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He stops: Joachim Löw has been national coach for 15 years, but after the European Championships in June he will quit.
This was announced by the 61-year-old and the German Football Association.
Photo: MARCELO DEL POZO / REUTERS
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He joined the DFB in 2004, at that time still as assistant coach to Jürgen Klinsmann (right).
After his departure in 2006, Löw took over the chief role.
And he shaped her like few other coaches in the history of the DFB.
Photo: Alexander Hassenstein / Bongarts / Getty Images
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August 2006: Löw makes his debut as national coach.
His team celebrated a 3-0 victory against Sweden, the upcoming games are also going well, as the first DFB coach he succeeded in making five wins.
Photo: ActionPictures / imago images
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It took until March 2007 before Löw lost a game: 0-1 against Denmark.
In that game, Löw tested numerous players, the names Alexander Madlung and Jan Schlaudraff were in the starting line-up, and later, Paul Feier, among others, was substituted on.
Trying out young professionals becomes one of Löw's trademarks.
Photo: Sven Simon / imago images
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The first tournament as head coach: The European Championship 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
Germany qualified with a 1-0 win in the final group game against Austria and made it to the final.
There, however, Spain is a size too big for Löw and his team.
Those duels with the then all-outstanding Spaniards will help shape the coming Löw years.
Photo: MIS / imago images
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Löw and his leading player: Michael Ballack was initially placed in the DFB midfield.
In 2010, however, he was injured and therefore missed the World Cup in South Africa.
It was the end of Ballack in the national jersey.
And the beginning of a rousing DFB-Elf.
Photo: MIS / imago images
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At the World Cup, Germany thrilled with the kind of soccer ball that made up the Bundesliga at the time.
With Philipp Lahm as the new captain and young professionals like Thomas Müller, the German game looked dynamic - and it was successful.
On the way to the semi-finals, the DFB team eliminated England (4: 1) and Argentina (4: 0).
Then it was defeated again by Spain.
Photo: Ulmer / Debiky / imago images
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Löw and one of his favorite players: Lukas Podolski had his place in the DFB squad for years, even when he was going through difficult phases in his clubs.
Photo: DeFodi / imago images
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The EM 2012 ended for Löw in the semi-finals, Italy and striker Mario Balotelli (in jubilation pose next to Philipp Lahm) were his final destination.
Incidentally, those Italians lost 4-0 to Spain in the final.
Photo: Marcus Brandt / dpa
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Germany's Aus sparked a debate about whether Löw had coached himself by hiring Toni Kroos as a special guard for Italy's playmaker Andrea Pirlo, so he geared himself strongly to the opponent.
Photo: Moritz Müller / imago images
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Reunion with the old boss: Löw and Klinsmann hug each other before a test match in 2013. The USA trained by Klinsmann win 4: 3, for the Löw-Elf Heiko Westermann, Max Kruse and Julian Draxler meet.
Also in the German squad: including Philipp Wollscheid, Roman Neustädter, Nicolai Müller and Sidney Sam.
Photo: Schüler / imago images
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2014 was Löw's year, and none of the names just mentioned played a major role in it.
At the World Cup in Brazil, the team made it to the final, the way there was spectacular: In the last sixteen it shook again (thanks in part to Manuel Neuer and his rescue efforts) against Algeria.
In the quarterfinals it defeated the strong French selection.
The semi-final against Brazil (7-1) went down in football history.
And in the final against Argentina Löw replaced the later winning goal scorer Mario Götze after 88 minutes.
"Show the whole world that you are better than Messi," he said to Götze at the time, Löw later said of that moment.
Photo: Marcus Brandt / dpa
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In the 113th minute Götze scored the 1-0, Germany was world champion.
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Löw celebrate here after the final whistle.
Schweinsteiger has played 121 international matches, only in his first four games Löw was not head coach but assistant coach.
Photo: via www.imago-images.de / imago images / ActionPictures
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Löw with the cup: The world championship title was the highlight of his coaching career.
And as it is with highlights: From there on, it only goes in one direction at some point.
Down.
Photo: Patrick Seeger / dpa
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Löw in France: The photo shows him at the Euro 2016. He and his team achieved the minimum goal, Germany knocked out Italy on penalties in the quarter-finals, for the first time ever in a competitive game, and made it to the semi-finals.
There the DFB-Elf failed to host France (0: 2).
Photo: Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
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Löw with a trophy, albeit not the most important: It is the Confederations Cup, in which the coach sent a selection of talents and national players from the second row to the tournament and won the title with them.
Photo: Valery Sharifulin / ITAR-TASS / imago images
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This photo will probably always be linked to Germany's performance at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
It was created on the beach promenade in Sochi, between the opening defeat against Mexico (0: 1) and the game against Sweden (2: 1).
"Calm down.
We have everything under control, ”the picture seemed to be saying.
As you know, they didn't.
Photo: Christian Charisius / dpa
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This picture doesn't seem to speak of coolness, but rather perplexity.
It comes from the decisive group game against South Korea, which was lost 2-0.
Germany was eliminated in the preliminary round for the first time in its World Cup history.
Photo: Andreas Gebert / dpa
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The end was followed, albeit with a delay, by upheaval.
Löw sorted out the world champions Mats Hummels, Thomas Müller and Jérôme Boateng, he wanted to rejuvenate the DFB team and let it play more dynamically again.
But the success was mixed.
Germany rose athletically from the Nations League.
The last fully successful international match was a long time ago.
Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa
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DFB team manager Oliver Bierhoff (r) also recently sounded more critical tones for his circumstances when he talked about his long-time companion.
Photo: Alexander Hassenstein / Bongarts / Getty Images
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Löw's last international match so far was last November.
Opponent: Spain.
Final score: 0: 6.
It was Löw's biggest defeat in their 189th international match.
A few more games are added.
At the EM in the summer, Löw has the chance to successfully say goodbye to the DFB office.
Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa
