orange you glad i didn't say banana?

afootballreport:

Translated by Max Grieve

As Mario Balotelli tore off his shirt to reveal his finely sculpted torso, Bundestrainer Joachim “Jogi” Löw looked on, stunned. He and his assistant, Hans-Dieter Flick, matched their clothing as they had done in South Africa, but there would be no bare chests on the German bench. Now, Germany are out, and Löw is left to pick up the pieces of a failed campaign. The final, surely the minimum objective for a phenomenally talented German side, will belong to Spain and Italy.

There will be no inquest as in French or Dutch camps, and there is no need for one. During his time in Poland and Ukraine, Löw wrote a day-by-day account of his experience and decisions. Translated for you here, as an abridged version of two volumes of entries, it provides a fascinating insight into the mind of an international manager at a major tournament.

Read More