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BERLIN - THE German Football Federation (DFB) made a profit of 6.6 million euros (S$12.6 million) for reaching June's Euro 2008 final in Vienna, team manager Oliver Bierhoff revealed on Friday.
Before the month-long tournament began, Bierhoff received criticism from the German media for basing the team in the picturesque Alpine resort of Ascona, south Switzerland, while most of their Euro 2008 games were held in Austria.
But the financial windfall, generated by the Euro success, vindicates Bierhoff's decision to isolate the team away from their passionate fans.
'This result proves that while on the one hand we created outstanding working conditions, we did so responsibly,' said Bierhoff on the DFB website.
In total, the DFB received 19 million euros from Uefa for reaching the final, where they lost 1-0 to Spain.
After operation costs, including hotels and flights plus paying each member of the 23-man squad a win bonus of 150,000 euros, just under seven million euros is pure profit.
The extra money will be split equally between the DFB, who will spend the money on amateur football, and the German Football League. -- AFP
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