Diego Maradona was written off as “an over-the-hill gunfighter” as Germany revelled in their World Cup demolition of Argentina.

The home media saluted Joachim Loew's squad after they followed up their rout of England with another sensational win.

“Thanks, you heroes!” was the headline in Bild newspaper. They also claimed “the whole world is celebrating”.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung claimed: “Diego Maradona looked like an over-the-hill gunfighter in a Western film.

“Maradona was a bundle of nerves before the match, hugging some of the players as if someone in their family had just died.

“The Germans by contrast seemed to be calm and collected from the start.”

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung called Loew's troops a “dream team”.

Former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann said: “The team seems to have a lot of fun and that's the base for attractive football -- and Jogi (Loew) is doing an awesome job.”

Guenter Netzer, midfield star of the 1970s, said:“It was one of the best performances from a Germany team that I’ve ever seen.”

Netzer admitted he was wrong by expressing doubts about the inclusion of Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski in the squad. “I never would have thought they would have played such a strong World Cup.”