The Hall of Fame of German football officially opened at a star-studded event at the German Football Museum in Dortmund on Monday.

The first eleven players entered the pantheon amid much fanfare at the opening gala.

The line-up of legends reads:

Goalkeeper: Sepp Maier

Defenders: Franz Beckenbauer, Andreas Brehme and Paul Breitner

Midfielders: Fritz Walter, Lothar Matthäus, Matthias Sammer and Günter Netzer

Strikers: Gerd Müller, Uwe Seeler and Helmut Rahn

Sepp Herberger, the legendary coach of the German national team that won the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland

The German Football Museum in Dortmund A 60-year-old soccer ball This ball earned its scuffs in nominally neutral Switzerland in a Cold War World Cup matchup between the West Germans and Hungary. All three German national teams - East, West and the Saar Protectorate - were forced to sit out the 1950 Cup following World War II, so 1954 marked the reunited West Germany's return to international competition - and West Germany's first world championship.

The German Football Museum in Dortmund All about the ball It took 36 million euros ($41 million), 800 tons of steel and nine years from concept to completion. The German Football Museum (DFM) will add a splash of national tricolor to otherwise drab downtown Dortmund.

The German Football Museum in Dortmund 1954: The first of four world championships The Bern miracle pays tribute to the men who brought Germany's first World Cup home from neighboring Switzerland in 1954 - and also serves to show how much the body types of footballers have changed over the decades.

The German Football Museum in Dortmund Conspicuous absence Halftime comes early at the museum. Aside from the front-and-center artifacts - including the official luggage of the men's team - more serious history on the flanks details football under the Third Reich and the former socialist German Democratic Republic. Highly successful, but not pictured: women's football.

The German Football Museum in Dortmund Planet football Four meters (13 feet) in diameter, this giant illuminated football serves as the German Football Association's icon to itself and the national team that it has cobbled together. Oohs-and-ahhs footage of German glory plays on the giant ball's surface. Even those concerned by the indoctrinating allure of national team sports will enjoy it.

The German Football Museum in Dortmund Treasure chest of trophies A bit of a let-down after two action-packed films that feature the saves and shots that brought German football its most recent world glory, the trophy room displays replicas of the fruits of the national team's international conquests.

The German Football Museum in Dortmund Rest, but no relief Once one enters the exhibition space, there is no place to sit and tune out the museum's multimedia. You can park it for a bit on these attractive-looking stadium-style seats, but you'll have to ride a slow-spinning carousel and watch slapstick moments from German football history screen on the walls.

The German Football Museum in Dortmund Games inspired by the game Do your football instincts match up against the preprogrammed questions and answers on this series of consoles? Probably, but this most interactive bit of the museum is worth a visit all the same. Author: Milan Gagnon



First of its kind

Apart from the ailing Müller, all living founder members of the Hall of Fame were present: Beckenbauer, Seeler, Matthäus, Breitner, Sammer, Maier, Brehme and Netzer.

"The bringing together of these football legends in one place has never happened before in such a way, and this constellation already makes the Hall of Fame unique," said Manuel Neukirchner, the director of the Football Museum.

Beckenbauer, who lifted the World Cup in 1974, said that "Hollywood had staged many such events, why shouldn't Germany have a Hall of Fame?"

More legends to come

Sports journalists from across Germany voted last year to induct the first class of Hall of Famers. Only players who had finished their career at least five years ago were eligible. Member of the 2014 World Cup-winning team could therefore not be included in the Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame is a permanent exhibition at the Football Museum. Every year four or five new members are expected to be inducted.

The museum announced the first 11 entries into a female Hall of Fame earlier this year. They will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer.

Hall of Fame: Germany's Top XI women Birgit Prinz Birgit Prinz has played more matches (214) and scored more goals (128) for Germany than any other player. Prinz is a two-time World Cup winner and three-time World Player of the Year. Prinz played her club football for FSV Frankfurt and FFC Frankfurt in Germany as well as the Carolina Courage in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional women's league in the US.

Hall of Fame: Germany's Top XI women Steffi Jones A defender, Steffi Jones earned 111 caps for the national team between 1993 and 2007, helping her country win the 2003 Women's World Cup and three consecutive European Championships. Jones later worked as a football administrator, in charge of organising the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany. In 2016 she took over from Silvia Neid as head coach of Germany, but was sacked in early 2018.

Hall of Fame: Germany's Top XI women Doris Fitschen At the 1989 European Competition for Women's Football, Fitschen was an important part of the team who claimed West Germany's first major trophy. UEFA named her the tournament's Golden Player. Following her retirement Fitschen received a special achievement award from UEFA, for her outstanding contribution to women's football.

Hall of Fame: Germany's Top XI women Silke Rottenberg Rottenberg is the former goalkeeper who announced her retirement from the national team on 27 May 2008. In 1998 she was chosen as the German Female Footballer of the Year. Since retiring, Rottenberg has worked as a goalkeeping coach for Germany's youth teams and as a TV pundit.

Hall of Fame: Germany's Top XI women Nia Künzer Her Golden Goal in the final match against Sweden made Germany the winner of the 2003 World Cup and was to become the first ever women's "Goal of the Year" in the history of German football, but a fourth cruciate ligament injury forced her to retire from international football in 2006. Künzer now works for German public television as a women's football expert.

Hall of Fame: Germany's Top XI women Silvia Neid Silvia Neid was one of the most successful players in German women's football history, having won seven national championships and six German Cups. Between 2005 and 2016, Neid served as the head coach of the women's national team. She was the FIFA World Women's Coach of the Year in 2010, 2013 and 2016.

Hall of Fame: Germany's Top XI women Bettina Wiegmann Bettina Wiegmann scored 51 goals in 154 games for the German national team between 1989 and 2003. In 1997 she was selected German Female Footballer of the Year. She competed in four World Cups: China 1991, Sweden 1995, USA 1999 and USA 2003; and two Olympics: Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000.

Hall of Fame: Germany's Top XI women Renate Lingor Renate Lingor won 149 caps between 1995 and 2008 and collected plenty of silverware during her glittering career. She is a two-time World Cup winner, a three-time European Championship winner and collected three consecutive bronze medals at the Olympics, in Sydney, Athens and Beijing.

Hall of Fame: Germany's Top XI women Martina Voss-Tecklenburg Martina Voss-Tecklenburg is considered one of the most successful German women's soccer players, having won seven national titles and six trophies with the national team. She was appointed head coach of the German women's national team last year her first major tournament is the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.

Hall of Fame: Germany's Top XI women Inka Grings Inka Grings is the second all-time leading goalscorer in Germany's top division, the women's Bundesliga, with 195 goals, and claimed the league's top-scorer award for a record six seasons. Playing for Germany, she was also the top scorer at two European Championships. Grings was named German Female Footballer of the Year in 1999, 2009 and 2010.

Hall of Fame: Germany's Top XI women Heidi Mohr Heidi Mohr played 104 times for Germany between 1986 and 1996. She scored eight times at European Championships and 10 times at World Cups. With 83 career goals she was Germany's all-time top scorer until Birgit Prinz overtook her in 2005. She won the European Championship with Germany in 1989, 1991, 1995.



Not without controversy

The vote was marked by heated discussion over Herberger's past — the former coach joined the Nazi Party in 1933 — and Beckenbauer's alleged involvement in a corruption scandal surrounding the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The president of the German Football Association, Reinhard Grindel, avoided the red carpet on the opening night. Grindel is currently embroiled in a scandal for not declaring €78,000 ($87,000) in outside earnings between 2016 and 2017.

Read more: German football chief storms out of DW interview after $25bn question

cw/rt (dpa, SID)

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