National coach discussion
Berlin (dpa) – The countdown is on and the national coach is brooding in Breisgau. In the midst of the indignation about the historically poor performance of the German national soccer team in the 6-0 debacle in Spain, Joachim Löw has once again withdrawn.
But this time the DFB head coach does not have as much time as at his World Cup retreat in the bad summer of 2018. While Jürgen Klopp and Hansi Flick have already waved friendly as possible successor candidates, the 60-year-old should offer the DFB presidium a convincing perspective for the EM year by December 4th. “There is no free ticket for Jogi Löw,” the “Bild” newspaper quoted a board member after the split in the decision-making committee last Friday. Played severity? Or a serious signal for the record national coach?
The restraint
The German Football Association is deeply in a dilemma. The popularity ratings of the national coach and thus automatically of the association giant cannot fall much further. According to several surveys, only a fraction of the fans believe that Löw can somehow make the change. Only an outstanding EM seems to be able to reverse the mood. The semifinals have long been considered a minimum requirement despite the great group with world champions France, European champions Portugal and co-hosts Hungary.
But Löw’s encouragement comes from professional football and, above all, from old companions. “Jogi Löw doesn’t need any excuses,” said the former national player Per Mertesacker in the ZDF “Sportstudio”. Eintracht Frankfurt’s sports director Fredi Bobic advised “not to panic right away”. Leverkusen’s sports director Rudi Völler said on “Sky90” on Sunday: “Of course I hope that it was a one-off slip and I also think that Jogi can still get it under control.”
As a direct supervisor, DFB director Oliver Bierhoff quickly expressed his trust in his coach – still. Curiously, it should be Bierhoff who presented the analysis shortly before the second Advent – not Löw himself. Löw’s name did not appear in the statement by DFB President Fritz Keller, which was formulated as a perseverance slogan.
THE POSSIBLE SUCCESSORS
In the case of a farewell by the head coach, which has long since been ruled out, the association lacks the one, immediately available and universally accepted alternative. “The fact that criticism arises after the result is understandable, but it does not change my assessment that the DFB-Elf will play a good role at next year’s EM with appropriate preparation. The question of me does not arise for me, ”said Bayern coach Flick of“ Welt am Sonntag ”. The triple winner became world champion together with Löw in 2014 as an assistant, but after his first year in Munich he has not had enough of titles and records.
Klopp, who with his rousing manner would certainly be the desired solution for many officials, is still enjoying his time at Liverpool too much. “Maybe in the future. Now? No, »said the former Dortmund resident. “I don’t have time, I have a job – and a pretty intense one, by the way!” Klopp’s contract at Anfield Road runs until the summer of 2024, when the home European championships rise in Germany.
Ralf Rangnick would be available, but is more of a cool football specialist who also likes to have a lot of competence. That would affect Bierhoff above all, whose position would not be strengthened if Löw left early. Internal, but more B-solutions, would be Löw’s assistant Marcus Sorg and U21 national coach Stefan Kuntz. You are too close to the incumbent’s orbit.
THE DISPOSED
The three ex-world champions Thomas Müller, Jérôme Boateng and Mats Hummels, who were retired in March 2019, are closely connected to the Löw debate. Löw defends his personal change – vocal opinion leaders are sorely missed in the DFB selection. “As I said, none of us has resigned,” said Müller on Saturday on Sky. But he was “not of the opinion that we should discuss players”. A return campaign of at least part of the trio would no longer just be justified for sport – but also for political reasons.
THE BUREAU
DFB President Keller should be familiar with this problem by now. According to the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, parts of the presidium accuse the boss of a dodgy course. After the Spanish bankruptcy, astonishingly detailed information about the course of the later evening was itemized in the “Bild” newspaper. No sign of unity. Even if the DFB President, who recently had an open power struggle with Secretary General Friedrich Curtius, had nothing to do with Löw’s contract signature until 2022 – the decision for or against the 60-year-old will shape Keller’s tenure.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201122-99-422196 / 4
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