Das Reboot

A beautiful story, expertly told. --Per Mertesacker, Arsenal defender and member of the German national team, winners of the 2014 World Cup Estadio do Maracana, July 13, 2014, the last ten minutes of extra time in the World Cup Final: German forward Mario Gotze jumps to meet a floated pass from Andre Schurrle, cushions the ball with his chest, and in one fluid motion volleys the ball past the onrushing Argentine goalkeeper into the far corner of the net. The goal wins Germany the World Cup for the first time in almost thirty years. As the crowd roars, Gotze looks dazed, unable to comprehend what he has done. In Das Reboot, Raphael Honigstein charts the return of German soccer from the dreary functionality of the late 1990s to Gotze's moment of sublime, balletic genius and asks: How did this come about? The answer takes him from California to Stuttgart, from Munich to the Maracana, via Dortmund and Amsterdam. Packed with exclusive interviews with key figures, including Jurgen Klinsmann, Thomas Muller, Oliver Bierhoff, and many more, Honigstein's book reveals the secrets of German soccer's success.