Northern Ireland v Germany

Words Liam Blackburn

GERMANY THE COACH The longest-serving international manager in Europe, Joachim Low has been at the Germany helm for 13 years since taking over in 2006 when he replaced Jurgen Klinsmann after the former Tottenham striker stood aside.

Low had been Klinsmann's assistant for the previous two years and took on a team that had just impressed by showcasing a new attacking style en route to a third-place finish at the 2006 World Cup on home soil. His first foray into the world of coaching occurred in Switzerland while he was still playing and, upon his retirement, he returned to former club Stuttgart to become an assistant to Rolf Fringer. As would be the case a few years later with Germany, Low was promoted to the top job when Fringer moved on. In his two seasons at Stuttgart Low led them to successive fourth-place finishes in the Bundesliga and won a German Cup, while his team also finished as runners-up in the 1997-98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Short spells with clubs in Turkey and Germany followed – with Low unable to replicate the type of success he had with Stuttgart – though he lifted silverware again when guiding Austrian side Tirol Innsbruck to the league title in 2001-02. Two years later new Germany boss Klinsmann brought him onboard – with the two having done their coaching badges together - and two years after that Low was given the reins himself. Die Mannschaft won their first five games of Low's reign – including a 13-0 thrashing of San Marino – and went over 400 minutes without conceding as the new boss made the best ever start by a Germany manager.

Germany made the Euro 2008 final and 2010 World Cup semi-finals – losing to the great Spain team in both tournaments – before suffering more last-four heartbreak against Italy at Euro 2012. The 2014 World Cup proved Low's finest hour, though, as his team were crowned champions for the fourth time thanks to Mario Gotze's extra- time winner against Argentina. Low then also guided a young Germany side to glory at the 2017 Confederations Cup. » » Low remains the all-time leading scorer for Freiburg, for whom he scored 81 times in 252 games during three spells, and he represented his country at Under-21 level. » » He was only the third manager in Germany's history to have been appointed the national team's boss without having represented the senior team as a player. » » At the 2014 World Cup Low's Germany became the first European nation to win a World Cup in the Americas. » » Last year Low broke the record for most matches as Germany manager. He has taken charge of 175 matches and 100 players have made their debuts under the current boss.

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