German soccer team welcomed home by 100,000 fans (AP)

The German team returned home Monday, kicking soccer balls into a crowd of about 100,000 flag-waving fans in the capital after a 1-0 loss to Spain in the European Championship final. The crowd cheered the players as they appeared one by one on a stage in front of Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate. “It’s naturally disappointing when you’ve come so far,” captain Michael Ballack said in an interview…