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In a major announcement, it has been confirmed that long-time Germany manager Joachim Low will step down from his position after this summer’s European Championship.
With Joachim Low finally departing Germany’s national side, who is likely to lead Die Mannschaft into the 2022 World Cup finals?
Low had been under plenty of pressure recently. Germany followed their disastrous World Cup 2018 campaign with an equally poor 2018-19 UEFA Nations League showing and fell to Spain 6-0 in their last match.
However, there are plenty of reasons for German fans to be hopeful – particularly with talent such as Serge Gnabry and Timo Werner still around.
With this in mind, here are five possible candidates to succeed Joachim Low as Germany manager.
#1 Jurgen Klopp
Officially at least, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has ruled himself out of the running to succeed Joachim Low as Germany manager.
However, does that mean that the former Borussia Dortmund manager can be simply looked over here? Surprisingly, the answer might be no.
It’s true that Klopp does have another three years remaining on his contract at Liverpool. But after a massively successful period at Anfield, it’s also hard to deny that the 2020-21 campaign has been the German boss’s worst one yet.
Liverpool currently sit in eighth place in the Premier League table. They’ve lost their last six home matches, have taken just three points from their last seven matches. A top-four spot is looking increasingly doubtful for the reigning champions.
Very few Reds fans have begun to question Klopp and his methods. But missing out on Champions League qualification could do untold financial damage to the club.
Would owners FSG – who have given Klopp their support – really allow this to happen without consequences?
More intriguingly, Liverpool would appear to have a ready-made replacement in line – club legend Steven Gerrard, who has just won the Scottish Premiership with Rangers.
So even though Klopp has ruled himself out, if he were fired by Liverpool at the end of 2020-21, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see him back in the running.
#2 Julian Nagelsmann
RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann is already one of the more in-demand managers out there.
He’s been linked to Tottenham Hotspur on numerous occasions this season and has also been mentioned as a possible future Real Madrid boss.
So could he be the man to succeed Joachim Low as Germany’s manager? It’s definitely possible and it’d probably be a smart move.
Despite being just 33 years old, Nagelsmann has already seen plenty of success in his managerial career. He led Hoffenheim to the Champions League in the 2016-17 season and then helped Leipzig to the same tournament's semi-finals in 2019-20.
Nagelsmann’s Leipzig side are renowned for their attacking verve, always keeping a quick tempo and putting massive amounts of pressure on their opponents.
His team doesn’t always rely heavily on possession, but they can transition into an attack at a frightening pace when they do get the ball.
And thus far, the style has worked well for Leipzig, who have an impressive 60.8% win rate under Nagelsmann.
Nagelsmann’s contract with Leipzig officially expires in 2023. But while he’s said he’s willing to stay at the club until that stage, if Germany came knocking, it’s unlikely that he’d be able to turn them down.
#3 Ralph Hasenhuttl
Unlike some other countries – England, for example – the German national team has never been managed by a foreign coach.
But could that change after Joachim Low’s reign ends? It’s certainly a possibility, and one non-German name who could be in the frame is Southampton’s Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Born in Graz, Austria, Hasenhuttl is no stranger to the German style of play.
He famously gained his coaching qualifications in Germany, and prior to joining Southampton in 2018, managed Bundesliga sides Ingolstadt and RB Leipzig.
Hasenhuttl was massively successful with the latter side, in particular, leading them to a second-place finish in the Bundesliga in their debut season in Germany’s top flight.
The Southampton manager tends to employ the same Gegenpressing style as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who trained as a coach alongside him. In fact, their styles have been compared so often that Hasenhuttl has often been labeled the “Alpine Klopp."
However, his time at St. Mary’s has been up-and-down, with some tremendous runs of form being offset by some very poor ones.
This could be put down to Southampton’s lack of squad depth more than Hasenhuttl’s playing style, though, and thus far, he’s largely avoided criticism.
With that in mind, the Austrian may feel he’s taken the Saints as far as possible, making him a definite possibility for the Germany job this summer.
#4 Arsene Wenger
One name who has surprisingly found himself in the frame for the Germany job following the departure of Joachim Low is former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
The Frenchman has not taken a managerial or coaching job since leaving the Emirates in the summer of 2018. But surprisingly, some bookmakers have him as one of the favorites to take over Die Mannschaft this summer.
Realistically, Germany could do much worse.
Wenger was renowned as being ahead of his time when he took control of Arsenal in the 1990s. Under his guidance, the Gunners won three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups and made it to the Champions League final in 2005-06.
And while some Arsenal fans felt he was past his best when he left in 2018, there’s no disputing the fact that the Gunners haven’t been anywhere near as strong since.
Given that he’s French, is already 71 years old, and may not want to step into a high-pressured job, it’d be a bit of a surprise if Wenger did agree to take charge of Germany.
But the Frenchman has hardly stayed away from football since leaving Arsenal. He currently acts as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development – and has never officially retired.
Therefore, he’d be an outside bet for the job, but stranger things have happened in football.
#5 Hansi Flick
Currently, the boss of Bayern Munich, Hansi Flick, will almost certainly be high on the list when it comes to finding a successor for Joachim Low.
After all, he acted as Low’s assistant from August 2006 to July 2014 – meaning he was part of Low’s staff when Germany won the 2014 World Cup.
In fact, some observers might even suggest that Germany’s slide in form coincided with Flick’s departure, particularly when you consider what he’s achieved since.
Following his departure as Low’s assistant, Flick worked as Sporting Director for the German FA until 2017. He then ended up joining Bayern as an assistant coach.
And when the Bavarian giants fired boss Niko Kovac in November 2019, after a poor run of form, Flick was appointed as interim boss.
From there, he guided them not only to their latest Bundesliga triumph but their first Champions League win since 2013, too.
And Flick’s Bayern didn’t just win the Champions League – they swept aside anyone who faced them, scoring a ridiculous 19 goals in the knockout stages while only conceding three.
Bayern has continued their dominance this season, as they currently lead the Bundesliga and look set to make the Champions League's quarter-finals.
Given his previous links to the German national side and his success at Bayern, Flick might well prove to be the German FA’s first choice. Only Bayern may end up standing in Germany's way if they want to make him Low’s successor.
