Germany coach Joachim Loew has stated that the European side’s 1-0 victory over Argentina is the result of 10 years of work and progress.
Die Mannschaft claimed the World Cup after defeating the Albiceleste at the Estadio Maracana with a Mario Götze strike during second extra time to claim their fourth crown, something which Low believes has been years in the making.
“We have been together for 55 days, but we started this project 10 years ago, what was achieved was the effort of this long period, not only my own effort, but it began many years ago starting with [Jurgen] Klinsmann,” Loew stated at his post match press conference.
“This squad deserves a salute for their spirit and what they have accomplished with so many disappointments over the years but today they have reached the biggest dream of all as they won the World Cup and the first European team to win it on Latin America.
“We were the better team, with more possession, stamina and the will and energy to fight so as to not go to a penalty shootout.
“We have analyzed their movements, their counter attacks tactics especially using Leo Messi and Ezequiel Lavezzi and they tried to apply it today but we had the upper hand and dealt with it perfectly.
“Gotze? I said to Mario show the world that you are better than Messi and that you can determine the fate of this World Cup and I had a good feeling about him.
“From the beginning we knew that our starting line-up was made up of fourteen players and not eleven in view of the fact that air temperatures are high and it would be difficult for some players to keep 100%.
“Today showed that our substations made the difference when the opponent felt worn-out”.
“We must thank the Brazilian fans who supported us not just today but even after the 7-1 win over Brazil. We were really surprised and touched with thousands lining up to greet the team and some of them came to our camp carrying support banners which made me feel grateful and joy I never felt before.”
