Löw looks at the bigger picture

As his side prepare to take on Switzerland on Wednesday night, Germany coach Joachim Löw told uefa.com how he hoped a unified coaching approach would produce long-term dividends for the country.

Long-term goals
Having enjoyed a successful FIFA World Cup, Germany top UEFA EURO 2008™ Group D ahead of a meeting with main rivals the Czech Republic on 23 March. While that game is very much on the coach's mind, he admitted to looking further into the future, beyond even the finals. "It's our goal to keep Germany at a consistently high level over the next ten years," he said. "We are not quite in the fast lane just yet. We haven't had the necessary consistency in recent years and in the future we want to maintain a constantly high level."

Unified system
Having identified the difficulty of trying to implement new tactics and game plans because of the time constraints placed on international football, Löw - who was Jürgen Klinsmann's right-hand man last summer - is keen for Germany to introduce an overarching national coaching system. "We want to develop a unified playing philosophy from the senior team right down to the youth sides which we can adapt to the various age groups," he continued. "In the future our Under-15 to U18 sides will be taught to play in a 4-4-2 formation, or even a 4-3-3, in order to learn to deal with different tactical demands. We can then play with a 4-4-2 system from the U19s up to the first team."

Admiring glances
As the former VfB Stuttgart, SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder focused on the game against Switzerland in Dusseldorf, he revealed that he had cast an admiring eye at the footballing development schemes that Germany's neighbours had implemented under coach Jakob Kuhn. "The Swiss have been working very hard for a number of years now and Swiss football has made real progress," he told uefa.com. "They have a unified philosophy, a good coach and are doing fantastic youth work. The friendly against Switzerland will be a genuine test for us."

Squad options
Löw, who ended his playing career in Switzerland with spells at FC Schaffhausen and FC Winterthur, is keen to test his squad options this week, bringing in-form Stuttgart youngster Mario Gomez into his selection for the first time and recalling FC Schalke 04 forward Kevin Kuranyi. "Mario Gomez is a player with a future who has made the step up from U21 level," he said. "Mario is very dynamic and he deserves a chance. Kuranyi hit a low last year which he has now overcome. He has rediscovered his old form. He is dangerous in front of goal, mobile and has improved."

Emergency options
With Lukas Podolski suspended after being sent off in the 2-0 friendly defeat of Georgia last October and Miroslav Klose due to serve a ban when Germany make the trip to Prague for that all-important qualifier next month, Löw has particularly good reason to explore his striking options. "We have to see how we can compensate for their loss and find a suitable striking formation," he said.