Loew to Remain Germany Coach Until 2012

7/30/2019 Loew to Remain Germany Coach Until 2012

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Loew to remain Germany coach until 2012

Germany's football federation has confirmed that Joachim Loew will remain the head of

the national team until 2012.

The details of the

agreement will be

decided in January

Joachim Loew has

reached an

agreement to extend

his current contract

as coach of

Germany's national

soccer team for another two years.

German Football Federation (DFB) President Theo Zwanziger said he was pleased the

two sides had "shaken hands" on the contract extension.

"We respect the efforts of the national coach," Zwanziger said.

The contract extension will not come cheap: Loew's pay packet looks set to increase by

about 20% to around three million euros annually.

Looking ahead to Euro 2012The move means Loew will still be in charge when Euro 2012 rolls around. His first

contract would have seen him stay as head coach until just after the World Cup in South

Africa next year.

"There is the fundamental readiness to continue our work until after the 2012 Euro," said

Loew in a statement on the DFB web site.

"Until the signing of the contract, some points need to be discussed and cleared, which

are important for the work of my team," he added.

Loew wishes to retain his current coaching team, and Zwanziger has confirmed the DFBagreed in principle to extend the contracts of assistant coach Hansi Flick and goalkeeping

coach Andreas Koepke.

Loew, who took over from former coach Juergen Klinsmann in 2006, guided Germany

into the final of Euro 2008, where they lost to Spain. Under his watch, Germany also

finished top of their qualifying group for the 2010 World Cup.


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ca/mrh/dpa/AFP/Reuters

Editor: Sean SinicoDW.DE

Germany needs to improve to become a World Cup favorite

Germany got the job done in a relative easy group and qualified for the World Cup. But

how does the team measure up to the world's top national teams? Deutsche Welle's

Jefferson Chase takes a closer look.

Germany got the

result they needed

when it counted

The one moment

that best symbolizes

the 1-0 win over

Moscow that

qualified Germany

for the 2010 World

Cup in South Africa was directly after the lone goal was scored. Striker Miroslav Klose

celebrated with one of his trademark forward flips - and only narrowly avoided landing

on his backside.

Match reports in German newspapers, perhaps understandably, were full of superlatives

about Germany's gutsy away win. But that 1-0 victory was of the knife-edge variety,

unlike Germany's 1-0 loss to Spain in the 2008 European Championships, the last time

coach Joachim Loew had a chance to win a title.

So have Germany improved enough to draw level with the Spaniards or Brazil? Or arethey more on a par with other large European nations like England, the Netherlands and

Italy.

Here's a back-to-front run-through of the strengths and weaknesses of the German squad.

Defense


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Adler could become

the next in a long

line of stellar

German national

keepers

The one position

about which Loew

has absolutely no

worries is goal. 24-

year-old Rene Adler

was the key to Germany's victory, making a number of world-class saves, and seems to

have sealed his position as Germany's number one.

The young keeper's most brilliant moment in Moscow came in the 73rd minute, when

Russian midfielder Igor Semshov was clear on the right side and slotted a crisp pass in

the direction of two teammates waiting in front of goal. Adler not only got a hand to the

ball but cleverly deflected it over the end line.

And should Adler get hurt, Loew can call on Robert Enke, Manuel Neuer or even Tim

Wiese who've all proved their worth at the international level.

Left back Philipp Lahm is arguably the best in the world at his position so his selection is

a no-brainer. Interior defenders Per Mertesacker and Heiko Westermann provide a solid

anchor in the back four. Youngster Serdar Tasci could also play a role.

The big question is right back. Jerome Boateng, who made his national-team debut in

Russia, showed he was capable of provided some welcome offensive pressure. But the

21-year-old also got himself sent off with a red card.

Loew's task will be to get the youngster enough experience in friendlies between now and

next June that he no longer poses a risk. Otherwise, he'll be forced to fall back on Arne

Friedrich, who's been mediocre at best when wearing the German kit.

Defensive midfield

Ballack is a force in

midfield but

Germany could use

a threat like

Russia's Andrei


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Arshavin

Though not the force he once was German captain Michael Ballack is the lynchpin of the

German squad. The 33-year-old not only wins lots of challenges but is responsible for the

opening passes for Germany's offense.

To cover Ballack's back when he presses forward, Simon Rolfes is a good choice. And

Thomas Hitzlsperger is also a more offensive option because of his ability to blast in

shots from long-range.

If Ballack were to go down to injury, though, Germany would be in trouble. Ballack is to

Germany what Gennaro Gattuso has been to Italy, and Loew needs to plan, as best he can,

for the eventuality that his captain is unavailable.

The problem is that no one currently on the squad or on the radar screen has the ability to

fill the stopper-meets-playmaker role Ballack occupies.

Offensive midfield and wingers

Germany is

counting on

youngsters like

Jerome Boateng,

Marko Marin and

Mesut Oezil

The emergence of

Mesut Oezil

represents the

biggest

improvement of Germany's likely 2010 squad over the 2008 edition. The 20-year-old

displayed both his pace and his eye for his teammates in setting up the lone goal in

Moscow that punched Germany's World Cup ticket.

But after that, the quality tails off. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski are active

but relatively inefficient players who've never lived up their potential. It will beinteresting to see whether youngster Marko Marin, Oezil's equally fleet-footed teammate

at Werder Bremen, can break into the Germany's starting eleven.

But even if he does, a comparison with the world's top teams suggests that Germany's

offensive midfield is a relative weakness.

Spain are spoiled for choice with Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Fabregas, Iniesta and Senna. Brazil,


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too, can chose from nearly a dozen top-quality midfielders, including Kaka, whose skills

and creativity are far superior to any member of the German squad.

Thus, as the squad stands, Germany may find it difficult to come back if they go behind

early in matches - something that most teams need to do if they want to take a major

international title.

Klose showed his age in executing his celebratory front flip - he landed on his backside,

not his feet

The center forward

This position is one of the biggest question marks in the team. If the Russia match is

anything to go by, Loew could likely rely on a 4-3-3 formation for much of the

tournament in South Africa.

That essentially means the battle to fill the lone central forward slot is between Miroslav

Klose and Mario Gomez, the same pair of players contesting the same position at their

mutual club Bayern Munich.

For now Klose, who will be 32 years old next summer, gets the nod because he, in

contrast to Gomez, has been effective for the national squad in the past. But he's clearly

lost a bit of athleticism, so in his heart of hearts, Loew might well prefer the 24-year-old

Gomez.

Loew choice will probably be influenced by how much playing time the two strikers get

at Bayern Munich. However that situation turns out, though, what Loew doesn't have is a

center forward who can create goal opportunities for himself a la Wayne Rooney for

England or Thierry Henry for France.


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That means that Germany could have trouble against other defensively oriented teams

like Italy.

As one of the best teams at the back in the world, Germany could certainly fly high in

South Africa, and no nation will relish facing them. But their creative deficiencies at the

front also mean that Loew's men, if they face tough opponents early on, could end up

smack on their backsides.

Author: Jefferson Chase

Editor: Andreas Illmer

Leverkusen's Kiessling is becoming impossible for Loew to ignoreWith Klose, Gomez and Podolski out of sorts, the door is open for other German

forwards. But does Stefan Kiessling have what it takes for the World Cup? Deutsche

Welle spoke with him about his prospects.

At the moment, the

signs for Kiessling

are pointing up

Two years ago

Kiessling, who'snow 25 years old,

was touted as one

of Germany's most

promising young

players. He had just transferred from Nuremberg to much higher profile Bayer

Leverkusen, and in March 2007 he earned his first cap for Germany in a friendly against

Denmark.

But only one further call has come from Germany coach Joachim Loew since then. WhileKiessling's productivity has steadily improved, he failed to post the stellar numbers or

create the sort of spectacular goals that elevated Mario Gomez and more recently Mesut

Oezil into the Nationalelf.

As Germany's qualifying campaign entered its decisive phase this autumn, Kiessling had

become an afterthought. At least for Loew.


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With six goals in 10 league matches, Kiessling is currently the most successful forward

with a German passport. Indeed, Kiessling shares the top spot in the Bundesliga's goal

scoring list with Bremen's Claudio Pizarro.

And that hasn't gone without notice. In a poll carried out by the German Web site

www.soccer-fans.de, more than 71 percent of respondents said they thought Kiessling

deserved a spot in the national side.

And in an editorial, the on-line soccer magazine Fussball Forum criticized Loew for

breaking his meritocratic principles.

If performance is the main criteria for inclusion, someone like Stefan Kiessling would

definitely have to have been part of the squad, the magazine opined.

What has Kiessling done to earn Loew's neglect? Nothing really, as it turns out.

The overrated label

Kiessling scored in

each of his first five

games this season

Kiessling was

regarded as one of

the top prizes on the

transfer market in

the summer of

2006. And the

hopes thereby

engendered may have been part of the problem.

When I first came to Leverkusen, they'd paid 5.5 million euros ($8.3 million), and that

was a sum that made me swallow hard back then, Kiessling told Deutsche Welle. I

didn't have that much experience and hadn't played that many first-division matches for

Nuremberg so 5.5 million was a burden to bear.Looking at the numbers, it's hard to argue that the striker hasn't lived up to expectations.

Kiessling has improved his goal and assist tallies in each of his three seasons with

Leverkusen.

His 12 goals and seven assists in 2008-09 put him among the best forwards in Germany,

but the key word here is perhaps among.


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While Gomez was leading Stuttgart to a league title and challenging for the goal-scorer's

crown, Kiessling often played second fiddle to his Leverkusen striking partner Patrick

Helmes on a team that always seemed to fade as the season wore on.

A Klinsmann type of player

At times Kiessling's

game is reminiscent

of Klinsmann's

Another thing that

has held Kiessling

back is that he

doesn't look the part

of a German

national. Klose,

Gomez and even

Podolski have a certain gravitas that fits well with the Nationalelf, whereas the blond

striker often gives the impression of being a 1meter-90 (6-foot-two) kid who's just happy

to be able to kick the ball around.

Moreover, no one who's ever seen him play live would mistake Kiessling for a brilliant

technician. He's a striker who scores by being in the right place at the right time, mopping

up rebounds or getting a head on crosses.

As such, he's a player whose form usually follows that of his team. When Leverkusen

have done well, so has Kiessling, but when things have gone wrong, he hasn't been the

one who can turn things round with an individual bit of brilliance.

Leverkusen currently top the table, and Kiessling is off to his best-ever season start in

2009-10. The striker gives much of the credit to Leverkusen's new coach.

In general, I like to practice because it's fun playing soccer, but under Jupp Heynckes,

who was a striker himself, you can learn a lot - and that's unbelievably fun, Kiesslingsaid.

You don't have to go back too far in German soccer history to find a somewhat gangly

forward who had success for the national team - Loew's predecessor, Juergen Klinsmann.

Klinsi, too, as a player was mocked for being inelegant and happy-go-lucky, and he went

on to score 47 goals for Germany in more than a decade in the national side.


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A team effort

Kiessling could

well take Cacau's

spot in the

Germany squad

As goes

Leverkusen, so

goes Kiessling.

Ironically, that

means the striker's

chances in the

Nationalelf may be dependent on his club's back four, the part of the squad that wilted

most in Leverkusen's plunge from the top to the middle of the table last season.

Kiessling says that, thanks to new acquisitions like veterans Sami Hyypia, this year will

be a different story.

With Sami back there, we have the sort of person we needed last year to hold the

defense together, Kiessling said. At the moment, everything's clicking. We've got a

coach who directs us, and we so to speak play the music on the pitch.

And he's astonishingly cool when it comes to the lack of calls he's had from Germany

coach Loew.

The last contact was in February, Kiessling told Deutsche Welle. Since then, I've heard

nothing. But that's no big deal. Why should he call me up to say: You're in good form,

but despite that I'm not taking you with us?

Klose, Poldi and Gomez have the inside track, when it comes to the national squad. But

injuries could keep one or more of them from travelling to South Africa, and Germany's

fourth striker in recent matches, Cacau, is by no means guaranteed to be in the 2010

squad.So, in his heart of hearts, Kiessling must being hoping that Loew rings up soon to say he

is in good form and will be taken along for football's most prestigious tournament.

Stefan Kiessling is this week's featured guest on DW-TV's Bundesliga Kick-Off.

Author: Jefferson Chase

Editor: Chuck Penfold


10/13

DW.DE

Hamburg stay level with Bayer Leverkusen on top of the table

Even with a new coach, and an early goal, Hertha Berlin could not prevent SV Hamburg

coming from behind to hand them their seventh defeat in a row.

Hamburg's David

Jarolim (c)

celebrates his goal

By all accounts, it

wasn't pretty.

Hertha, under its

new coach

Friedhem Funkel,

took an early lead

when team captain Arne Friedrich headed one in from the corner.

But it was all for naught as Hamburg evened things up in the 24th minute courtesy of

Hertha defender Kaka, who headed it neatly over goalie Timo Ochs for an own goal.

They then added another pair to make it 3-0 at the half-time whistle.

Hertha was playing without its injured goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny. And things got worse

when Ochs left the game with a muscle tear leaving Hertha to defend the goal with 19-

year old Sascha Burchert who was playing in only in his third Bundesliga game.

After just five minutes on the pitch, Burchert came out of the goal and David Jarolim

knocked the ball in from 30 meters out.

Two minutes later, in what appeared to be an unbelievable replay, Burchert again ran out

of his area and Ze Roberto picked up the clearance from inside the center circle and arced

it into an empty net.

Hertha now languishes at the bottom of the table.

Claudia Pizzaro is

all smiles

Werder stay in

touch with leaders

Werder Bremen, in

Sunday's second


11/13

game, beat VfB Stuttgart 2-0 and climbed into the top four on the table.

A header from Peru striker Claudio Pizzaro in the third minute of the game put them up a

goal and Aaron Hunt made it a pair when he scored Werder's second after the half.

Saturday's games

Leverkusen won

two goals on

penalty

Leverkusen shot to

the top of the table

on Saturday, after

demolishing

Nuremburg.

Meanwhile,

Cologne held

Bayern to a draw, Bochum tied with Wolfsburg, Mainz beat Hoffenheim and Hannover

thrashed Freiburg.

Leverkusen are now level on points with Hamburg at the top of the standings after

thrashing Nuremburg 4-0.

The first three goals fell in the first half with a free-kick from Toni Kroos, a penalty-shot

by Simon Rolfes and a strike by Eren Derdiyok.

The Bundesliga's top scorer Stefan Kiessling made it four for Leverkusen midway

through the second half, to the joy of the home side's fans.

Cologne will be

pleased to take a

draw from their

encounter with

Bayern

Bayern frustrated

Cologne managedto hold Bayern

Munich to a

scoreless draw in

their clash on Saturday.

Although Bayern appeared much the stronger side, the Bavarians were unable to convert


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any opportunities including an 11th minute header by Bastian Schweinsteiger, which

connected with the cross bar.

Bayern coach Van Gaal replaced some of his star players at half-time. Frenchman Franck

Ribery was taken off for Danijel Pranjic and Mario Gomez brought on to replace Jose

Ernesto Sosa, but all to no avail for the side which is trailing at seventh in the rankings.

Mainz ended

Hoffenheim's

unbeaten streak

Wolfsburg moves to

seventh

Defending

champions

Wolfsburg drop

down to seventh

place in the

standings, even after coming back to draw 1-1 in Bochum.

Bochum took the lead in the 53rd minute with a header from Vahid Hashemian. However,

the home side were soon reduced to 10 men when Shinji Ono was sent off for a penalty

on Wolfsburg captain, Josue.

Dzeko took full advantage of the gap in numbers, heading home the equalizer for

Wolfsburg in the 75th minute.

Mainz stop Hoffenheim

Mainz ended Hoffenheim's six-match undefeated streak, beating the home side 2-1, and

are level on points with Hoffenheim in the table.

Mainz established their lead early, with Andreas Ivanschitz notching a goal in the sixth

minute and Aristide Bance making it 2-0 just five minutes later.

Andreas Ibertsberger scored a consolation goal for Hoffenheim late in the second half.

Nuremburg fought

back hard, but werecaught exposed in

the end

Hanover run riot

Hanover also

opened the scoring


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early when they thrashed Freiburg 5-2.

Chahed and Bruggink opened the scoring for Hanover with two goals in the first ten

minutes.

Banovic pulled a point back for Freiburg before Hanover defender Haggui extended his

team's lead to 3-1 shortly before halftime. The score remained that way until a string of

goals in the final ten minutes of regulation time.

Schuster scored for Freiburg in the 82nd minute, but Ya Konan caught out the Freiburgers

on the counter attack in the dying minutes of the game and then Hanover substitute Pinto

scored against a demoralized side in extra time to make it 5-2.

Hanover climbed to eleventh in the standings, one point behind Freiburg and Eintracht

Frankfurt.

Dortmund get a needed boost

Dortmund claimed

a much-needed win

In Saturday's

evening fixture,

Dortmund defeated

Moenchengladbach

1-0 to claim only

their second victory

of the season.

Scoring his first Bundesliga goal, Argentine forward Lucas Barrios sealed the match for

Dortmund, advancing his team to 12th in the standings.

On Friday, Schalke beat Frankfurt to climb to third in the rankings.

av/nw/dpa/Reuters/AFP

Editor: Nigel Tandy

Loew to Remain Germany Coach Until 2012

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