Löw signs new Germany deal to end talk of Bayern link-up

(EPA)

Germany coach Joachim Löw yesterday signed a two-year contract extension tying him to the role until after the 2014 World Cup finals, which would take his tenure in charge of the national side to eight years and ends speculation that he might replace Louis van Gaal as manager of Bayern Munich.

Löw's current deal had been due to expire after next summer's European Championship but he was keen for the matter to be resolved as soon as possible after admitting contract discussions had preyed on his mind during Germany's impressive run to the World Cup semi-finals in South Africa last year. Germany lost to the eventual winners Spain, having hammered Argentina and England en route.

Van Gaal will leave Bayern at the end of this season after the club decided to terminate his contract a year early and Löw's success with Germany resulted in him being touted as one of the leading contenders to take the top job at the country's leading club. Löw also ruled out the possibility of combining that role with his national team duties, as Sir Alex Ferguson once did with Scotland and Aberdeen.

"No, that for me was never an option," Löw said. "DFB [German Football Association] and Bayern, DFB and Dortmund or DFB and Bremen is not possible. It would conflict with the interests of the league."

Löw's back-room staff – his assistant Hansi Flick, goalkeeping coach Andreas Kopke and team manager Oliver Bierhoff – have also signed new two-year deals.

Löw said: "I am pleased that we were able to agree quickly to a continuation of the cooperation until after the World Cup in 2014 together with [DFB] president Dr Theo Zwanziger and secretary general Wolfgang Niersbach. We believe that it makes sense to continue along this successful path with the national team. Hansi Flick, Andreas Kopke, Oliver Bierhoff and I enjoy this wonderful job.

"We believe in the quality of our players and see good prospects for our team. Therefore we have gladly accepted the offer from the DFB leadership to renew early. The relationship we have has been demonstrated by the fact the negotiations have been completed within a few days."

Germany have carried their fine form from South Africa last summer into the qualifying campaign for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. They have won four out of four qualifying games and sit top of Group A, comfortably ahead of their main rivals Austria, Turkey and Belgium. They play Kazakhstan next on Saturday week.