Joachim Löw

Joachim Löw (born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player who managed the Germany national team from 2006 to 2021. Under his leadership, the team won the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. He announced his resignation in March 2021, effective after the postponed Euro 2020. Among all Germany national team head coaches, Löw holds the records for most matches managed (198) and most wins (124).

Löw was born in Schönau im Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany. He began his playing career in 1978 with 2. Bundesliga side SC Freiburg, returning to the club twice (1982 and 1985) and holding its all-time goal-scoring record until Nils Petersen surpassed it in 2020. In 1980, he joined Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart but struggled to secure a starting spot, playing only four matches.

The following season, he played for Eintracht Frankfurt (24 matches, five goals) before returning to Freiburg. In 1982–83, he scored eight goals in 34 matches, and in 1983–84, he netted 17 goals in 31 matches in the 2. Bundesliga. He then moved to Bundesliga side Karlsruher SC, scoring two goals in 24 matches, before rejoining Freiburg for four years, where he played 116 matches and scored 38 goals.

He ended his playing career in Switzerland with FC Schaffhausen (1989–1992) and FC Winterthur (1992–1994). Löw also earned four caps for the West Germany under-21 team. Löw began coaching as a youth coach at FC Winterthur while still a player. In 1994–95, he served as player-coach of FC Frauenfeld.

The following season, he became assistant coach at VfB Stuttgart under Rolf Fringer. When Fringer left to coach the Switzerland national team, Löw was appointed caretaker manager on 14 August 1996, later becoming permanent manager until 21 May 1998. His first match as head coach was a 4–0 win over Schalke 04 on 17 August 1996. Stuttgart finished fourth in the 1996–97 Bundesliga.

In 1997–98, they started with a 3–0 win over Karlsruher SC in the DFB-Ligapokal semi-final but lost the final to Bayern Munich on 26 July 1997. They again finished fourth in the league. In the DFB-Pokal, Stuttgart reached the semi-finals, defeating reserve teams of Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hertha BSC, SSV Ulm 1846, and KFC Uerdingen 05, before losing 3–0 to Bayern Munich on 17 February 1998. Stuttgart also reached the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, eliminating IP Vestmannaeyja, Beerschot, Slavia Prague, and Lokomotiv Moscow, but lost 1–0 to Chelsea on 13 May 1998.

That was his final match; he left the club seven days later with a record of 46 wins, 20 draws, and 23 losses. Löw joined Turkish club Fenerbahçe on 1 July 1998. His first match was a 0–0 draw against Dardanelspor. In the 1998–99 season, Fenerbahçe finished third in the Süper Lig and were eliminated in the first round of the UEFA Cup, while serving a one-year ban from the Turkish Cup.

He returned to Germany as manager of Karlsruher SC on 25 October 1999, with his first match a 1–1 draw against Hannover 96 on 31 October 1999. He was sacked on 19 April 2000 with a record of one win, seven draws, and ten losses; his only win was a 2–1 victory over Fortuna Köln on 19 March 2000. The club finished last (18th) and was relegated. Löw then returned to Turkey as manager of Adanaspor from 20 December 2000 to 2 March 2001, without winning any matches, leaving the club in 16th place in the relegation zone.

He moved to Austrian club Tirol Innsbruck on 10 October 2001, leading them to the 2001–02 Austrian Bundesliga title with a record of 11 wins, five draws, and nine losses. The club declared bankruptcy and was liquidated that same year. He then managed Austria Wien from 1 July 2003 to 24 March 2004. During the 2003–04 season, Wien were eliminated from the Champions League by Marseille in the third qualifying round and from the UEFA Cup by Borussia Dortmund in the first round, but won the 2003 Austrian Supercup against FC Kärnten.

He left the club on 24 March 2004 while they were in first place. After Germany’s disappointing Euro 2004, Jürgen Klinsmann replaced Rudi Völler as national team head coach and brought Löw in as assistant manager. The two had met years earlier at a coaching school and shared a philosophy focused on attacking football. Under their leadership, Germany reached the semi-finals of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In the 2005 Confederations Cup, Germany lost 3–2 to Brazil in the semi-final but beat Mexico 4–3 for third place, scoring the most goals (15 in five matches) of any team. At the 2006 World Cup, Germany opened with a 4–2 win over Costa Rica, followed by a last-minute 1–0 victory over Poland and a 3–0 win over Ecuador.