Joachim Low took over from Jürgen Klinsmann as Germany coach after Klinsmann stepped down following the 2006 World Cup Finals. With Löw having been Klinsmann’s assistant in the national setup, and playing a major part in tactics and team selection, his appointment was seen as a natural progression.

Löw was ultimately to prove the decision to hire him was a correct one, as Germany became the first country to secure qualification to the Euro 2008 finals. The upshot of this was the German football federation handing him a two-year extension to his current contract, taking him through to the end of World Cup 2010 qualifying.

Jogi, as Löw is affectionately known, is highly recognised for his ability to see young, promising players realise their full potential through his pioneering training methods, something which he himself takes great pride in.

During his playing career Joachim Löw turned out for Stuttgart, Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, making 238 appearances in total, and when he called it quits in 1995 he had already completed some part-time coaching with Swiss team Winterthur. He became manager of Stuttgart in July 1995 and led the team to the German Cup in 1997, and in the subsequent season they reached UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final where they were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea. There followed spells in Austria, where he won the Austrian championship with Wacker Tirol in 2002 and Turkey with Fenerbahçe and Adanaspor.