Speculation has surrounded the future of the German national coach for some time. The man who led his country to 2014 World Cup glory will leave his role after this summer's European Championships.
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Germany's national team manager, Joachim Löw, will step down after this summer's European Championships, the German Football Association (DFB) announced on Tuesday.
Löw took over from Jürgen Klinsmann in 2006 and led his country to World Cup glory in 2014.
However, following Germany's ignominious exit from the first stage of the World Cup in 2018 and a string of poor results since, Löw's position as national team coach became the subject of intense speculation.
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What Joachim Löw said
Löw said in a statement that he was "full of pride and huge gratitude, but still with great motivation as far as the upcoming European Championship is concerned."
"Proud because it is something very special and an honor for me to represent my country," he continued. "And because I have been able to work with the country's best footballers for almost 17 years and support them in their development."
Löw also worked as Klinsmann's assistant for two years before becoming head coach after Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006.
"We've experienced great triumphs and painful defeats with them, but above all many wonderful and magical moments — not only winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. I am and remain grateful to the DFB, which has always provided me and the team with an optimal working environment."
Germany's first match at this summer's Euros will be against France in Munich on June 15. The tournament was supposed to happen in 2020, but was delayed by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
German football reactions
DFB president Fritz Keller hinted that it was Löw's decision to quit as he said the move from the national team coach was "highly respectable" because it gives the governing body "the necessary time to name his successor calmly and with a sense of proportion."
Keller paid tribute to Löw, 61, as he thank him for his service.
"The federation knows what it has in Jogi. He is one of the biggest coaches in world soccer," Keller said. "Jogi Löw has shaped German soccer like none other for years and helped it to the highest levels internationally."
DFB director of football Oliver Bierhoff said: "Under Jogi, the national team once again stood for enjoying the game and attractive, attacking football. This team and players have developed incredibly under him. I regret that we will go our separate ways professionally after the Euros."
Joachim Löw, the world's longest-serving national team coach
Joachim Löw is the longest-tenured coach in international football, having been in charge of Germany since August 2006. In July, after the European Championships, he will step down after almost 15 years.
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Longest-tenured national team coach
In March 2020, Uruguay's football association laid off its longtime first team coach Oscar Tabarez, 73, as it struggles financially amid the coronavirus crisis. His removal made Germany coach Joachim Löw, whose tenure began three months after Tabarez's in 2006, the longest-serving coach in international football.
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Unspectacular playing career
Joachim Löw's career as a player was anything but spectacular. In his 52 Bundesliga matches as a striker for Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt and Karlsruhe, the native of southwestern Germany found the back of the net just seven times. Much of his time as a player was spent at then-second division side Freiburg.
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A switch to coaching
Even before he hung up his boots, Joachim Löw turned his hand to coaching, first as a youth coach at Swiss outfit FC Winterthur, where he was still playing in 1994. In 1995 he broke into the Bundesliga as co-coach at his former club Stuttgart, before being named head coach a year later. Here he is seen speaking to Thomas Schneider, who would later become his assistant with the national team.
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Turkish tenure
Despite winning the German Cup with Stuttgart in 1997, Löw was let go by the Swabians. In the summer of 1998 he took a job with Istanbul side Fenerbahce and led them to a third-place finish. Still, he would only last a year at the club.
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First-place firing
After spells at Karlsruhe, Adanaspor and Innsbruck, Löw moved on to Austria Vienna, in the summer of 2003. This too would turn out to be a short interlude, as he was sacked in March, despite the club occupying first place in the table. Without him, Austria would finish second in the league by a single point.
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The Jogi and Jürgen show
After Rudi Völler resigned as coach of the German national team, another former Germany striker, Jürgen Klinsmann, took over. One of Klinsmann's first moves as Germany coach was to appoint Löw as his assistant.
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Summer fairy tale
Klinsmann and Löw led Germany into the 2006 World Cup on home soil, where they lost to Italy in the semifinals. The "home" World Cup created a vibrant atmosphere all over Germany, where public viewing of games first took place on a large scale. Here Klinsmann and Löw are flanked by goalkeeping coach Andreas Köpke and manager Oliver Bierhoff at a post-tournament event in Berlin.
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Euro final defeat
After succeeding Klinsmann as head coach, Löw's first major tournament in charge was Euro 2008. He led Germany to the final in Vienna, but they were defeated 1-0 by Spain.
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Spain again...
At his first World Cup as head coach, Joachim Löw's young squad cruised by England (4-1) in the round of 16 and crushed Argentina (4-0) in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, though, Germany ran into the more experienced Spanish side, who prevailed 1-0. Here Löw is seen congratulating a young Mesut Özil during the England match.
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No laughing matter
Joachim Löw's men got off to a perfect start to Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, winning all three of their group-stage matches, before beating Greece 4-2 in their quarterfinal: It was Germany's 15th consecutive win, setting a new world record. However, there would be no happy ending, as Germany fell 2-1 to bogey side, Italy.
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World Cup champions
It all came together for Löw in 2014. Germany beat Portugal and the US, while drawing with Ghana to progress from the group stage. They needed extra time to beat Algeria in the round of 16 and struggled past France 1-0. But they crushed hosts Brazil 7-1. The final, against Argentina, also went to extra time, before Mario Götze scored the winner to give Germany a 1-0 win — and the World Cup.
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Down to earth in France
Löw's next major tournament was Euro 2016, just next door in France. Germany advanced to the knockout stage with two wins and a draw before beating Slovakia and Italy to set up a semifinal showdown against the hosts in Marseille. Germany came up short though, falling 2-0 to France.
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A minor title
Germany won their first Confederations Cup under Joachim Löw in 2017. It was far from Germany's best side that turned out in Russia, with Löw choosing to rest several first-string players in ancipation of the World Cup 12 months later. Germany beat Chile 1-0 in the final thanks to a goal from Lars Stindl in the 20th minute. Germany's future looked very bright indeed.
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What a difference a year makes
With a full-strength squad, Germany were regarded as one of the favorites heading into the 2018 World Cup in Russia. But they looked a shadow of their former selves, losing to Mexico and South Korea and finishing bottom of their group. Despite the poor showing, Löw said he intended to fulfill his contract, which the German football association (DFB) extended until 2022 before the tournament.
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Three World Cup winners cut
After the disaster in Russia, Löw acknowledged errors. He wrongly believed that he could get into the knockout rounds playing possession-based football. "It was almost arrogant," Löw said in his analysis afterwards. He announced a generation change in the team and said he would be dropping Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels und Thomas Müller from the squad.
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A dark day
Germany comfortably qualified for Euro 2020, a tournament that was postponed a year due to COVID-19. Löw appeared to slowly be moving this new Germany team in the right direction, until they suffered a 6-0 loss to Spain in the Nations League. It was the second highest defeat in Germany's football history. "It was a dark day," said Löw afterwards as pressure began to mount.
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The end of the road
On March 9, Löw announced that he would be stepping down as head coach following the 2021 European Championships. He spoke of his "pride and gratitude" at having represented Germany for almost 17 years and insisted his motivation ahead of the Euros remains "unbroken." DFB president Fritz Keller expressed his "great respect" for Löw's decision, which gives the DFB time to identify a successor.
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Trio of legends to return?
Earlier this month, Löw did not rule out an international recall for previously cast aside players Thomas Müller, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng — three players who formed a crucial part of Germany's 2014 triumph in Brazil.
The trio were axed in March 2020 as part of Löw's big revamp following the disappointing 2018 World Cup campaign in Russia, as he placed his trust in a new generation of German talent.
However, Germany won only two competitive games in 2020, culminating in a 6-0 thrashing against Spain, prompting Löw into a possible rethink.