What happened to all that German nationalism? After the triumphant success that was Germany’s 2006 World Cup campaign, comes the shocking reminder that domestically, German soccer has sunk, as evidenced by the latest UEFA rankings. The Bundesliga now sits fifth on UEFA’s all-important country ranking, which determines the number of clubs that can enter its competitions. That ranking is based on merit, which means the Bundesliga’s teams-in aggregate-have performed poorer in European competitions than English, French, Spanish and Italian clubs, and Germany is now nearly even on points with Portugal. A further drop beyond Romania, the Netherlands and Russia would mean German clubs could be guaranteed just one Champions League position next season, with the second-place team having to qualify. In UEFA’s ranking of individual European clubs, there are just four German teams in the top 50; Bayern Munich is highest at 17th. German clubs never used to fair so badly in Europe, which makes its decline vexing. It’s is still Europe’s biggest country, with its biggest economy, and its league still boasts the highest average attendance of any domestic league across Europe. But apparently, the youth development system just isn’t working.