German President Horst Köhler on Sunday told world leaders attending the World Cup final in Berlin that Germany may not have won the trophy but gained new friends and improved its self-image.

"We did not win the World Cup, but it gave us so much. Foreign visitors and television audiences saw a cheerful, confident and hospitable country," Köhler said.

"And I believe that this soccer festival also gave us as Germans a new window onto ourselves and our country," he added at a reception to welcome UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, EU Commission Chief Jose Manuel Barroso, South African President Thabo Mbeki, Prince Albert of Monaco and former US President Bill Clinton, who were in Berlin for the final match.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and FIFA President Sepp Blatter also attended the ceremony just before the final in Berlin's Olympic Stadium.