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LILLE, June 27, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Joachim Loew, coach of Germany looks on before the Euro 2016 round of 16 football match between Germany and Slovakia in Lille, France, June 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)
By Oliver Trust
PARIS, June 26 (Xinhua) -- One thing Joachim Loew loves most of all when talking about major tournaments. "It is not a sprint, it' s a marathon containing many different chapters," the 56-year old German head-coach says.
After an easy 3-0 victory over Slovakia, Loew and Germany have wrapped up the next chapter to clinch themselves a quarterfinal place against either Italy or Spain next Saturday.
Loew' s thoughts might not be surprising but behind it is a lot of hard work to get everybody toeing the line.
Loew now seems to be on the right track and is regarded as the man to manage Germany' s desire to win the first European Championship since 1996.
Winning the 2014 World Cup has helped Loew to get into a position that makes things easier for him. Euro 2016 reflects the story.
Germany have improved in every game and now seem to have found an appropriate tournament rhythm and it' s all down to Loew.
When the team was having its troubles qualifying for the European Championships, Loew didn' t panic. He followed a strict plan - to create team spirit and he demanded people trusted his coaching abilities on a number of occasions.
His message was simple - trust me. Like every national coach Loew had to go through dark hours in 2012 when he was accused of losing the semifinal against Italy because of wrong tactics and player selection.
Before Euro 2016 and during the initial stages against Ukraine and Poland, Loew had to face widespread debate at home about his selection of players.
Loew insisted "trust me" , saying, "I know what we need to build a team and I know what players I choose can deliver" .
Loew insisted he had full confidence in Mario Goetze, Benedikt Hoewedes, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski, Mario Gomez, Joshua Kimmich and Mesut Oezil - players not everyone was fully satisfied with. And Loew has developed a special feeling for when his team needs a change.
And he has developed a special feeling as to when he has to support players when they need time to get over a crisis.
Behind Julian Draxler lie a disappointing season with his club VfL Wolfsburg and in his first games at Euro 2016, Draxler was far from being a hero.
Against Slovakia, Loew replaced Mario Goetze, who he had backed for weeks, by Draxler who went on to take the Man of the Match award.
Loew stuck with Oezil who had a very good season with his club Arsenal but has been out of sorts in France so far. Against Slovakia, he was the driving force behind the German attacking machine.
Loew picked 21-year-old Kimmich as he needed more support down the left flank. A risk fans and media in Germany were unhappy about but Kimmich repaid the coach' s trust.
Loew insisted that Schweinsteiger, despite his injury problems, and Podolski, who is no longer a candidate for the starting eleven, are part of his squad for Euro 2016. The German head-coach knew exactly how important they are for team spirit.
Now Loew is facing the maybe biggest challenge so far when playing against one of Europe' s top dogs next Saturday - either Italy or Spain and Loew has a score to settle with both.
In 2008, Loew lost the final of Euro 2008 1-0 against the Iberians. In 2012 he lost the semifinal against Italy 2-1.
The German coach knows full well, if the Germans make it into the semifinal nothing more than the title is in sight. And he knows a game against Italy or Spain will be his special exam and after such a game his way of doing things will be discussed again.
After the Slovakia game, like after every other game especially the ones at a major tournament, Loew will take a deep dive into his soul and mind to develop a feeling for the next chapter on the road to the final which is played in Stade de France on July 10.
Loew might take notice of the positive comments that came flooding in after the last successful chapter against Slovakia. But he will start to think about the next one after finding out whether, who the next opponent will be.
The German coach always keeps an eye on the general development of his team while at a tournament, but the 56-year-old keeps to follow his single-chapter philosophy.
His players seem to be feeling extremely comfortable with Loew' s strategy. They feel very much as a team and regard it as Loew' s piece of work that they do so.
Kimmich as well is one of these players feeling happy. For two years Germany and Loew were desperately looking for a right back. When Kimmich showed up before Euro 2016 after having a fantastic season at Bayern Munich, Loew gave him time to adjust to the new environment of the national team.
Loew took it easy with the new star in Germany' s skies. Now Kimmich is one of the players Loew can rely on.
In the first place, it is Loew' s team that has left its impressive mark at France 2016 with their fourth game without conceding a goal - something that is making the world' s media sit up and take notice - especially after the German team not only came up with an impressive performance of total game control against Slovakia but three goals on top.
Loew' s share is also becoming increasingly obvious.
