The team caused an upset in the 2002 Men's Hockey World Cup when they defeated Australia 2–1 with striker Olivier Domke scoring the winner after Germany came back from being 1–0 down. After this period the Germans went through a transition period, finishing lowly in the 2003 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy and the 2004 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy with several inexperienced players in their squad. Coach Bernhard Peters was looking to nurture the players for the World Cup such as Christopher Zeller, Moritz Fürste and Timo Wess, and was successful as the Germans won the 2006 Men's Hockey World Cup in Mönchengladbach, defeating Australia 4–3 in the final. Bernhard Peters left the team in order to pursue a career in football and is now a staff member at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.