Germany has to undergo a radical change in terms of the youth coaching methods in order to prepare for the future, according to national team coach Joachim Loew.


He says that the players have been able to reach the full potential of their physicality. Hence, improvement can only come from the mental side of the game. A number of players are unable to take their game to the next level due to lack of understanding of the game.Loew reckons that it is primarily down to coaching methods. After having had first-hand experience about the youth coaching philosophy at Barcelona,Loew says that he is left speechless at seeing the under 10 team perform at such an exceptional level.

Barcelona are widely adjudged to have the best youth setup in the world. Several great players have come from the La Masia youth academy with the likes of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta amongst the few to remember.Loew says that the football players at Barcelona are trying to play the game like chess – seeing each move 20 or 30 times in advance. Continue reading

Germany manager Joachim Loew claims that he is happy with the outcome of the World Cup 2018 qualification draw. Qualification to this competition will be an extensive process with almost every team from the world competing for a position. Despite being the reigning holders of the World Cup, Germany will have to go through a qualification phase just like everybody else. They recently learned that their stage opponents will be the Czech Republic, Norway, Northern Ireland, San Marino, and Azerbaijan. Thus, they have avoided heavyweights like the France and Italy. There was a possibility of being grouped alongside such tough opponents.

Loew finally proved to the World Cup 2014 that he is a manager capable of winning trophies. The 55-year-old had raised a lot of doubts in recent years after his repeated failures on the final stages of the tournament. Since taking over from Jurgen Klinsmann,Loew had guided Germany to the finals of the Euro 2012. The 55-year-old, though, warned his team against complacency about qualifying for the World Cup. The national team still have the core players who were responsible for the World Cup triumph. The big task forLoew will be to find replacements for the likes of Miroslav Klose, who have retired from international action. Continue reading