After retiring as a player, Völler was handed an executive role at Bayer Leverkusen.

He took on the role of Germany’s coach in 2000, following a spell as caretaker, when Christoph Daum was ruled-out of succeeding Erich Ribbeck following a drugs scandal.

Völler, who was faced with a difficult job following Ribbeck’s disastrous spell in charge, has rebuilt the team’s morale.

However, Germany's long-term success means the pressure will be on to at least reach the final - as they did against the odds at the 2002 World Cup - if not lift the trophy.