Winning a World Cup is just a moment in time, which is a thought Germany's football team head coach Joachim Loew must have in his mind in the lead-up to his team's first competitive matches after a four-month brea
Joachim Loew
Berlin: Winning a World Cup is just a moment in time, which is a thought Germany's football team head coach Joachim Loew must have in his mind in the lead-up to his team's first competitive matches after a four-month break.
Joachim Loew. Pic/AFP
The curtain raiser, a warm-up game against Australia in Kaiserslautern on Wednesday, and the Euro qualifier against Georgia in Tiflis next Sunday mark the first two games of the 2015 campaign, reports Xinhua.
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Loew is determined to deliver an innovative new football-product to German fans to make a mark on the era, and to "have that World Cup winning feeling once more". Loew intends to present a "master plan" to update Germany's football in order to challenge the future - the 2016 European Championship in France and the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
"Tactically, we need to become highly flexible," said the 55-year-old and announced a "year of testing" for 2015 - neglecting the fact that the Germans might face a difficult season. Loew's team at present finds itself back in third in their Euro qualifying group behind Poland and Ireland who they face in September 2015.
But Loew has no doubts of clinching a berth at the finals in France 2016. Germany's general manager Oliver Bierhoff demanded convincing performances to they qualify at the top of Group D.
Self-confidence is something the Germans may have preserved their confidence but many other things will have to change revealed Loew - meaning the 2014 world champion needs "further training".
"The team that won the Brazil World Cup does not exist anymore, that means, we have to update and change," said Loew.
Chile's modern playing style - as seen in Brazil with a three-man back line and a breathtaking and powerful game going forward - impresses Loew. For his side, he is convinced his World Cup strategy (a back-row of four central defenders) is a story of the past.
A Chile-like German team is Loew's new goal: "They operate the system with three men at the back more or less perfectly. As do many clubs in Italy."
Having scored only seven goals in four qualification games, Loew is aware of opponents playing a defensive game to counter his team. "We have to improve and open up our possibilities. It will take time to invent a new product, it will not work over night," he said.
Loew's strategy for the future is built on two teams, his current one and the Under-21 side. Many expected Loew to have some newcomers among his first squad in 2015 for the Australia and Georgia games.
But he picked 16 of his world champions plus Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich) and Ilkay Guendogan (Borussia Dortmund) instead as both have recovered from serious injuries and are almost back to their best.
Loew sees the youngsters as a future investment and one that is targeted at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Loew has thus avoided making radical changes to his squad. But in 2016 Loew will change his policy and take a closer look at the performance of his current players such as Lukas Podolski (Inter Milan), Roman Weidenfeller and Matthias Ginter (both Borussia Dortmund) as well as others.
At the moment Loew is allowing for a kind of "World Cup bonus" but that will not last for long, which means the 2014 world champions have to prove if they are able to put Loew's plans of an increasing tactical flexibility into practice. If they don't they will find themselves sidelined.
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