory.
Paul Shdelburn, 22, an IT specialist in Munich from Deal, Kent, said; 'They never fail to let you down. What a bunch of carthorses. That goal that was disallowed that could have been so vital in the end didn't mean s**t.'
David Miller, 44, from, Brentford, Middlesex, working as an engineer in Berlin, saw the game in Cafe Floh in Grunewald, Berlin.
He said: 'The whole English team has to be nuked and reconstructed from the ground up. We scored three goals in this entire World Cup, for Christ's sake. I hope these expensive 'athletes' - and Rooney in particular - think long and hard about the con they are pulling on us.'
'Terrible, rubbish, humiliating,' said Wayne Phillips, 32, a carpenter in Berlin. 'Makes you feel ashamed. Putting up with my workmates jibes over the next week will be a task.'
On the Fan Mile in Berlin, English supporters began putting up the Agincourt salute - two fingers - after the first two German goals.
Uli Schachtler, a self-described German 'mega-fan' from Bremen said; 'You English run on dreams and we run on stamina and training. Get wiz ze programme!'
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