Joachim Löw

German football manager (born 1960)

Joachim "Jogi" Löw (; born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. In March 2021, Löw announced that he would resign from his position after the delayed Euro 2020. Of all head coaches of the German national football team, Löw has managed and won the most matches (189/120).

In 1978, Löw started his playing career with 2. Bundesliga club SC Freiburg. He returned to the club twice (1982, 1985) and held the club's overall goal scoring record until 2020, when Nils Petersen surpassed him. In 1980, Löw joined VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, but he had difficulties establishing himself in the starting lineup and played only four matches. In the 1981–82 season, Löw played for Eintracht Frankfurt (24 matches, five goals), but he returned to Freiburg the following year. In 1982–83, he scored eight goals in 34 matches, 1983–84 he scored 17 goals in 31 matches in the 2. Bundesliga. Afterwards, he returned to the Bundesliga with Karlsruher SC, but he only scored two goals in 24 matches. Later, he joined Freiburg again for four years, played 116 matches and scored 38 goals. Löw concluded 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.

Löw started his coaching career as a youth coach for FC Winterthur while he was still active as a player. In 1994–95, he served as player coach of FC Frauenfeld. In 1995–96, he became an assistant coach to VfB Stuttgart head coach Rolf Fringer. As Fringer had the opportunity to become coach of the Switzerland national team, Löw was promoted caretaker manager on 14 August 1996. He eventually became the permanent manager and was at the club until 21 May 1998. They finished the 1996–97 season in fourth place. The 1997–98 season started with a 3–0 against Karlsruher SC on 22 July 1997 in the semi–final of the DFB Ligapokal. They went on to lose in the final against Bayern Munich on 26 July 1997. In the Bundesliga, Stuttgart finished in fourth place. During the season, in the DFB Pokal, Stuttgart reached the competition's semi finals, defeating reserve teams of Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hertha BSC, SSV Ulm 1846 and KFC Uerdingen 05 en route. Stuttgart also got to the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. This proved to be his final match His first match was a 0–0 draw against Dardanelspor. During the 1998–99 season, Fenerbahçe finished third in the Süper Lig and were eliminated in the first round of the UEFA Cup.

Löw became manager of Karlsruher SC on 25 October 1999. His first match was a 1–1 draw against Hannover 96 on 31 October 1999. He was manager until 19 April 2000, Marco Pezzaiuoli replaced Löw for the remainder of the season and only had two wins in the remaining seven matches, and were relegated. When he left Adanaspor, the club was in the relegation zone at 16th place.

Löw became the manager of Austrian club Tirol Innsbruck on 10 October 2001 He finished with a record of 11 wins, five draws and nine losses. The same year, the club had to declare bankruptcy and was liquidated. Löw was once again unemployed. He was with Austria Wien from 1 July 2003 to 24 March 2004. They won the 2003 Austrian Supercup against FC Kärnten.

When Jürgen Klinsmann succeeded Rudi Völler as the head coach of the Germany national team following a disappointing UEFA Euro 2004, he brought Löw into the German setup as assistant manager. Klinsmann and Löw had met years earlier at a coaching school and both shared a philosophy focused on attacking football. Under their reign, Klinsmann and Löw's German team reached the semi final stage at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup. Germany lost 3–2 to Brazil in the semi final of the 2005 Confederations Cup, but subsequently defeated Mexico 4–3 in the third place encounter. Klinsmann and Löw's new attacking philosophy saw Germany score the most goals (15 in 5 matches) of any team in the tournament. Germany opened the 2006 World Cup on 9 June in Munich with a 4–2 victory against Costa Rica. A last minute 1–0 win over Poland and a 3–0 win over Ecuador followed. Germany defeated Sweden in the round of 16 with two Lukas Podolski goals, followed by a grueling battle with Argentina. In the penalty shootout after finishing extra time at 1–1, the coaching staff gave Jens Lehmann a prepared list of possible Argentinian penalty takers and their preferred way to shoot, which was reported to have helped ensure Germany's victory. In the semi final match with Italy, however, the hosts conceded two goals in the final two minutes of extra time. Germany, however, turned in a dominant performance against Portugal in the third place match, winning 3–1 with two Bastian Schweinsteiger goals. Besides a focus on attacking football and youth development, Klinsmann's staff also introduced an alternative B team: Team 2006, to experiment with new aspiring players suitable to play at the home World Cup. Also introduced were an enhanced fitness coaching staff, as well as Oliver Bierhoff as "Business Manager" – this job revolves around public relations, general management and everything not directly related to coaching – and a mental coach, Dr. Hans Dieter Hermann, who has the job of preparing the German players for stressful situations in major tournaments.

On 12 July 2006, was a 3–0 success in which Miroslav Klose scored twice and Bernd Schneider scored the other. Löw had a successful start in qualifying for Euro 2008 with wins over the Republic of Ireland and San Marino. On 7 October 2006, Germany won 2–0 against Georgia in the Ostseestadion in Rostock, which was the fourth consecutive success for Löw and his team, The Slovaks' strike was the first goal conceded by Germany under Löw's reign. 2007 started with a 3–1 win against Switzerland on 7 February and a 2–1 win against the Czech Republic on 24 March. Löw's first loss as manager came in his eighth game on 28 March 2007, an experimental squad lost 0–1 against Denmark. He had given Robert Enke and Patrick Helmes their debuts. Germany lost to the Czech Republic in qualifying on 17 October 2007. This was the second loss for Löw. In the final match of 2007, Germany and Wales finished in a 0–0 draw. Then Germany and Belarus finished in a 2–2 draw. In their final match before Euro 2008, Germany defeated Serbia 2–1. At Euro 2008, Germany defeated Poland 2–0 in their first game, with two goals from Lukas Podolski. In their second game, Germany were beaten 2–1 by Croatia, while in their final group game, against Austria, Löw was sent to the stands by the referee Manuel Mejuto González – along with his Austrian counterpart Josef Hickersberger – for arguing with the fourth official. Following his dismissal, he was seen talking to Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel about the incident. Nonetheless, Germany won the match 1–0 with a goal from Michael Ballack to progress to the quarter finals

Löw changed the 4–4–2 system after the group stages to a 4–2–3–1 system, and left striker Mario Gómez out of the starting lineup. Though he was forced to watch from the sidelines, his team defeated Portugal 3–2. In the quarter final, Löw was banned from giving any directions to his team even through telephone calls. Later Löw declared that he had put seven different scenarios with his assistant Hansi Flick in order to contain Portugal. Germany won 3–2 against Turkey in the semi finals. Germany then lost 1–0 to Spain in the final on 29 June 2008.

Further progress was evident in qualifying for South Africa as Germany booked their place at the 2010 World Cup undefeated. In their penultimate match on 10 October 2009, Germany secured first place in their qualifying group for the 2010 World Cup by beating second placed Russia in Moscow 1–0, sending Guus Hiddink's side into playoffs. In the 2010 World Cup, Löw introduced new young players and fielded the second youngest team of the tournament, Germany's youngest since 1934. Germany topped Group D and met England in the first round of the knockout stage, beating them 4–1 before defeating Argentina 4–0 in the quarter finals. Germany then lost the semi final to Spain 1–0. On 10 July 2010, they went on to win the third place play off against Uruguay by 3–2 to collect the bronze medals and third place at the 2010 World Cup.

Germany qualified for Euro 2012 and topped their group with ten wins out of ten matches. This includes a 4–0 win against Kazakhstan and a 6–2 win against Austria. During the qualification campaign, Löw signed a new contract that would keep him with Germany until 2014. Germany then proceeded to top their group in the tournament, the only team to win all three of their group matches as they defeated Portugal 1–0, the Netherlands 2–1,

Germany started qualification with a 3–0 win against the Faroe Islands. After qualifying they started their 2014 World Cup group stage with a 4–0 victory over Portugal. In the second game, against Ghana, Germany came from behind to draw the match 2–2, while in the third match, Germany beat the United States – led by former German coach Jürgen Klinsmann – 1–0, with the lone goal scored by Thomas Müller. In the second round match against Algeria, Löw's tactics were called into question after playing a high defensive line allowing Algeria to break through on numerous occasions. Nonetheless, Germany won 2–1 after extra time, thereby setting up a quarter final clash with France. Germany edged France 1–0 with a goal from Borussia Dortmund centre back Mats Hummels in the 12th minute. In the semi final, Germany defeated hosts Brazil 7–1 to reach the tournament's final; the result was Brazil's worst defeat in FIFA World Cup history. Löw led Germany to their fourth World Cup title win with a Mario Götze goal in the 112th minute to get Die Mannschaft the victory in extra time against Argentina in the final. The same year he won the FIFA World Coach Of The Year Award after receiving 36.23 % votes and finished ahead of Carlo Ancelotti who got 22.06 % votes.

Germany started Euro 2016 qualifying with a 2–1 win against Scotland. Then Germany lost to Poland, 2–0. Germany had 28 shots in the match and the result put them in fourth place. John O'Shea had scored the equalizer for Ireland in the fourth minute of stoppage time. On 13 March 2015, Löw signed a contract extension until 2018. On 29 March 2015, Germany defeated Georgia 2–0, Germany remained in second place. This was the first victory for the U. S. in Germany. and Poland 3–1 on 4 September 2015. Three days later, Germany again defeated Scotland, but on 8 October 2015, Ireland would defeat Germany 1–0. Germany finished off qualifying with a 2–1 win against Georgia. In the lead up to the final tournament, Germany faced France, Italy England defeated Germany 3–2 on 26 March 2016 and three days later, Germany would defeat Italy 4–1, marking the first time since 1995 that Germany had defeated Italy. In their final match before the start of the tournament,

In the tournament proper, Germany were grouped into Group C alongside Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland. and Northern Ireland (1–0), while it tied Poland (0–0). Finishing level on seven points with Poland but with a superior goal differential, Germany qualified for the round of 16 as Group C winners. setting up a quarter final match against Italy on 2 July. After the match finished in a 1–1 draw, Germany advanced to the semi finals after winning the shootout, France would defeat Germany 2–0, inflicting its first loss on Germany in a major tournament for the first time since 1958. During this time, Löw was a part of a collaboration between the German Football Association and The LEGO Group, who in May 2016 released a Europe exclusive collectible minifigure series, with Löw featured as the first of sixteen minifigures in the collection.

Germany started their 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup mission with a 3–2 victory over Australia in their first group stage match. In the next match, Germany ended with a 1–1 draw over Chile. Germany then won against Cameroon with a 3–1 victory in their last group stage match and sealed their place in the semi final. This victory meant the 100th Victory for Germany under his coaching. Germany faced Mexico in the semi final and defeated them with a 4–1 victory to make it to the final for the first time in the tournament. On 2 July 2017, Löw led Germany to their FIFA Confederations Cup title win for the first time after a 1–0 victory against Chile in the final at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg.

After Euro 2016, Löw opted to stay on as Germany manager. Germany were drawn into Group C alongside the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan and San Marino for 2018 World Cup qualifying. On 15 May 2018, he extended his contract with Germany until 2022. Germany lost their first group match 0–1 against Mexico. Löw played a 4–2–3–1 formation but allowed right back Joshua Kimmich to attack that flank, giving Mexico space on that side. Moreover, playing two defensive midfielders but having them to push forward in attack left the German backline vulnerable to the Mexican counter. Germany went on to defeat Sweden with a 2–1 victory. Germany were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup for the first time since 1938, and encountered its first ever group stage exit after losing 2–0 to South Korea. Four of the last five world champions would exit in the group stage of the next World Cup (the other incidents are France in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014).

Löw decided to stay on as national team coach despite the group stage exit from the World Cup. On 9 March 2021, Löw announced that he would step down from his role as Germany manager following Euro 2020. On 29 June 2021, England beat Germany in the round of 16 of Euro 2020, thus eliminating Germany from the tournament. This defeat also marked the end of Löw's tenure as Germany's coach. His tenure of nearly 15 years is the longest for an international coach in Europe. He was replaced by his former assistant manager, Hansi Flick.

Löw is Roman Catholic and was an altar boy in his early life. He has been married to Daniela since 1986; they have no children. The couple met in 1978 and dated for eight years before they got married. Löw has lost his driver's licence twice, once in 2006 (for one month) and once in 2014 (for six months) because of excessive speed and using a mobile phone while driving.