Joachim Löw, the former national team coach, expressed a desire to guide a club toward European elite status. While telling the weekly magazine “Die Zeit” that he does not find the appeal in playing Bundesliga matches week after week, he admitted he could envision leading a team with international ambitions and the required persistence to succeed on the European stage.
Löw strongly criticized what he sees as the short-term focus prevalent among many clubs regarding strategy. He noted that few clubs take the effort to develop medium or long-term organizational models, and few sporting directors ask for such a concept when searching for coaches. Instead, the primary questions asked are always simple: “How can we win, achieve promotion, or just stay in the division?”
Furthermore, Löw dismissed what he terms “German virtues” in football. He stated that advice like, “We need to fight harder” or “We must play dirty” is insufficient. While such tactics might win one or two games, they are not what is needed to win major tournaments or even the Champions League, let alone the Bundesliga title. Following losses, the common refrain is often, “We defended poorly”. He countered this by saying he would prefer to hear questions like, “Why did we fail to dictate the game?” or, “How could we have found solutions to dominate the opponent?”