Discord at the Heart of German Football: Team Coach Denied Contract Extension -- For Now

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Soccer fans across the world will be looking with interest at the signs of discord among the top guns of German football. The much feared Teutons, always hard to beat at tournaments, will have to contend with uncertainty in the lead up to the World Cup finals this summer after negotiations over the extension of the team coach's contract fell apart.

Joachim Löw, who had been the assistant coach under previous manager Jürgen Klinsmann, may have thought the contract was just a formality after shaking hands on the deal with head of the German Football Federation (DFB) in December. However, that hand shake has turned into a slap in the face after the DFB President Theo Zwanziger told Löw and team manager Oliver Bierhoff on Thursday that he was rejecting their demands and that talks would now be postponed.

It had seemed certain that Löw would lead Germany all the way to the Euro 2012 qualification matches but now the negotiations are being put on hold until after the World Cup in South Africa this summer. It seems Löw and Bierhoff complicated the talks at a late stage by introducing new demands for bonuses and asking that Bierhoff be given a veto over the choice of any future team coach.

World Cup Fast Approaching

"Fundamentally both sides want to continue working together, but we could not agree over a few aspects," Zwanziger said after an emergency meeting of the DFB board on Thursday. "A compromise proposal was not accepted by the sporting leadership and that's why we are not continuing the talks," he said. "We don't want to jeopardize preparations for the World Cup."

Bierhoff, who as a player reached the World Cup final against Brazil in 2002, admitted the news was a blow. "We would like to have cleared up the contract extensions quickly with the World Cup fast approaching, but we accept the president's decision," he said.

Bierhoff and Löw had most likely assumed that Germany's smooth qualification for the World Cup, as well as the fact that the team reached the final of the European Championships in 2008, would make their position unassailable. However, the 18 members of the DFB board chose to rein in the self-confident duo. According to the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper, the DFB had been concerned that a "state within a state" was developing in the national team and sought to reassert control.

What is certain is that the uncertainty is now likely to continue until the summer and threatens to overshadow Germany's preparations for the month-long tournament which kicks off on June 11.