HAVING ASSURED readers Germany would win the World Cup poor old Bild had to concede “The Dream Is Over” yesterday, “Aus der Traum” also the headline chosen by a few of the paper’s rivals.

“The whistling stopped, the cheering died, the flags were rolled up and the tears began to flow,” they wrote, “the dream was over.”

They did, though, concede Spain deserved their victory.There was some criticism of the performance in the inside pages.

Die Welt, though, saluted the team and the impact its run in South Africa has had on the country. “This young team played their way into our hearts with elegance rather than drive. The multicultural team changed Germany. We used to be a land of complainers and pessimists. We’re a different country now.”

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