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A training camp in South Tyrol, two warm-up games and then a flight to Brazil: with the World Cup drawing ever closer and the sense of excitement rising week by week, Joachim Löw could be forgiven for feeling a little nervous.
However, the opposite is true for the Germany national team coach, who becomes increasingly calmer the closer a tournament gets to kick-off, thanks in part to the meticulous preparation he and his staff do. The 54-year-old spoke to editor Steffen Lüdeke about the situation in the Germany camp in this DFB.de Interview of the Week.
DFB.de: Joachim Löw, the World Cup is fast approaching. How much are you looking forward to it?
Joachim Löw: A great deal. I’ve already been to four major tournaments as both an assistant and as head coach and each one was fantastic. However, the sense of anticipation in the build-up to Brazil has surpassed all of them. I think that’s partly because we all think of Brazil as the country most synonymous with football. There can’t be many better things than a World Cup in Brazil.
DFB.de: Does that mean you are even more excited than you were prior to the ‘home’ World Cup in 2006?
Löw: Having the World Cup in your own country was something very special. With hindsight I admit that there was a lot of nervousness ahead of that tournament, especially in the days immediately before it kicked off. We lost away to Italy in a warm-up match in March and that was still at the back of our minds. I only really started to calm down after the opening game. I’ve become able to handle high-pressure situations very well since then and I even enjoy it sometimes.
DFB.de: Could you elaborate on that?
Löw: I become calmer the closer we get to a tournament because I know that we’ve thought of everything and I have a lot of faith in that. I can promise that we’ll be perfectly prepared and I’m looking forward to everything that awaits us in Brazil. We’re going to a World Cup in a country that is shaped by football in a way no other nation is. The excitement over there is huge; I experienced that at last year’s Confederations Cup. It was overwhelming and that was just the dress rehearsal. The real thing will be even better. For me it’s a great privilege to be part of such an event. Brazil is a fantastic country and they’ll be wonderful hosts.
DFB.de: Do your players feel the same way?
Löw: Absolutely. They’re not immune to the extraordinary appeal of a World Cup, or the spell it casts. That’s very noticeable when the squad comes together. The players know they’ll be part of something huge and unique in Brazil.
DFB.de: How optimistic are you going into the tournament?
Löw: I’m very optimistic. The best teams in the world will be there and they all have a lot of good players so I’m expecting the level to be very high. I have a lot of respect for the efforts, achievements and qualities of other countries, but just because they’re good doesn’t mean we can’t be as good as or better than them if everything goes well. We’ll need to give our all and be conscious of the size of the challenge that awaits us in Brazil. One thing I keep emphasising is that the tournament will be incredibly physically demanding on every player.
DFB.de: Germany have not won the World Cup since 1990. How confident are you of ending that drought on 13 July?
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Löw: It’s not my job to see into the future. Even if I were to promise to bring home the title, that still wouldn’t guarantee that we’d do so. The only thing I can say is that we want to win the World Cup, I can’t say that we will win it. There are too many other good teams for me to be able to say that. Brazil played superbly at the Confederations Cup and they’re among the favourites again this year, as are Argentina. That the tournament is being hosted in South America will be an additional source of motivation for the continent’s teams. Spain, Italy and France are also favourites for the title, while England and the Netherlands have got lots of quality too.
DFB.de: Would you be disappointed if you did not win?
Löw: I haven’t thought about that at all. In the build-up to the tournament I’m not going to consider any negatives and will instead head there full of confidence and optimism. We might well end up being disappointed but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll have been disappointing. The way the players conduct themselves both on and off the pitch, and the way we represent our country of 80 million people is of utmost importance to me.
DFB.de: What are you most looking forward to in Brazil?
Löw: Witnessing the world’s best footballers go head-to-head at the tournament. I’m expecting to see football taken to a new level. The game, the players and the teams are all constantly evolving. A World Cup brings the best in the business together and it’s fantastic to be able to test yourself against the game’s finest.
created by dfb
[bild1]
A training camp in South Tyrol, two warm-up games and then a flight to Brazil: with the World Cup drawing ever closer and the sense of excitement rising week by week, Joachim Löw could be forgiven for feeling a little nervous.
However, the opposite is true for the Germany national team coach, who becomes increasingly calmer the closer a tournament gets to kick-off, thanks in part to the meticulous preparation he and his staff do. The 54-year-old spoke to editor Steffen Lüdeke about the situation in the Germany camp in this DFB.de Interview of the Week.
DFB.de: Joachim Löw, the World Cup is fast approaching. How much are you looking forward to it?
Joachim Löw: A great deal. I’ve already been to four major tournaments as both an assistant and as head coach and each one was fantastic. However, the sense of anticipation in the build-up to Brazil has surpassed all of them. I think that’s partly because we all think of Brazil as the country most synonymous with football. There can’t be many better things than a World Cup in Brazil.
DFB.de: Does that mean you are even more excited than you were prior to the ‘home’ World Cup in 2006?
Löw: Having the World Cup in your own country was something very special. With hindsight I admit that there was a lot of nervousness ahead of that tournament, especially in the days immediately before it kicked off. We lost away to Italy in a warm-up match in March and that was still at the back of our minds. I only really started to calm down after the opening game. I’ve become able to handle high-pressure situations very well since then and I even enjoy it sometimes.
DFB.de: Could you elaborate on that?
Löw: I become calmer the closer we get to a tournament because I know that we’ve thought of everything and I have a lot of faith in that. I can promise that we’ll be perfectly prepared and I’m looking forward to everything that awaits us in Brazil. We’re going to a World Cup in a country that is shaped by football in a way no other nation is. The excitement over there is huge; I experienced that at last year’s Confederations Cup. It was overwhelming and that was just the dress rehearsal. The real thing will be even better. For me it’s a great privilege to be part of such an event. Brazil is a fantastic country and they’ll be wonderful hosts.
DFB.de: Do your players feel the same way?
Löw: Absolutely. They’re not immune to the extraordinary appeal of a World Cup, or the spell it casts. That’s very noticeable when the squad comes together. The players know they’ll be part of something huge and unique in Brazil.
DFB.de: How optimistic are you going into the tournament?
Löw: I’m very optimistic. The best teams in the world will be there and they all have a lot of good players so I’m expecting the level to be very high. I have a lot of respect for the efforts, achievements and qualities of other countries, but just because they’re good doesn’t mean we can’t be as good as or better than them if everything goes well. We’ll need to give our all and be conscious of the size of the challenge that awaits us in Brazil. One thing I keep emphasising is that the tournament will be incredibly physically demanding on every player.
DFB.de: Germany have not won the World Cup since 1990. How confident are you of ending that drought on 13 July?
[bild2]
Löw: It’s not my job to see into the future. Even if I were to promise to bring home the title, that still wouldn’t guarantee that we’d do so. The only thing I can say is that we want to win the World Cup, I can’t say that we will win it. There are too many other good teams for me to be able to say that. Brazil played superbly at the Confederations Cup and they’re among the favourites again this year, as are Argentina. That the tournament is being hosted in South America will be an additional source of motivation for the continent’s teams. Spain, Italy and France are also favourites for the title, while England and the Netherlands have got lots of quality too.
DFB.de: Would you be disappointed if you did not win?
Löw: I haven’t thought about that at all. In the build-up to the tournament I’m not going to consider any negatives and will instead head there full of confidence and optimism. We might well end up being disappointed but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll have been disappointing. The way the players conduct themselves both on and off the pitch, and the way we represent our country of 80 million people is of utmost importance to me.
DFB.de: What are you most looking forward to in Brazil?
Löw: Witnessing the world’s best footballers go head-to-head at the tournament. I’m expecting to see football taken to a new level. The game, the players and the teams are all constantly evolving. A World Cup brings the best in the business together and it’s fantastic to be able to test yourself against the game’s finest.
