It was in 1998 that a World Cup quarter-final defeat by Croatia began a round of soul-searching in German football. No, scratch that. It was in 2000, after being eliminated at the group stage in the European Championship; or maybe it was four years later, when the same thing happened. That was when Jurgen Klinsmann and Joachim Low implemented the reform of German football, from the roots up. Yes, but what about 2009 when the Under 21 team won the European Championship? Surely, that was the key to it all? So, how about none of it, or all of it, but in evolutionary stages? How about instead of looking for one Eureka moment that transformed German football - a flash of genius, a bright idea to be copied by England from the wilderness - we acknowledge that what sets them apart is that they are in a constant state of self-evaluation, while never allowing the free pass of treating a World Cup as a dry run.
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Germany has endured a series of set-backs in recent decades that have incited soul-searching within their football ranks
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They include the 1998 World Cup quarter-final defeat by Croatia, and going out in the group stage of the 2000 and 2004 European Championships
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But there is no one Eureka moment that was the catalyst for their changes
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Jurgen Klinsmann and Joachim Low led a grass roots football-up reform
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But were expected to deliver results in big tournaments along the way
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Since 1998, Germany have reached two World Cup finals, two World Cup semi-finals, a Euros final and a Euros semi-final
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Roy Hodgson was kept on as England manager for two more years after England failed to reach the knockout phase at Brazil 2014
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Germany are favourites to beat Argentina in Sunday's World Cup final
Klinsmann and Low revitalised the game in @placeholder, but they did not do so for the benefit of some distant point a decade away.