Germany Coach Löw On The Search For New Assistant

The World Cup festival has cooled down, but Löw has now switched his focus to the next challenge - emulating Spain's triumph as undisputed world and European champions. And he's on the hunt for a new number two.

Now that the dust has settled somewhat on Germany's fourth World Cup win and Berlin has returned to normal after Tuesday's remarkable celebrations, Joachim Löw has begun the search for a new assistant head coach.



His current number two, Hans-Dieter Flick, has been Löw's assistant head coach since 2006, when Löw replaced Jürgen Klinsmann after the World Cup on home turf. As of September 1 though, Flick will be the sporting director of Germany's DFB football association.



September is a busy month for the German national team. Alongside this appointment, there are also friendlies against recently-defeated World Cup finalists Argentina and Scotland.



In October 2013, Löw extended his contract with the German Football Association until the end of the 2016 UEFA European Championships. The 53-year-old will then have completed a decade-long cycle as the German head coach. Team manager Oliver Bierhoff and goalkeeping coach Andreas Köpke are in the same contractual boat as Löw.



Flick will move upstairs to the sporting director role, signing a contract until June 2019. In his new appointment, Flick will be continuing and overseeing the development of Germany's current youth strategy.



The sporting director role has had mixed success in the past. In 2006, Klinsmann preferred Bernhard Peters, Hamburg's new youth coordinator, for the job. However, the higher powers opted for Matthias Sammer instead, who would go on to join Bayern Munich in 2012. His successor, Robin Dutt, had a short-lived stay with the DFB, as he left to become head coach of Werder Bremen.



Flick has earned tons of respect from Löw and has long been an influential part of Germany's success through his management and planning of training sessions, analysis of Germany's future opponents and work with the DFB's scouting and athletic department.



One of Flick's ideas was to include the U20 team as a sparring partner in the training camp in South Tyrol before the World Cup. This allowed the German national team to tailor their conditioned warm-up matches to suit the demands of their group phase opposition.



"You couldn't wish for a better work colleague," Löw said.



It's Löw's decision



In the frame for the vacant assistant coach role, former Mainz manager Thomas Tuchel is being reported as one of the high-profile names interested in joining the German coaching setup. The 39-year-old left Mainz unexpectedly at the end of the last Bundesliga season despite securing only the club's second-ever European finish.



Reports from German newspaper Bild put Tuchel's name in the hat, yet the talented head coach has admitted he would like to have a break from football. A return is estimated for the 2015-16 season.



From within, U20 head coach Frank Wormuth and U19 trainer Marcus Sorg are also in contention. Former Freiburg head coach Sorg will focus his attention next week, however, on securing Germany's spot at the U19 European Championships with a triple-header against Bulgaria, Serbia and Ukraine.



DFB president Niersbach clarified that Löw would have the "full decision" over the position and there would be no interference from either Bierhoff or Flick. "Jogi Löw will decide who he wants as an assistant coach," current number two Flick said at the German camp in Santo Andre. "He has to work together with him."