Bintang Jerman dan fans kompak ingin Loew bertahan

Pemain dan fans tim nasional sepak bola Jerman sepakat memberikan dukungannya kepada Joachim Loew untuk terus menjabat kepala pelatih Der Panzer, kendati juara dunia 2014 itu tersingkir dari fase grup Piala Dunia 2018 di Rusia.

Melalui survei yang digelar siaran RTL, 48 persen orang-orang Jerman mengatakan Loew harus dipertahankan sebagai pelatih, 37 persen ingin pelatih baru, dan 15 persen sisanya tidak menjawab.

Para pemain bintang pun setuju, kendati Asosiasi Sepak Bola Jerman (DFB) berharap Loew membuat keputusan apakah akan bertahan atau mundur, setelah mereka mengalami krisis terbesar dalam 12 tahun kepemimpinannya di timnas Jerman.

"Dia harus bertahan, dia telah melakukan pekerjaan hebat selama bertahun-tahun, membawa pemain muda ke dalam tim, dan saya berharap 'Jogi' akan bertahan," kata gelandang Sami Khedira kepada harian Jerman Bild, dilansir AFP, Sabtu (30/6).

Pemain depan Thomas Mueller mengatakan, "Pada dasarnya kami semua yakin akan caranya dalam melakukan sesuatu."

Baca juga: Joachim Loew: Jerman butuh perubahan besar-besaran

Di sisi lain, Loew tidak memainkan Khedira dan Mueller yang bermain di bawah standar saat menghadapi Meksiko dan Swedia di babak grup.

Pada bulan lalu, Loew menandatangani perpanjangan kontrak bersama DFB hingga 2022, kendati saat ini dia harus berpikir di rumahnya di Freiburg untuk mempertimbangkan masa depannya.

Meskipun memenangkan Piala Dunia 2014, mengangkat Piala Konfederasi 2017, dan menemukan bintang-bintang baru, reputasi emas Loew telah tercoreng karena kegagalan di Rusia.

Juara bertahan itu justru mengakhiri Piala Dunia 2018 di posisi juru kunci pada klasemen akhir fase grup dan gagal melaju ke 16 besar untuk pertama kalinya sejak 1938.

Baca juga: Gejala Jerman tersingkir sudah lama terlihat

Namun seperti para penggemar, para pakar sepak bola juga tetap percaya pada Loew.

"Membiarkan pelatih pergi relatif mudah, maka datanglah langkah berikutnya, siapa calon penggantinya?" kata mantan bek Jerman Christoph Metzelder kepada Sky Sports.

Ia pun menimpali, "Saya relatif tidak bisa menjawab, saya yakin orang lain juga."

Baca juga: Jerman memang tak layak lolos, apalagi pertahankan gelar

Pelatih Liverpool Jurgen Klopp, mantan bos Arsenal Arsene Wenger, dan Jupp Heynckes yang sudah berusia 73 tahun, dikait-kaitkan dengan jabatan itu.

Lothar Matthaeus, yang menjadi kapten Jerman Barat pada 1990, mengatakan Loew memiliki motivasi sebagai faktor kunci.

"Apakah dia memiliki kekuatan, keinginan dan motivasi untuk mengarahkan kapal ini, yang telah benar-benar kandas, ke arah yang benar lagi?" Matthaeus kepada Sky Sports.

Matthaeus mengatakan DFB tidak akan memecat Loew, tetapi mempertanyakan apakah dia "masih punya motivasi untuk memimpin Jerman menuju kualifikasi Piala Eropa 2020," pada undian yang berlangsung pada Desember di Dublin.

Baca juga: Joachim Loew tetap dipercaya menukangi Jerman
==========================

Fans and Germany stars say Loew should remain head coach

BERLIN (AFP) -
German fans and former players are unanimous in their support of Joachim Loew remaining as head coach of the national team despite his overseeing their disastrous World Cup campaign.

In a survey by broadcaster RTL, 48 percent of Germans say Loew should remain as head coach and 37 percent want him to go, with the remaining 15 percent undecided.

His star players agree, but the German Football Association (DFB) expect to hear Loew's decision in the coming weeks amid the biggest crisis of his 12-year reign.

"He should stay, he has been doing a great job for years, bringing young players into the team, and I hope 'Jogi' will stay," midfielder Sami Khedira told German daily Bild.

Forward Thomas Mueller, who like Khedira had a desperately poor World Cup, agreed, saying: "Basically we are all convinced of his way of doing things."

Loew dropped both Khedira and Mueller for their poor displays against Mexico and Sweden respectively in the group stages as his misplaced loyalty in several 2014 World Cup stars backfired.

Only last month, Loew signed a lucrative contract extension with the DFB until 2022.

Yet now he has retreated to his home in Freiburg in the Black Forest to consider his future.

Despite winning the 2014 World Cup, then lifting the 2017 Confederations Cup while unearthing a new crop of stars, Loew's golden reputation has taken a mauling in Germany.

The holders finished bottom of their group, failing to progress at a World Cup finals for the first time since 1938.

However like the fans, pundits are also keeping faith in Loew.

"Letting a coach go is relatively easy, then comes the next step, who is a potential successor?" ex-Germany defender Christoph Metzelder told Sky Sports.

"I'm relatively out of answers, as I am sure others are too."

Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp, ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, and 73-year-old Jupp Heynckes, who coached Bayern last season before retiring, have been linked to the job, but none are currently likely successors.

Lothar Matthaeus, who captained West Germany to the 1990 title, said Loew's motivation must be the key factor.

"Does he have the power, desire and motivation to steer this ship, which has completely foundered, in the right direction again?" Matthaeus told Sky Sports.

Matthaeus says the DFB will not sack Loew, but questions whether he "has the motivation to lead Germany into the Euro 2020 qualifiers," the draw for which takes place in December in Dublin.