Joachim Low

At 64 years old, Joachim Low has this physical status:

Joachim Löw (born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player.

He is the head coach of Germany's national team, which he aided to victories at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Moscow.

Following Euro 2020, Löw announced on March 2021 that he would step down from his role as Germany's boss.

Hansi Flick, his former assistant manager, had him removed.

Personal life

Löw is a Roman Catholic and he was an altar child in his youth.

He has been married to Daniela since 1986; there are no children. The couple met in 1978 and dated for eight years before marrying.

Both Löw's licences have been suspended twice (for one month) and twice in 2014 (for six months) due to excessive speed and using a cell phone while driving.

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Playing career

Löw began his playing career in 1978 with the number 2. Freiburg, a German club, is one of the Bundesliga club SC Freiburg. He returned to the club twice (1982, 1985) and set the club's total goal scoring record before Nils Petersen surpassed him in 2020. Löw (1980) was a member of VfB Stuttgart, but he had trouble getting into the starting lineup and played only four matches.

Löw played for Eintracht Frankfurt (1924 matches, five goals), but the following year, he returned to Freiburg. He scored eight goals in 34 games from 1982-83, and 1983-84 he scored 17 goals in 31 matches in the 2. Bundesliga is a football league. He returned to Karlsruher SC in the Bundesliga after that, but he only scored two goals in 24 matches. He returned to Freiburg for four years and scored 38 goals in 116 matches. Löw ended his career in Switzerland, where he played for FC Schaffhausen (1989–1992) and FC Winterthur (1992–1994).

Löw played four times for the West Germany national under-21 team.

Managerial career

While he was still a player, Löw began his coaching for FC Winterthur. He served as FC Frauenfeld's player-coach from 1994 to 1995.

He served as an assistant coach to VfB Stuttgart head coach Rolf Fringer from 1995-96. Löw was promoted caretaker boss on August 14, 1996, when Fringer had the opportunity to be coach of the Swiss national team. He was eventually appointed permanent manager and was with the club until May 1998. On August 17, 1996, his first match as head coach was a 4–0 victory over Schalke 04. They finished in fourth place in the 1996–97 season. In the semi-finals of the DFB-Ligapokal, the 1997-98 season began with a 3–0 victory over Karlsruher SC on July 22, 1997. They lost in the final against Bayern Munich on July 26, 1997. Stuttgart finished fourth in the Bundesliga and came in fourth place.

Stuttgart reached the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal campaign, defeating Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hertha BSC, SSV Ulm 1846, and KFC Uerdingen 05 en route. Bayern Munich beat Stuttgart 3–0 in the semi-finals on February 17, 1998. The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup has also reached the final. Vestmannaeyja, Beerschot, Slavia Prague, and Lokomotiv Moscow have been banned from Stuttgart. Stuttgart lost 1–0 to Chelsea in the final on May 13, 1998. This was his last match before he left the team seven days later. He ended with a record of 46 victories, 20 draws, and 23 losses.

Löw joined Fenerbahçe in Turkey on July 1, 1998. Dardanelspor's first match was a 0–0 draw. Fenerbahçe finished third in the Süper Lig and were disqualified in the first round of the UEFA Cup during the 1998-99 season. They were serving a one-year suspension in the Turkish Cup.

On October 25, 1999, Löw became the manager of Karlsruher SC. On October 31, 1999, he played in a 1–1 draw against Hannover 96. He was in charge of one win, seven draws, and ten losses until 19 April 2000, finishing with a record of one victory, seven draws, and ten losses. His last match was a 3–1 loss to Hannover on April 16, 2000, but his only victory came in a 2–1 victory over Fortuna Köln on 19 March 2000. He was fired after the club finished last season (18th) in last place (18th). Marco Pezzaiuoli took over Löw for the remainder of the season, but the remaining seven matches were all threwouts, with only two wins.

From 20 December 2000 to February 2, 2001, Löw returned to Turkey as the head of Adanaspor. At this time, he did not win any games. When he left Adanaspor, the club was in the relegation zone at 16th place.

Löw took over Tirol Innsbruck's management on October 10th, 2001, leading them to the Austrian Bundesliga title 2000–02. With an overall record of 11 victories, five draws, and nine losses, he had a record of 11 victories, five draws, and nine losses. The club had to declare bankruptcy and was liquidated the following year. Löw was unemployed for the first time. He was with Austria Wien from 1 July 2003 to 24 March 2004, serving from 1 July 2003 to 2004. Wien was kicked out of the Champions League by Marseille in the third qualifying round and barred from the UEFA Cup by Borussia Dortmund in the first round during the 2003-2004 season. They lost the 2003 Austrian Supercup to FC Kärnten. He left the club on March 24, 2004, and Austria Wien was in first place at the time of his departure;

Following Rudi Völler's departure as the head coach of the Germany national team following a disappointing UEFA Euro 2004 in a disappointing UEFA Euro 2004, Jürgen Klinsmann brought Löw into the German setup as assistant manager. Klinsmann and Löw had been students at a coaching academy years before, and they shared a philosophy focusing on football. Klinsmann and Löw's German team reached the semi-finals of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup under their reign.

In the semi-finals of the 2005 Confederations Cup, Germany defeated Brazil 3–2, but Mexico defeated Mexico 4–3 in the third place match. Germany scored the most goals (15 in 5 matches) of any team in the tournament thanks to Klinsmann and Löw's new attacking philosophy.

Germany defeated Costa Rica 4–2 in Munich on June 9, 2006, the first World Cup in Munich. Poland won by 1–0 and Ecuador received a 3–0 victory. With two Lukas Podolski goals and a tense clash with Argentina, Germany defeated Sweden in the round of 16 with two Lukas Podolski goals. Jens Lehmann was given a detailed list of prospective Argentinian penalty takers and their preferred way to fire after finishing extra time at 1-1. The hosts conceded two goals in the final two minutes of extra time in the semi-final match against Italy, but Italy defeated Italy two goals. Germany, on the other hand, put on a good showing against Portugal in the third place match, winning 3–1 with two Bastian Schweinsteiger goals.

Klinsmann's staff also created Team 2006, an experimental B-team to try out new young players who are eligible to participate in the home World Cup, in addition to a focus on football and youth growth. An enhanced fitness coaching team, as well as Oliver Bierhoff as "Business Manager" – this work revolves around public relations, general administration, and everything not specifically related to coaching – as well as Dr. Hans-Dieter Hermann, a psychologist who helps the German players prepare for difficult situations in major tournaments.

Löw was appointed as Germany's new manager on July 12, 2006, following Klinsmann's decision not to renew his employment. Löw has been working for two years and has stated that he preferred to continue in the Klinsmann's philosophy but wanted to play with an offensive style. Löw was particularly worried about the length of time his players had to play before passing. He slowed this time significantly during his tenure, boosting the game's pace. He declared that his goal was to win Euro 2008. In his first game as coach, a friendly against Sweden in Gelsenkirchen on August 16, 2006, Miroslav Klose scored twice and Bernd Schneider scored the other.

Löw got off to a winning start in Euro 2008 qualifying for the Republic of Ireland and San Marino. Germany defeated Georgia 2–0 in the Ostseestadion in Rostock on October 7, 2006, the fourth straight victory for Löw and his staff, as the first success for a new head coach of Germany's national team ever. With a 4–1 victory over Slovakia in the next match, the team ties the series to five wins in the Euro 2008 qualifier against Slovakia in Bratislava. Under Löw's reign, the Slovaks' goal was the first goal conceded by Germany under Löw's reign.

The next match saw the end of Löw's undefeated run, with the qualifying match against Cyprus ending in a 1–1 draw. On February 7, 2007, we won by 3–1 over Switzerland and 2–1 victory over the Czech Republic on March 24. An experimental squad lost 0–1 against Denmark in Löw's first game as boss on March 28, 2007. Robert Enke and Patrick Helmes were the first people to meet in the United States. Löw's record stood at 11 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw out of 13 matches, a 41:6 goal difference when qualifying for Euro 2008 was established. In London's new Wembley Stadium, this is the first victory over England. On October 17, 2007, Germany defeated the Czech Republic in qualifying. This was Löw's second loss. Germany finished second in qualifying. In a 0–0 draw in the final match of 2007.

Germany started 2008 with a 3–0 victory over Austria on February 6th and a 4–0 victory over Switzerland on March 26. In a 2–2 draw, then Germany and Belarus drew in a 2–2 draw. At halftime, Germany had a 2–0 lead. Germany defeated Serbia 2–1 in their last match before Euro 2008. In their first game at Euro 2008, Germany defeated Poland 2–0, with two goals from Lukas Podolski. Germany was defeated 2–1 by Croatia in their second game, but Löw was sent to the stands by referee Manuel Mejuto González and his Austrian counterpart Josef Hickersberger for protesting with the fourth official in their final group game against Austria. Following his dismissal, he was seen chatting with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, about the incident. Despite this defeat to Croatia, Germany won the match 1–0 thanks to a goal by Michael Ballack and progressed to the quarter-finals as runners up.

After the group stages to a 4–2–3–1 system, Löw converted the 4–4–2 system, leaving left striker Mario Gómez out of the starting lineup. Despite being compelled to watch from the sidelines, his team defeated Portugal 3–2. Even through phone calls, Löw was forbidden from giving any directions to his team in the quarter-final. Later Löw admitted that he had devised seven different scenarios with his assistant Hansi Flick in order to block Portugal. In the semi-finals, Germany defeated Turkey 3–2. In the final on June 29, Germany defeated Spain 1–0.

South Africa's qualifying process continued to progress, with Germany securing their spot in the 2010 World Cup undefeated. Germany earned first place in their qualifying group for the 2010 World Cup by defeating second placed Russia in Moscow 1–0, putting Guus Hiddink's side into playoffs.

Löw's second youngest team of the tournament, Germany's youngest since 1934, made the 2010 World Cup debut and fielded new young players and fielded their second youngest team of the tournament, the country's youngest team since 1934. In the first round of the knockout stage, Germany defeated Group D and England, defeating Argentina 4–0 in the quarter-finals. Germany lost the semi-finals to Spain 1–0. They advanced to win the third place play-off against Uruguay by 3–2 on July 10, 2010, winning the bronze medals and third spot at the 2010 World Cup.

Germany qualified for Euro 2012 and led their group with ten wins out of ten matches. This includes a 4–0 win over Kazakhstan and a 6–2 victory over Austria. Löw signed a new deal that would keep him with Germany until 2014. Germany then went on to top their division in the tournament, becoming the only team to win all three of their group matches after defeating Portugal 1–0, the Netherlands 2–1, and Denmark 2–1. Germany defeated Greece 4–2 in the quarter-finals, but the semi-finals were canceled after losing by 2–1 to Italy.

Germany began qualifying with a 3–0 victory over the Faroe Islands. Germany beat France 2–1 in their first match in 2013 in 2013. They defeated Portugal 4–0 in group qualifying for their 2014 World Cup group stage. Germany came from behind to draw the match 2–2 in the second game against Ghana, while Germany defeated the United States – led by former German coach Jürgen Klinsmann – 1–0. After playing a strong defensive line allowing Algeria to break through on several occasions, Löw's tactics were called into question in the second round match against Algeria. Nonetheless, Germany defeated 2–1 after extra time, setting up a quarter-final clash with France. With a goal from Borussia Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels in the 12th minute, Germany defeated France 1–0.

Germany defeated Brazil (who were without injured Neymar and suspended Thiago Silva) 7–1 to advance to the tournament's final in the semi-finals; Brazil lost 2-0 to Brazil; the result was Brazil's lowest defeat in FIFA World Cup history. With a Mario Götze goal in the 112th minute, Löw led Germany to their fourth World Cup title victory and victory over Argentina in the final. After receiving 36.23 percent votes and finishing ahead of Carlo Ancelotti who received 22.06 percent votes, he was a winner of the FIFA World Coach Of The Year Award for the second year.

With a 2–1 win over Scotland, Germany began Euro 2016 qualifying with a 2–1 win. Germany lost 2–0 to Poland. Germany fired 28 shots in the match, and the result put them in fourth place. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Germany tied the Republic of Ireland 1-1; John O'Shea had scored the equalizer for Ireland in the fourth minute. During the next month, Germany defeated Gibraltar 4–0, but not in the following month. Löw signed a deal extension until 2018. Germany defeated Georgia 2–0 on March 29, 2015, while Germany remained in second place. In a friendly match against the United States on June 10, Germany defeated 21-0 to the United States 2–1. This was the first victory for the United States in Germany. On June 13, 2015, Germany defeated Gibraltar 7–0, and Poland 3–1 on September 4, 2015. Germany defeated Scotland three days later, but Ireland defeated Germany 1–0 on October 8, 2015. With a 2–1 victory over Georgia, Germany halted qualifying for the first time in qualifying.

Germany defeated France, England, Italy, Slovakia, and Hungary in the lead-up to the final tournament. France defeated Germany 2–0 on November 13, 2015; England defeated Germany 3–2 on March 26, 2016; and three days later, Germany defeated Italy 4–1, the first time since 1995 that Germany had defeated Italy. On May 31, Slovakia defeated Germany 3–1. Germany defeated Hungary 2–0 in their last match before the tournament's begining.

Germany was grouped into Group C with Ukraine, Poland, and Northern Ireland in the tournament's main. Germany defeated Ukraine (2–0) and Northern Ireland (1–0), while Northern Ireland (1–0), while Poland tied Poland (0–0). Overall, the team finished on seven points with Poland, but with a high goal difference, Germany qualified for the round of 16 as Group C winners. The Czechs defeated Slovakia 3–0 on June 26, 2016, setting up a quarter-final match against Italy on July 2nd. After finishing the game in a 1-1 draw, Germany advanced to the semi-finals after winning the shootout and rubbing up with tournament hosts France. For the first time since 1958, France will defeat Germany 2–0, inflicting its first loss on Germany in a major tournament for the first time since 1958. Despite losing, Löw felt that Germany was the "better team" in the game.

With a 3–2 victory over Australia in their first group stage match, Germany began their 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup mission. Germany secured a 1–1 draw over Chile in the next round. Germany gained 3-1 over Cameroon in their last group stage match and booked their spot in the semi-final. This victory marked Germany's 100th victory under his leadership.

For the first time in the tournament, Germany defeated Mexico in the semi-finals and won by 4–1. After defeating Chile 1–0 in the final at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg on July 2, 2017, Löw led Germany to their FIFA Confederations Cup title win for the first time.

Löw decided to remain Germany manager after Euro 2016, not sure what it was. For 2018 World Cup qualifying, Germany was drawn into Group C with the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan, and San Marino. He did not complete his German contract until 2022 on May 15, 2018.

Germany lost their first group match 0–1 against Mexico. Löw's 4–2–3-1 formation, but right-back Joshua Kimmich was able to attack that flank, giving Mexico a lot of space on that side. In addition, playing two defensive midfielders but having them push forward in attack made the German backline vulnerable to the Mexican counter. Germany defeated Sweden 2–1 in a 2–1 victory. For the first time since 1938, Germany was disqualified in the first round of the World Cup, and the first group stage exit was seen after losing 2–0 to South Korea. Four of the last five world champions will retire in the group stage of the next World Cup (the other incidents were France in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014).

Despite the group stage departure from the World Cup, Löw decided to stay on as a national team coach. The country's losses in 2018 continued; Germany was supposed to be barred from the top tier of the inaugural UEFA Nations League, but the team stayed in League A after UEFA decided to change the number of teams in each class. Following a 0–6 loss to Spain in the last group match in November 2020, Germany finished second in Group A4 in Group A4 in the 2020-20 UEFA Nations League. It was Germany's worst defeat since May 1931 when they lost 0–6 at home against Austria.

Following Euro 2020, Löw announced that he would step down from his position as Germany's manager on March 9th. England defeated Germany in the round of 16 of Euro 2020, effectively excluding Germany from the competition. Löw's tenure as Germany's coach came to an end with this loss. His tenure of nearly 15 years as Europe's longest serving coach. Hansi Flick, his former assistant manager, had him dismissed him.

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