Loew casts off nearly man burden
Zurich (AFP) - World coach of the year Joachim Loew has spent years trying to dispel the doubts about his talent and the German did it in an electrifying way by winning the World Cup.
For eight years in charge of Die Mannschaft ahead of the 2014 tournament in Brazil, Loew had been to one World Cup semi-final, the 2008 European Championship final and the Euro 2012 semi-final to show.
He had never been on the top step.
Germany were devastating in Brazil, demolishing the hosts 7-1 in one of the most historic World Cup matches ever and then beating Argentina 1-0 in the final.
"It is the icing on the cake and winning the World Cup was the cake," Loew said of his award presented in Zurich on Monday in which he beat Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone and Real Madrid rival Carlo Ancelotti.
Over eight years, the former assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann brought on a team praised for its attacking play. And his tactics have been hailed by World Cup legends Pele and Diego Maradona.
Loew's image is often seen in Germany where he fronts an advertising campaign for a leading cosmetics brand, but the head coach rarely appears in the media spotlight.
Before the World Cup, Loew had acknowledged that the "clock is ticking" on his time in charge.
But the German Football Association (DFB) likes the team boss and he has been told he will guide the national team through the European Championships in 2016.
Loew himself has said he wants to get the Euro title which would make him one of the all time greats after a less than stellar career as a player.
Loew himself only made four appearances for West Germany's Under-21s and played as a midfielder for Eintracht Frankfurt, Karlsruhe and VfB Stuttgart.
He won the 1997 German Cup final as VfB Stuttgart coach and after working in Turkey and Austria, Loew became Germany's assistant coach in 2004.
Loew was responsible for tactics with Klinsmann and the pair delighted the nation as Germany finished third at the 2006 World Cup on home soil.
An impressive record of 75 wins in 110 internationals has earned Loew plenty of respect in Germany. And he is not afraid of taking risks.
When striker Mario Gomez struggled at Euro 2008, Loew benched the forward and switched to a 4-2-3-1 system which resulted in a 3-1 quarter-final win over Portugal en route to the final.
At the 2010 World Cup, Loew took the youngest squad since 1934 to South Africa and Germany swept aside England and Argentina before losing their semi-final to eventual winners Spain.
Pele recently called Loew a "great tactician", while Maradona said that Germany "roamed around with perfection" in their 4-0 group thrashing of Portugal.
