Joachim Löw: The Architect of Germany's Success

Joachim Löw took over the German national team on July 12, 2006, succeeding Jürgen Klinsmann, for whom he had been an assistant coach since 2004. During this brief period, they presented themselves to the public and the press as a duo who jointly made many of the team's decisions.

Later, it was said that there was a division of labor between the two. Klinsmann, who had great influence over the players due to his past as an elite footballer - World Champion in 1990, and European Champion six years later - had the role of motivator while Löw took care of tactical matters.

In a way, it can be said that Löw has been shaping the destiny of the Mannschaft since 2004, although the first two years were alongside Klinsmann, who chose him as his assistant because he needed someone he could blindly trust.

Löw's club career had not been particularly remarkable. In Germany, the only title he had won was the German Cup with Stuttgart in 1997. Later, in 2002, he became Austrian champion with FC Tirol.

Between the two titles, he coached Karslruher SC in the second Bundesliga in 1999 but left the position after winning only one out of 18 games. His time in the Turkish league did not yield any titles either.

At the time he took over the German national team, the only thing in his favor was his work alongside Klinsmann at a time when, after finishing third in the 2006 World Cup, the German Football Federation (DFB) wanted to focus on continuity.

With Klinsmann, Löw had given the German national team a new spirit, an offensive ambition. He believed that Germany should always play forward, constantly seeking the opponent's goal.

Over the years under Löw's leadership, the game became more refined. The 2008 European Championship, in which Germany finished second behind Spain, served as a link between the two eras.

It was the last tournament for most of the key players from Klinsmann's era such as Michael Ballack, Torsten Frings, or Jens Lehmann. The younger ones, led by Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Lukas Podolski, were already taking charge. And from the veterans, there remained the endless Miroslav Klose.

The revolution came in the 2010 World Cup. Firstly, there was the emergence of Mesut Özil, which caused Löw to change Germany's strategy. After Ballack was injured in the FA Cup final, Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira formed the double pivot.

A player was needed to fill the void left by Schweinsteiger, and Löw chose a player who had only been in the German top flight for one season: a certain Thomas Müller.

In goal, after Robert Enke's tragic suicide and a rib injury to René Adler, Manuel Neuer emerged and left a lasting mark.

In the end, in 2010, Löw's Germany once again crashed out against Spain, this time in the semifinals, after beating England and Argentina 4-1 and 4-0 respectively in the knockout stages.

Despite finishing in third place, just like four years earlier, Germany began to feel that Löw's team was ready for a title, and public opinion started demanding it.

In the 2012 European Championship, Germany encountered what has been called the "Italian curse" and fell to Italy in the semifinals. The disappointment was greater than two and four years before.

Germany, under Löw, arrived at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with the obligation to become champions. And they did, with a 1-0 victory over Argentina in the final, although the most memorable moment was the incredible 7-1 victory against Brazil in the semifinals.

After a good Euro 2016 campaign, Germany's hopes were shattered in 2018 when they were eliminated in the group stage.

According to the usual logic, this failure should have led to the coach's departure, but the DFB said that the decision to continue or not was in the hands of the coach.

After analyzing his mistakes - he admitted to the arrogance of believing that his team could have possession of the ball for 90 minutes - Löw decided to start a new cycle.

Müller, Jerome Boateng, and Mats Hummels, three of the 2014 World Cup champions, left the team. Others, like Leroy Sané, who Löw had not wanted to take to Russia 2018, and above all, Serge Gnabry, emerged.

"Gnabry always plays with me," Löw said.

The qualification phase for the Euro 2020 gives hope that the new cycle could be promising.