He helped overhaul the German style of football, won a World Cup and is cruising to qualification for Russia in 2018 with six wins from six matches
Germany like long-serving managers, and Jogi Löw is likely to go down in history as one of the best national team coaches ever. Not only is he extremely successful, having won the World Cup in 2014, but he is the man most responsible for revolutionising German football.
Löw was the real architect of Germany's turnaround
For long decades, Die Mannschaft were considered to be a machine – they won a lot of trophies, but weren't popular with the neutrals (to put it mildly).
Ahead of the 2006 World Cup on home soil, the team was in crisis. The performance at Euro 2004 was disastrous, and the style so negative that fans' expectations couldn't possibly be lower.
Jurgen Klinsmann, named as a coach for the all-important tournament, had changed that within months, and his charismatic leadership enabled the supporters to fall in love with their national team once again – but the real architect of Germany's turnaround was Löw.
Löw’s early highs
Jogi was underrated on his journeyman coaching career, but those who witnessed the outrageously brilliant attacking side he built at Stuttgart in the 1996/97 season are unable to forget it. That is exactly what he did with Germany.
Responsible for tactical preparations, Löw put the emphasis on fluent and positive football. Even though the hosts dramatically lost to Italy in the semi-finals, that was a remarkable success, and it was only logical that the German FA promoted him to replace Klinsmann.
He's still there, technically in charge of Germany for 13 years now, and while his style and preferences were criticised for a time, it’s impossible to ignore the incredible impact he's made. Germany are always entertaining under Löw, and the triumph in Brazil three years ago was richly deserved.
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Now, with a new generation of talent, he is hoping to become the first national coach to defend the World Cup crown since Vittorio Pozzo in 1938. Would you really bet against him doing that?
