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Frankfurt / Main (dpa) - Joachim Löw gives up his position as national coach after the EM in the summer.
The 61-year-old will end his contract, which originally ran until the 2022 World Cup, immediately upon completion of the tournament at his own request, the German Football Association announced.
The DFB agreed to this, it said.
"I take this step very consciously, full of pride and with huge gratitude, but at the same time still with great motivation as far as the upcoming EM tournament is concerned," Löw was quoted in the message.
Löw took over the post after the 2006 World Cup.
Before that, he had been assistant to national coach Jürgen Klinsmann for two years.
«I have great respect for Joachim Löw's decision.
The DFB knows what he has in Jogi, he is one of the greatest coaches in world football, ”said DFB President Fritz Keller.
Löw had shaped German football like no other for years.
“It is very decent that he informed us of his decision at an early stage.
He gives us as the DFB the necessary time to name his successor calmly and with a sense of proportion, ”said Keller.
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Since the debacle at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when the DFB selection as defending champion failed in the preliminary round, Löw has been criticized.
Most recently, after the 0: 6 in Spain in autumn of the previous year, there was again heated debate about an early replacement of the national coach.
Löw was only allowed to continue after clarifying discussions with the DFB top.
"I am and will remain grateful to the DFB, which has always provided me and the team with an ideal working environment," said Löw.
For the EM, he continues to feel “the unconditional will as well as great energy and ambition”.
In the tournament, which has been postponed by a year, the national team will meet world champions France, European champions Portugal and outsiders Hungary in the group stage in Munich in June.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210309-99-747494 / 3
Message from the DFB