Loew's future
February 4, 2010
The German Football Federation (DFB) has said the fate of national team coach Joachim Loew will not be decided until after the upcoming World Cup in South Africa in June.
What looked like it would be a simple contract extension has turned into a power struggle, with Loew reportedly asking for a signing-on fee equivalent to a year's salary.
"Basically, both sides are still interested in working together but we were unable to reach agreement on important aspects of a deal," explained DFB president Theo Zwanziger after a specially convened board meeting Thursday at the organization's headquarters in Frankfurt.
Loew's current contract expires after the next World Cup, where Germany has been pooled with Australia, Serbia and Ghana.
Zwanziger announced last December that a two-year contract extension had been agreed with Loew, keeping him at the helm of the national team until after Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. But that deal was supposed to be approved at Thursday's meeting.
Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff, who is part of the three-man coaching team renegotiating their contracts, admitted the news was a blow.
"We would have liked to clear up the contract extension details quickly with the World Cup fast approaching, but we accept the president's decision," he said.
Loew was handed the national team reins following a decision by former coach Juergen Klinsmann not to extend his contract after the last World Cup in Germany in 2006.
dfm/dpa/AFP
Editor: Martin Kuebler