Joachim Loew to stay on as Germany coach

Published July 24, 2014
Joachim Loew.— File photo
Joachim Loew.— File photo

BERLIN: Germany World Cup-winning coach Joachim Loew remains committed to leading the side through to the European Championship in 2016, the 54-year-old said on Wednesday.

Loew was contracted to the German football federation (DFB) until July 2016, but said he had needed to take some time following his side’s 1-0 World Cup final victory over Argentina 10 days ago.

Germany's triumph was 10 years in the making: Loew

In an interview on the DFB website he said he could think of nothing better than leading the side to the tournament in France, and was as motivated as he was on his first day on the job.

“At the moment, I can imagine nothing more beautiful than to continue working with this team, to guide it to the European Championship in France, to develop the team and the individual players further,” Loew said in an interview published on Wednesday on the German Football Federation (DFB) website.

“I am as motivated as I was on the first day with DFB. We celebrated a gigantic success in Brazil but there are other goals that we want to achieve. The World Cup 2014 was a highlight for all, but it was not a conclusion.”

Loew said he needed some time to come to terms with his emotions after the World Cup but had not thought “even for a second” about stepping down.

“I didn’t think of stopping for one second,” said Loew. “I didn’t extend my contract with the DFB until 2016 to prematurely break it.

“I simply kept to what we had agreed before the World Cup that we were going to calmly sit down and analyse the tournament as we have done after every tournament.”

Loew took over the national team after the 2006 World Cup having previously been assistant to Juergen Klinsmann.

As well as Germany’s fourth World Cup triumph, he also led the side to the final at Euro 2008 and the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

Germany and Argentina have a rematch in a friendly in Duesseldorf on Sept 3, before Germany kick off qualifying for Euro 2016 against Scotland four days later.

One of Loew’s first tasks will be to find a new captain after defender Philipp Lahm’s surprise international retirement, with Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger favourite for the job.

Lahm informed him about his decision to retire from internationals on the morning after the final, Loew said, calling it a great loss for the team.

“I could not have wished for a better captain, he did an outstanding job influencing, leading and presenting the team,” Loew said. “I regret that he will not return but I accept and respect his decision.”

Also, Loew will have to find an assistant coach with Hansi Flick, his assistant throughout his tenure, set to be the technical director at DFB.

Published in Dawn, July 24th , 2014

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