- Seb Sternik
- 12 July 2024
Who will be next USA manager: Steven Gerrard, Joachim Low and Frank Lampard among contenders
The United States are on the lookout for a new head coach and the list of potential contenders is mouth-watering to say the least.
Low was appointed German national team head coach in 2006 following the departure of Jurgen Klinsmann, under whom Low had previously served as an assistant. After falling at the final hurdle against Spain in the 2008 Euros, two consecutive semi-final exits at the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 preceded their triumph in 2014.
Along with lifting the World Cup in 2014, 'Jogi' led Germany to their first ever FIFA Confederations Cup by beating Chile.
Low left his role in the summer of 2021 following the side's elimination from Euro 2020 at the hands of England.
Playing career
An attacking midfielder in his playing days, Low was the all-time record goalscorer for SC Freiburg until his tally of 83 goals for the club was surpassed by Nils Petersen in 2020. Ironically, it was Low who gave Petersen his Germany national team debut in 2018.
Low played for Freiburg in three separate stints during the 1970s and 1980s. His final spell at the club ended in 1989. Spells away from the city in the Black Forest seldom bore any success for Low, amassing a mere seven goals in 52 appearances for Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Karlsruher SC throughout the 80s.
Low also played for FC Schaffhausen, FC Winterthur and FC Frauenfeld in the twilight of his career before retiring from playing the game in 1995.
Coaching career
After having served as a player-coach for FC Frauenfeld, Low enjoyed a successful stint in charge of VfB Stuttgart, leading them to the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1997/98 and winning the DFB-Pokal in 1996/97. Those were his only two seasons in charge and he exited with a win percentage of 51.69%, moving on to Fenerbahce.
Under Low, Fenerbahce finished third in the Turkish top flight and were eliminated in the first round of the UEFA Cup. Low's reign lasted only one season.
Brief and unsuccessful spells in charge of Karlsruher and Adanaspor followed before Low found a managerial home for himself in Austria.
Low led Tirol Innsbruck to the Austrian Bundesliga title in 2001/02 and then guided Austria Wien to the Austrian Supercup in 2003.
At the time of his departure from Austria Wien in March 2004, they were first in the Bundesliga. Months later, he joined Jurgen Klinsmann's Germany technical team and subsequently took over as head coach following the 2006 World Cup.
Joachim Low and Germany
Low was brought in as an assistant coach under Jurgen Klinsmann following Germany's disappointing UEFA Euro 2004 campaign under Rudi Voller. Klinsmann and Low had met at a coaching class and shared a preference for an attacking brand of soccer. Under the tutelage of the former World Cup winner, the pair aided in bringing the nation to the cusp of international glory with two consecutive third-place finishes, once in the Confederations Cup in 2005 and then a year later at the World Cup.
Joachim Low with Jurgen Klinsmann
Germany's elimination from the 2006 FIFA World Cup came on home soil and at the hands of eventual winners Italy in the semi-finals, subsequently beating Portugal 3-1 in the third-place play-off. Klinsmann did not renew his contract after the tournament, meaning Low was promoted to the head coach position.
Life at the helm started well for Low, maintaining the best ever start for a German coach with five consecutive opening wins. Germany made the final of Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, but they lost 1-0 to Spain.
The road to the final was dramatic to say the least. Requiring a victory over Austria in their final group game, Low had to watch on from the stands after being dismissed for arguing with fourth official Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez. After winning the game 1-0, assistant Hansi Flick was prepared with seven different scenarios by Low when facing Portugal in the quarter-finals, as the boss was not permitted to communicate with his side from the stands. Germany won the encounter 3-2, replicating the same scoreline against Turkey in the semi-finals before succumbing to the tiki-taka of the Spanish side.
Joachim Low with Hans-Dieter Flick
Germany secured their place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa thanks to an unbeaten qualifying campaign. Die Mannschaft were once again beaten 1-0 by Spain - this time in a semi-final clash at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban as the reigning European champions earned their first world title. Carles Puyol's deciding goal sent Spain into a final that didn't feature Brazil, Argentina, Italy or Germany for the first time ever.
The Nationalelf began Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine in fine form, emerging unscathed from a challenging group of Portugal, Denmark and previous World Cup finalists, Netherlands. Low and co were eventually beaten by Italy in the semi-finals, Mario Balotelli's brace the difference between the storied nations.
At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Low's Germany finally came of age. They cruised to top spot in Group G ahead of the USA, Portugal and Ghana. In the round of 16, Germany saw off Algeria 2-1. Subsequently, they beat Didier Deschamps' France 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
In the semi-finals, Germany pulled off a famous 7-1 drubbing of hosts Brazil, setting up a final date with Argentina at the Maracana Stadium.
Lionel Messi was the name on everybody's lips, but it was Mario Gotze who scored the World Cup-winning goal in the 23rd minute of extra time.
Joachim Low with World Cup trophy 2014
However, as was the case with Italy and Spain before them, Germany subsequently struggled to maintain the level of performance which had seen them crowned world champions. At Euro 2016 in France, they performed reasonably well, but were eliminated 2-0 by the host nation in the semi-finals.
Germany participated in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup as reigning world champions, beating Mexico 4-1 in the semi-finals and Chile 1-0 in the final. The tournament was notable for a series of impressive performances from a young Timo Werner, who would become one of the Bundesliga's best players and eventually move on to Chelsea in 2020.
At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Germany suffered a humiliating group stage exit, their first ever. Despite Toni Kroos' late free-kick winner against Sweden, losses against Mexico and South Korea proved costly as Germany exited from the first round of the competition for the first time since 1938. But Low was kept on as head coach nevertheless.
Jochim Low loss vs South Korea 2018 World Cup
Two years later, Germany suffered their worst ever defeat since 1931, with Spain beating them 6-0 in the UEFA Nations League.
On March 9, 2021, Low confirmed his intention to leave his position as the head coach of Germany after the completion of the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.
This duly came following a 2-0 defeat to England in the last 16 at Wembley.
Hansi Flick, his former assistant manager, was brought in to replace him.
Personal life
Low is a Roman Catholic and reportedly married Daniela in 1986, having started dating her eight years earlier. The pair's separation became public knowledge in 2016 and they have no children.
Low and German soccer's governing body, the DFB, came under fire for their treatment of Mesut Ozil in 2018, with the playmaker alleging that he had been subjected to "racism and disrespect" due to his Turkish roots while with the national team, including from Germany supporters. This had surfaced largely as a result of Ozil and Germany team-mate Ilkay Gundogan posing for a photo with controversial Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In response to this, the head coach was quoted by The Guardian as saying: "My only intention was to prepare best for the World Cup. This issue also cost us energy because it was always there. It is no excuse for our performance. That was not the reason. His claims of racism are exaggerated. Nowhere within my team during my time - there has been not even a hint of racism."
Low also appeared to imply that he was unhappy with Ozil for not making direct contact with him to confirm his retirement from the Germany national team. "He has not called me. In the past that was the case when players retired [from the national team]," Low said.
Net worth
Joachim Low was reportedly the highest-paid international manager at the time of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, raking in £3.5million per year in salary. Although his precise net worth is debated, The Richest estimate the German to be worth around £20million. Low is said to be the owner of various models of the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid car.
