Loew's exit after Germany's Euro loss is end of an era

England defeated Germany 2-0 in the round of 16 at the Euro 2020 on Tuesday, not only ending 55 years of agony against their old rivals, but also ending the era of German coach Joachim Loew, reported Xinhua.

Loew's last dance was seen as revenge from Gareth Southgate.

The England head coach failed to convert in a key penalty in shootout session when facing Germany in the Euro 1996, making the Three Lions suffer a setback in the semis.

However, Southgate left the Wembley Stadium as a winner on June 29, 2021, throwing Germany fans into distress. And Loew had a dishonorable end.

REJUVENATION

When Jurgen Klinsmann stepped down as the head coach of the German national team after the FIFA World Cup in 2006, Loew took over the position.

Although Germany lost to Spain 1-0 in the final game of the Euro 2008, Loew's style and level was recognized and accepted by fans.

Many veterans quit as new faces joined the Germany squad before the 2010 World Cup. Under Loew's lead, that young team shocked the football world after beating England 4-1 and thrashing Lionel Messi's Argentina 4-0.

With some experienced veterans and rising stars, Germany was among the world elites.

In 2014, Loew led Germany to the top of the world. His team edged France 1-0 in the quarterfinals before humiliating the host Brazil 7-1 in a semifinal. No one could stop Germany from winning, even Messi.

Loew continued his campaign after a huge success in a major tournament in 2014. However, after winning the World Cup, a turning point was approaching for Loew.

THE HESITATION

Loew could have left when the defending champions suffered an early exit at the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, but the 60-year-old chose to continue working with his players.

The German football association decided to make him stay.

Loew was indecisive when it came to setting his team's tactics. He tried to get rid of the shadow of Klinsmann. The German changed the team's traditional strategy, bringing his footballers the Spanish tiki-taka style.

The no-forward-formation always made his team fail to score, although they dominated on the field in several major events.

However, Loew liked to adjust his squad and follow the German football tradition in some important games. Putting Miroslav Klose in the starters roster in 2014 was a key to the team's victories.

In Euro 2016, when Germany dominated but had few chances of breaking the deadlock, the central forward Mario Gomez solved the problem.

In order to make more space for the young players, Loew said in 2019 that Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng were omitted for the international squad.

But the head coach changed his mind and claimed in the March that the European Championship "is a separate competition we have to look at independently when it comes to our plans to rejuvenate our team."

Muller and Hummels were back, but the duo gave few contributions.

Hummels was regarded as the best German player in their opening game against France at Euro 2020, but his own goal made the title favorite suffer a defeat.

In the clash with England, Muller missed a fatal one on one chance. The one of the best World Cup strikers put his knees on the away soil, and all the fantastic memories were gone forever after the final whistle.

Loew's era is over. Is he a sinner or a legend? Only time will tell.