So, Joachim Löw, how do you follow that? That, of course, was Germany’s World Cup win in July, his country’s first in 24 years; a game Argentina could have won but that was goalless until Mario Götze controlled André Schürrle’s cross and volleyed past Sergio Romero in extra time.
Löw is clear how he has to follow that. Now that his country has a fourth star neatly embroidered on its shirt, to represent its four World Cup victories, it is time for a bit of symmetry and a fourth European Championship title, to add to the third won at Euro 96. This is what life is like when you are manager of the Nationalmannschaft: with your belly still full from success at a World Cup, your eyes still crave the leftovers.
He said: “There are new goals and new demands for us. Now our next goal is the European Championship in 2016, to qualify, and be in the final in Paris.” It would sound arrogant from all bar two or three other teams to aim for the final, but Löw sounded so matter of fact that it was hard to see how he won’t get his own way.
There is a scene in Spinal Tap, the fake documentary about a fake rock group, where the film-maker asks the band’s lead guitarist and co-founder, Nigel Tufnel, why all his amplifiers go up to 11. Tufnel explains: “You go all the way up to 10, where can you go from there? You go to 11.”
“Everyone else’s go up to 10,” the director replies, baffled. “Why not just make 10 louder?”
So, the question is, where can Löw take this team after that victory in Rio de Janeiro on 13 July? Having taken them to 10, can he make it “louder”? Can he make the team better?
With young, less familiar players such as the Hoffenheim midfielder Sebastian Rudy, and with Marco Reus fit again, Löw says he can, thanks to their hunger and ambition.
The first test is on Wednesday, coincidentally against Argentina, a friendly arranged long before the World Cup final. Back in the spring, Löw knew what lay ahead in terms of Euro 2016 qualifiers, with Scotland first up this Sunday, so he wanted “tough opposition” to warm up against. It will be an Argentina side without Lionel Messi, who was injured playing for Barcelona at the weekend, but it will still be an intriguing test. Things get forgotten when the result is celebrated, but Messi, Gonzalo Higuaín and Rodrigo Palacio all should have scored in the Maracanã before Götze’s moment of magic. Argentina have a new manager, Gerardo Martino, who left Barcelona in the summer, and face no competitive football until next summer’s Copa América, so this game will be useful for them.
Löw’s new era starts with a new captain. Philipp Lahm has retired from international football and so, to the surprise of no one, Löw has appointed Bastian Schweinsteiger. Except the midfielder has not started a game yet for Bayern Munich this season due to injury, so Manuel Neuer will be captain tonight. Schweinsteiger’s susceptibility to injury has caused some concern in the German media but Löw gave his man his full backing: “I’ve watched him for 10 years, I trust him, he has immense experience. He is very important. He will be captain for two years.”
Along with Schweinsteiger, several other first-team players – including Mats Hummels and Sami Khedira – are also out and Löw suggested there is a World Cup aftershock going through his squad. “The players had a short holiday and have to find their form, some have light physical problems. There were only five weeks between the final and the start of the Bundesliga. The World Cup was a strength-sapping exercise. It will take a few months for the players to recover their levels.”
In other words, Gordon Strachan will probably never find himself in a better position to get something from the game when Scotland play in Dortmund. Löw, too, hinted that he was suffering from some sort of burnout: “We’ve had some time away from football – time to work through the joy and emotions.” Löw said he had not even had the time to open all his post since returning from Brazil.
Along with Lahm, Per Mertesacker and Miroslav Klose have retired, but those changes haven’t dampened the locals’ enthusiasm: 44,000 turned up at training on Monday. They expect a reprise of the performance that won the World Cup. What Löw wants is much more – he already wants a performance that proves they can win the European Championship.
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