Daily Times

BERLIN: Joachim Loew led Germany to the high of their 2014 World Cup triumph, but his 15-year reign as coach ended Tuesday with the low of a rare defeat to England in the last 16 of Euro 2020. Having scraped through their group with a 2-2 draw against Hungary, Germany bow out with a 2-0 defeat at Wembley, their first loss against England in the knockout stages of a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup final. It was a sad end for the 61-year-old, known as “Jogi” by his peers and who had been at Germany’s helm since 2006. The high point of his tenure was the victory in the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil but he never really recovered from the low of the World Cup in Russia three years later, when Germany finished bottom of their group.

Getting out of their European Championship group was the bare minimum expected of Loew’s Germany, who bounced back from defeat to France in their opening game with a 4-2 win over holders Portugal before that nerve-shredding draw with Hungary. His run as national head coach rivals Angela Merkel’s 16 years in office as Chancellor, earning him the nickname of Germany’s “eternal coach”. However, he walks away with his once-golden reputation tarnished by a succession of defeats which started with the disastrous World Cup campaign in Russia three years ago when Germany were beaten by Mexico and South Korea.

It was further damaged by a 6-0 thrashing by Spain last November ––– the German team’s heaviest defeat since 1931 ––– and a shock home defeat to minnows North Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier in March. Calls for Loew to step aside were already loud after the debacle in Russia, but he insisted he would stay on to make amends at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However with his confidence rattled, Loew announced in early March that Euro 2020 would be his last tournament. His replacement, his one-time assistant coach Hansi Flick who masterminded Bayern Munich’s treble-winning season in 2019/20, takes charge in time for September’s World Cup qualifiers. Loew, a former centre-forward who played most of his football in Germany’s second division, arrived at the national team as assistant coach to Jurgen Klinsmann in 2004.