Joachim “Jogi” Löw does a lot of travelling these days: watching players, analyzing opponents, checking out the German team’s World Cup accommodation – the national coach is preparing meticulously for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. It will be the first World Cup tournament under Jogi Löw’s leadership after he took over the job from Jürgen Klinsmann. Together, they had turned the 2006 World Cup in Germany into a “summer fairytale”. Later, under Löw’s direction, the side showed what it was capable of at EURO 2008.
Mr. Löw, Germany came third in the 2006 World Cup; they were the runners-up at EURO 2008 – so it can only be the top spot in South Africa, right?
I wouldn’t complain, certainly.
So how realistic do you think the chances are that you’ll be playing for the title in South Africa?
The team has developed well over the past six years. We improved further at the last major tournament, the European Championships in 2008, and we did very well in the World Cup qualifiers. We’ve made important progress on tactics and technical matters. I’m quite optimistic about the World Cup tournament. We are one of the teams that could win the title. For me, the top favourites are Spain and Brazil.
You will be facing Australia, Serbia and Ghana at the group stage. After the draw in Cape Town, people were again talking about Germany’s famous luck of the draw. How do you rate these opponents?
The draw could have been worse, certainly. But I think it’s absolutely wrong to talk about a lucky draw. We’re in an interesting group that shouldn’t be underestimated. After all, the Serbs beat France into second place in the World Cup qualifiers. Ghana were recently runners up at the Africa Cup of Nations and are the current U-20 world champions. And Australia are a very compact side and will certainly be a tough first opponent.
Do you expect Ghana to be particularly motivated by the fact that this is the first World Cup on African soil?
I believe Ghana is one of the strongest teams in Africa alongside Algeria and Ivory Coast. In fact, the African teams as a whole have come a long way over the last 15 years: physically, but also in terms of tactics. What’s more, many of the players in African national squads play for major European clubs. They learn a tremendous amount there about things like discipline and tactics, which they then bring into their national sides. Apart from which, the World Cup is being held on the African continent for the first time, which is a further motivation for all the African teams to show their qualities to the world – they will definitely be highly motivated going into the tournament.
Is the upcoming World Cup the highpoint of your career so far? After all, it is your first World Cup as head coach.
Since I already went to a big tournament in the same position at the EURO 2008, I don’t see any great difference for me. Of course, I’m focusing intensely on the World Cup. After all, you can write football history by winning the title. In the tournament itself, I shall be concentrating so hard on the job at hand that I won’t even notice the pressure from outside.
In the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, most people didn’t expect Germany to go very far. We had fallen back a long way in the country rankings. In the meantime, all the experts say the German side is at least on a par with the leading football nations. What has been happening in German football?
Before the 2006 World Cup we were having a lot of problems finding good, young players. Then, during the tournament, young players like Philipp Lahm, Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Per Mertesacker came into their own and to this extent caused a change in thinking. Now young talent is increasingly being given a chance in the Bundesliga. I think that’s really good. The entire field of youth work has been improved at the German Football Association, and this has been confirmed by the titles won by the U-21, U-19 and U-17 teams. So we’ve recently been able to bring players like Özil, Marin and Boateng into the Germany squad.
People are always talking about Michael Ballack as being Germany’s only truly world-class player. Would you include any other German players in this category?
More than anyone else in our team, Michael Ballack has the international experience that makes him a world-class player. But it would be a mistake to make success dependent on individual players. The composition of the side always has to be right. We have older players who assume responsibility on the pitch, and young players who bring energy and enthusiasm into the game.
There has been a change of generation among goalkeepers. Will René Adler now also be number one at the World Cup?
We have always said that the goalkeeper who plays against Argentina in early March will have a slight lead. With his great performance in the two World Cup qualifiers against Russia, René Adler has shown that he can handle the pressure of playing important games at the international level.
For decades, Germany has time and again had really top goalkeepers – like Sepp Maier, Toni Schumacher, Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehmann. How come? Is there a plausible reason for this?
You’ve already hinted at the answer in your question. The outstanding goalkeepers in the history of German football have always been role models for children, who then themselves try to emulate the professionals on the pitch. What happens then is that lots of youngsters really want to be goalies, unlike in countries like Brazil, where most of the top stars in the national team tend to be strikers.
There has been a lot of discussion about the host country South Africa in recent years. How well do you know South Africa?
The African continent itself is not unknown to me, because a few years ago I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. That really was a great experience for me. But up to now I’ve only looked on South Africa as a World Cup venue, and of course all my attention is focused on making sure that conditions there are right for our team.
What do you like about South Africa?
On the one hand, South Africa has a really interesting history – with Nelson Mandela, who succeeded in overcoming apartheid in South Africa years ago. On the other hand, the country is so full of joie de vivre, despite the social problems that still exist. It’s wonderful to see how much the people there are looking forward to the World Cup.
And the issue of security?
As at any tournament, the security aspect is enormously important for the team, their families, the officials and the fans who travel with them. I’m fully confident that FIFA and South Africa will take all the necessary measures to ensure that there will be no serious incidents at the World Cup.
Why did you choose to set up the squad’s headquarters near Johannesburg? What advantages does it have compared to Cape Town or Durban?
The decisive issue when choosing our World Cup base – in consultation with our medical people – was altitude. It’s no coincidence that most of the World Cup squads chose hotels in the Johannesburg/Pretoria area. We chose our base at an early stage, and we’re very happy with our choice. The Velmore Grand Hotel offers all the facilities we need for a perfect World Cup stay.
It’s winter in South Africa in June and July. It can get really cold in the evenings. Are these weather conditions an advantage for the German team?
All the teams have to cope with the same conditions. I don’t see any direct advantage for our side.
What’s the secret behind the claim that Germany is a tournament side?
Germany knows how best to prepare for an important tournament, and we have a good attitude and mentality. But that’s no guarantee that Germany will do well. You have to put in a lot of hard work every time if you want to play a good World Cup.
Thank you for talking with us, Mr. Löw. //
