There are no tournaments in 2015 but it’s a still an important year in terms of setting the course for upcoming competitions. It’s got off to a positive start. First of all, the manager extended his contract and then the team secured a vital 2-0 victory over Georgia in a European Championship qualifier. Despite the shaky start to qualifying, Joachim Löw is convinced that his team will make it through to Euro 2016 in France. DFB.de caught up with the Germany manager to talk about what motivates him, how he coped with the World Cup triumph and what’s particularly important for him and the team this year.
DFB.de: Mr Löw, are the World Champions back on track following the 2-0 win over Georgia in Tbilisi?
Joachim Löw: I had already commented ahead of the game about how we were fully aware of our situation. We had to win the match, wanted the three points and came away with all three points – that’s the most important element. I was pleased by how we played in the first half. In the second half, we didn’t maintain the intensity levels but still managed to get the result. We can still work on our efficiency and keeping our playing levels high for the whole 90 minutes.
DFB.de: Ireland and Poland, who are probably your strongest challengers to winning the group, drew 1-1 in Dublin. Was that the result you’d hoped for?
Löw: We don’t look at the other results. We are full of confidence and, above all, have the quality in our squad to finish top of the group. We’re going to win against Gibraltar in June and will then look forward to the decisive games in September and October. We don’t have any reason to feel anxious – quite the contrary. I’m very optimistic and the team knows exactly what they’re going to come up against.
DFB.de: You extended your contract with the team until 2018. The announcement was made on Friday 13th – do you not consider that a bad omen?
Löw: No, I’m not at all concerned with superstitions like that. Irrespective of the date, I consider the contract extension a demonstration of the trust that the DFB have in the work we’re doing and also, it’s motivation to keep on trying to achieve the best. Another decisive factor for me was that we were able to keep our team of myself, Oliver Bierhoff, Thomas Schneider and Andreas Köpke together.
DFB.de: Your justification for deciding to extend your contract was that being Germany manager is fun…
There are no tournaments in 2015 but it’s a still an important year in terms of setting the course for upcoming competitions. It’s got off to a positive start. First of all, the manager extended his contract and then the team secured a vital 2-0 victory over Georgia in a European Championship qualifier. Despite the shaky start to qualifying, Joachim Löw is convinced that his team will make it through to Euro 2016 in France. DFB.de caught up with the Germany manager to talk about what motivates him, how he coped with the World Cup triumph and what’s particularly important for him and the team this year.
DFB.de: Mr Löw, are the World Champions back on track following the 2-0 win over Georgia in Tbilisi?
Joachim Löw: I had already commented ahead of the game about how we were fully aware of our situation. We had to win the match, wanted the three points and came away with all three points – that’s the most important element. I was pleased by how we played in the first half. In the second half, we didn’t maintain the intensity levels but still managed to get the result. We can still work on our efficiency and keeping our playing levels high for the whole 90 minutes.
DFB.de: Ireland and Poland, who are probably your strongest challengers to winning the group, drew 1-1 in Dublin. Was that the result you’d hoped for?
Löw: We don’t look at the other results. We are full of confidence and, above all, have the quality in our squad to finish top of the group. We’re going to win against Gibraltar in June and will then look forward to the decisive games in September and October. We don’t have any reason to feel anxious – quite the contrary. I’m very optimistic and the team knows exactly what they’re going to come up against.
DFB.de: You extended your contract with the team until 2018. The announcement was made on Friday 13th – do you not consider that a bad omen?
Löw: No, I’m not at all concerned with superstitions like that. Irrespective of the date, I consider the contract extension a demonstration of the trust that the DFB have in the work we’re doing and also, it’s motivation to keep on trying to achieve the best. Another decisive factor for me was that we were able to keep our team of myself, Oliver Bierhoff, Thomas Schneider and Andreas Köpke together.
DFB.de: Your justification for deciding to extend your contract was that being Germany manager is fun…
Löw: I said that with a wink because, of course, that’s already clear. For me as a manager, there can be nothing better than working for your country with some of its best footballers. We have optimal conditions here with the DFB – we receive fantastic support, have a fantastic working relationship and the backing from DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach and general secretary Helmut Sandrock couldn’t be better. We now also have a new sporting director in Hansi Flick, who I trust completely.
DFB.de: Which parts of your job do you enjoy the most?
Löw: I enjoy working with the team and the individual players. I’m with them on the pitch, developing our playing style and ideas. Tournaments are also one of my favourite aspects of the job. I’m often asked how I cope with the pressure. At tournaments, I don’t personally notice the pressure or I don’t consider it as a negative. I have complete trust and am always confident that we’ve thought about everything in our preparation and have a plan for every situation. Another crucial factor is that I have the full support from our team behind the team. They are all experts in their respective fields and do everything in their powers to help the players. I can rely on every individual and this means that I can focus on my own tasks and responsibilities. We are all working towards a common goal and that inspires me.
DFB.de: What goals would they be?
Löw: We’re World Champions and top of FIFA’s World Rankings. Now it’s about protecting these titles, having more success and not resting on our laurels. The moment when you’re handed the World Cup is incredible and we all want to experience that again. That’s our motivation. We also want to develop further as a team. The team is still young and has a lot of potential as does every individual player. I’ve always stressed that aside from winning titles, I take great pleasure from seeing the team and individual players improving.
DFB.de: 2014 was all about the team’s triumph at the World Cup. Prize ceremonies were followed by further honours, galas and awards – most recently, being voted 2014 Team of the Year at the Laureus Awards. Did you manage to find time in between to allow what you’d achieved to sink in?
Löw: Yes, of course. It is obviously an outstanding feeling to be World Champions and it’s something I’ll carry with me for life. However, that’s now in the past. We need to concentrate on the present and the future.
DFB.de: You’ve spent a lot of time visiting stadiums and watching matches in the first few months of 2015.
Löw: That’s true. We’ve watched a lot of matches and been to numerous stadiums, not just ones in Germany. It’s not enough to only look at the Bundesliga, Europa League and Champions League. What’s important to me is that we are always looking at the bigger picture and taking questions about where football is going and how to develop it further into consideration. We’re constantly looking to discover what the new trends are and how these are interpreted outside of the game.
DFB.de: Where else have you travelled?
Löw: In South America, in Asia and also in Africa. We need to remain open, be inspired and consider what could be appropriate for us to take back and instil. The primary aim is to stay flexible and have numerous options. On the one hand, we want to follow a clear plan but on the other, we also want to be unpredictable.
DFB.de: There are also numerous talented players in the DFB youth teams. In Horst Hrubesch’s U21 squad, there were recently four players who had also already been involved with the senior team.
Löw: We are all agreed that the senior team generally has to have priority. We want to group together the best players here. There are different ways to getting involved with the side though. Mario Götze and also Julian Draxler burst straight into the senior squad fold without having featured for any of Germany’s youth teams – you might even say that they’ve skipped a grade. At the same time though, we also value the opportunity of players being able to pick up important experience and develop further, playing in the U21 European Championship for example, and this can open the door to the senior team. This has been proven by several World Champions who have the 2009 U21 European Championship title on their CV.
DFB.de: You were able to welcome back some players who had been sidelined since the second half of 2014 or even longer for the matches against Australia and Georgia. How good is the return of players like Holger Badstuber and Ilkay Gündogan for the development of the team?
Löw: Illy and Holger have now hopefully put those difficult periods behind them. It moved me to see them both back on the ball and I’m impressed by how quickly they’ve both reached such high playing standards again. It’s admirable how they coped with their respective situations. They worked hard for months and despite setbacks, they never gave up hope. We’ve already seen from the match against Australia how they benefit the team. I’m certain that they’ll play important roles for the team once again in the future.
DFB.de: Against Georgia, Bastian Schweinsteiger played for Germany for the first time since the World Cup. How good is it to have the captain back on board?
Löw: Bastian is a leader. For me, he’s a phenomenon. We don’t need to talk up his sporting prowess – it’s clear to see. Bastian is our captain; he has fantastic leadership qualities. In the match against Georgia, he was the one who dictated play and made the right decisions. We need him both on and off the pitch. He’s a huge asset to the team and it’s brilliant to have him back.
DFB.de: 2015 is a so-called gap year as there aren’t any tournaments. What needs to happen by December for you to be happy?
Löw: We want to generate a positive mood to take into qualifiers and have set new targets. We have to qualify for Euro 2016, everything else is secondary. The current standings make for interesting reading. Four teams (Germany, Poland, Scotland and Ireland) are all very close at the top. We want to win the group and we have every chance of achieving just that. We’ve got a tough but enthralling autumn ahead of us because we’ll come up against the other three teams fighting for the top spots. I’m really looking forward to those matches. We are going to be well-prepared and will take our chance. Then we can look ahead to the tournament in France.
