Abstract: From the perspective of historical evolution, the paper reviews the development process and the rise and fall of the German football and divides the process into the six stages of the start, alienation, rebirth, prosperity, fluctuation and revitalization. It believes that there are three characteristics in the rise of German football as follows: emphasis on the combination of football with national culture from, emphasis on the reform and innovation of club operation mode from system dimension and emphasis on the exploitation of youth training system and campus football. Chinese football can learn from Germany’s example.

Key words: Germany, football, rise, course, characteristics