It has been a decade in the making and now Germany could well dominate for years to come

They never doubted it. Germany are World Cup winners and it has been ten years in the making.

It started out with Jurgen Klinsmann and passed down to Jaochim Low, who took the side to the next level and turned them into the ruthless, clinical, lethal machine that they are.

It was a tournament in which Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and most of all Neymar were supposed to shine. Well one certainly did, one did in flashes and one was not fit and didn’t get the chance.

The real stars of the tournament were the German national side, who may not have had one so called ‘star’ player, but who showed that the collective is far more important than the individual.

That is not to say there are not some star players in the side. In fact there are a fair few.

From Mats Hummels to Bastian Schweinsteiger, from Sami Khedria to Thomas Muller, they have stars make no mistake. They also have the all time top goal scorer in the competition, Miroslav Klose, and the best goalkeeper in the world by some distance, Manuel Neuer.

Neuer is a beast. He wants to be involved in the action. He can do everything a goalkeeper of years gone by could. He is commanding in the box, he marshals his back four, he saves pretty much everything that comes his way.

He is also a sweeper keeper and so confident coming miles out of his net that it seems like something every keeper should be doing. Neuer, more than any other, epitomises the German mentality and their will to win.

A Neymar type player may not be in the German starting eleven, but the winning goal, netted by Mario Gotze, was one of the best seen in the entire World Cup. The assist by Schurrle wasn’t too shabby either and Chelsea fans are chomping at the bit to see him return to Stamford Bridge and further come of age next season.

It is often said that in cup competitions, the team who go on to win it are the ones who get stronger and stronger throughout.

Well Germany started off by demolishing Portugal and went from there. Yes, draws against Ghana et al were not in the script, but what is a little blip when you beat Brazil 7-1? They got better with each passing game and it was clear to see.

As are the comparisons with La Roja, and indeed the ‘changing of the guard’ comments. Look at the Bundesliga and Bayern Munich – and compare it to the Spanish side and Barcelona’s influence. The parallels are clear to see.

Not only that, but the Spanish side also grew up together. They came through the under 21’s side and won trophies as kids together. The Germans are the same. This is not an overnight success. It has been something in the making for the last decade – and could well be seen into the next.

Footyettes. Do you think the Germans deserved to win the World Cup? Let us know your thoughts below or tweet us @LaFootyettes.