Thursday, April 1st, 2021
Two opinions at noon
Does Joachim Löw have to leave right now?
By Tobias Nordmann & Till Erdenberger
Joachim Löw will also look after the German national soccer team at the EM this summer, one last time. Or? From a sporting point of view, the bitter Macedonia bankruptcy sows serious doubts about a successful tournament under Löw. Would an early farewell to the meritorious Löw be a sensible solution? A pros and cons!
There is (now) no reason to be kicked out!
It would have been so easy to get Joachim Löw out of the office of national coach with good reason. After the debacles at the 2018 World Cup or twice in the Nations League. But Joachim Löw survived everything, even the cracking 0: 6 against Spain. The association trusts him and his plan. So why should he give up his eternal loyalty now that the coach will soon be leaving voluntarily anyway? Because the embarrassing defeat against North Macedonia was one more too many? Because they endanger the EM success? No, as bitter as this bankruptcy against good, but not outstanding North Macedonians was, it was so important for the coach on his way to the final mission at the DFB. And he is known to be ruthless. So what should he be interested in a World Cup qualifying group whose outcome is in other coaching hands, but in which Germany remains the favorite?
Löw hardly has any opportunities to train tactical things with his team. Every game on the way to the European Championship must follow the principle of “trial and error”. It went well against Iceland. It was okay against Romania. A disaster against North Macedonia. As shocked as Löw himself is by the performance and the result, he has now gained important insights: A chain of five does not work. With Antonio Rüdiger he has a strong central defender, but apparently no head of defense, as has already been praised in many places. So good arguments for Mats Hummels. In addition to Joshua Kimmich, a second leader is missing in midfield when the terrier has a bad day. Good arguments, especially for Thomas Müller. Both emotionally and athletically. And in the storm Kevin Volland could be an issue again in view of the harmlessness. A guy with power and self-confidence – unlike Timo Werner.
And who gives you the guarantee that with a possible alternative everything would be better than with Löw? Nobody. Stefan Kuntz has no experience with “big” teams or with such pressure situations. And Ralf Rangnick, with whom the association intends to hold talks about a collaboration soon, does not know how the DFB works. Getting used to the fast-paced business – not Rangnick’s thing. His development work at TSG Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig started at the very beginning – not in the middle. He was able to set up and develop his ideas again. Does his magic work immediately if he has to operate on existing structures? And if Hansi Flick could be a successor with a DFB past and experience in pressure situations with large teams, then definitely not NOW! (tno)
Löw only works against himself
No, this time nobody demands that the national coach answer to the Bundestag. Before the 2006 World Cup, a CDU backbencher had asked the person in charge: “It would be nice if Mr. Klinsmann would explain to the sports committee what his conception is and how he wants to become world champion. The game against Italy was cruel,” it said . Even after the bad 1: 2 against North Macedonia, Joachim Löw only has to answer to himself. And of course Löw thinks Löw is the right man to bring the DFB a successful EM. There are not many reasons for this belief.
The Spain blackout in November was transfigured into a freak accident, a non-structural total failure. A natural disaster. The DFB had analyzed in a flash that it would continue as before. The presidential request to resign at least after the EM was indignantly rejected by Löw. Four months later you are at the same point, two solid appearances against Romania and Iceland followed by the shock. Now everything is in question again. Except for the national coach. This is wrong.
Against North Macedonia, Löw was not a victim of the circumstances, but part of the problem: By making a few changes in personnel, he renounced load management on the one hand and by switching to different chain lengths in defense to the opportunity to break in – and both at the same time. RTL expert Uli Hoeneß was very upset: “I don’t understand at all that you can change a successful system of two games without need. […] I wouldn’t have played a mess in the defense, which has to work well together. “The ideas didn’t catch on and in the second half one couldn’t even hope for the impression that the team would want to tear something exclusively for their outgoing coach. No standing up, no extra parameters, no resistance – there is nothing left that speaks for a Löw factor at the European Championship.
Sure, the time to the EM is short, there is only a two-week training camp from the end of May and – after the nomination period has expired – two more test matches. But a national coach doesn’t develop the team every day like a club coach does. He needs an idea and has to combine the existing material into a functioning unit. Nothing more, nothing less. There is no room for innovation. The worry about the clock running out must not be a sporting survival insurance for a national coach. Ironically, Löw lives exactly that: Two crucial personalities – the overdue return of Thomas Müller and also that of Mats Hummels – he keeps postponing, although they should have been carried out before the block of three that had ended. Depending on your point of view, it is too late to import anyway – or it is not necessary. So why should you trust that no one could do better than Löw in his 16th year as national coach?
According to reports, they will meet with Ralf Rangnick in April for exploratory talks. Rangnick himself made it very clear that the office would be entirely to his taste. Rangnick likes to work on structures and thinks in big contexts. But unlike Löw, the EM would only be at the beginning of something big anyway. (ter)
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