Ballack on Löw: "Sometimes it just does not work anymore"

Former national team captain Michael Ballack has been critical of the whereabouts of Joachim Loew as national coach. "Like many other people, I was surprised that he kept his job, he worked with the team for a long time, sometimes it just does not work if someone is with a team like him for so long," Ballack told the German Wave".

Loew was ultimately responsible for the failure and should be "professional enough" to draw the right conclusions for his future, Ballack said: "It was quite obvious that some players were not up to par and you could Before seeing that one or more positions were not optimally staffed, those in charge should judge if Löw is still the right man. "

The German national football team was eliminated at the World Cup in Russia after losing to Mexico and South Korea after the preliminary round. Löw, whose contract had been extended before the tournament in Russia, remained in office despite the debacle and was supported by the DFB.

"This is not a real analysis"

The 42-year-old Ballack criticized the panel of President Reinhard Grindel for having given Löw early confidence. "The World Cup was a big disappointment, and there were reasons for that, they should be seriously analyzed and not say 'we analyze it', while in fact it's already decided to stick to the coach," Ballack said: "This is not a real analysis. "

Also the affair for the photos of the national players Mesut Özil and Ilkay Gündogan with the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan would have contributed their part to the WM-Aus in the preliminary round, said Ballack. "No one needs that before a World Cup." Ballack recommended Özil to focus on the Arsenal. Footballers should "make headlines on the pitch, not away from it".

The relationship between Ballack and Löw is considered tense. Ballack was in 2002 with the national team runner-up at the World Cup in Japan and South Korea. From 2004 to 2010 he was captain of the DFB team, but injured before the World Cup in South Africa and missed the tournament. He dropped out of the DFB selection in disarray after Löw had transferred the post of captain to Philipp Lahm - and this also remained beyond the tournament captain.