Debacle in Spain: Still in the mood, Mr. Löw? “Naturally”

Status: 07:38 a.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes

JShortly before the game, oachim Löw wanted a “nice end” for a year, “which didn’t always go smoothly”. What came next was not a nice end, but a historical disaster – for the national team and also for the national coach. At the end of the Nations League preliminary round, Germany went under in Spain and was still well served with the 0: 6 (0: 3), the highest defeat since 1931.

The fact that the group victory in this already questionable competition was gambled away that evening was secondary in view of the performance of the German team. Because what it offered half a year before the start of the European Championship was the real news – namely almost nothing. Headless on the defensive, unimaginative forwards, never at eye level with an opponent who partially played Löw’s unwilling team around the screaming goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, as in international football usually only succeeds with small nations like San Marino or Liechtenstein. Or once in a lifetime with Brazil.

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Löw’s biggest win was undoubtedly 7-1 in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals; the evening of Seville, the end of which he endured sitting on the bench, sealed his greatest and greatest defeat. Because what was there on the field was not a B selection like last time against the Czech Republic, but Löw’s first guard. The team that should be European champions.

Löw looks perplexed, but not angry

How to explain what cannot be explained Loew looked perplexed, but not angry. “It’s difficult to explain,” the coach began: “It was a pitch-black day. It didn’t work – body language, body tension, combat behavior – I didn’t see any of that. ”After the 0: 1, his team gave up on the discussed concept:“ We rushed out, opened rooms, ran around somewhere. We had no organization, no communication. “

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The question now is how to proceed. At the latest since the preliminary round at the 2018 World Cup, Löw’s star fell. But the coach was willing to make amends for the embarrassment and the DFB was loyal to him. But the new beginning with a lot of cheers did not materialize. The performances were often mediocre, the television audience ratings sank, the sorting out of the world champions Hummels, Boateng and Müller could not yet be compensated by sport. But Löw did not want to know anything about a return campaign even after the 0: 6. He trusts his current players.

National team manager Oliver Bierhoff had said remarkable sentences at the beginning of the week in which he indicated for the first time that Löw’s end was also possible before the end of his contract in December 2022. Bierhoff meant the summer and a possible bad performance at the EM and not this Wednesday. After this evening, however, the topic is more topical than ever. Even if he didn’t want to hear about it in Seville. The trust is still there, said Bierhoff: “Even this game does not change anything.”

“Today everything was bad”

Bastian Schweinsteiger was also asked on ARD whether Löw could turn the matter around. The former captain of the national coach played for time. It was “thank God” a little more until the European Championship, said the 2014 world champion and seemed to be considering his answer to the actual question. Yes, Löw has the experience and the class, Schweinsteiger finally said. He didn’t seem completely convinced.

And Loew himself? “Do you still feel like a new attack”, the national coach was asked in the ARD. His answer: “Of course. This is our job, our duty. But we also have to question ourselves and analyze everything. When I say that everything was bad today, I mean everything. “