Matthias Sammer believes that German football has grown considerably in stature over the last decade, highlighting Bayern Munich's run to the Champions League final this season as evidence.
The former Borussia Dortmund defender now serves as DFB (German Football Association) sporting director and ahead of this summer's European Championships, was keen to talk up the current standard of the game in Germany.
"The fact that Bayern have reached the [Champions League] final in their own stadium is a strong signal not only for the club but for German football as a whole. Particular attention should be paid to the fact 10 German national team players were on the pitch in the semi-finals of the Champions League," Sammer told Sport1.
Sammer then moved on to state how the gap between the German national side and the best teams in the world has closed drastically in the last 10 years.
"We need to develop our own identity and [I believe] we have developed our football. The gap since the middle of the last decade (2005 onwards), between us and the world's best has grown considerably smaller."
The 44-year-old concluded by talking about how he and head coach, Joachim Low, are both committed to doing the best for Germany.
"Yogi [Low] and I are both success-orientated people. However, we have different views on some issues. But we have had a discussion that was purposeful and was intended to bring the best out of German football."
Germany have been drawn Group B for Euro 2012 alongside Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark.
