Loew to remain Germany coach until 2012 Germany's football federation has confirmed that Joachim Loew will

remain the head of the national team until 2012. The details of the agreement will be decided in January Joachim Loew has reached an agreement to extend his current contract as coach of Germany's national soccer team for another two years. German Football Federation (DFB) President Theo Zwanziger said he was pleased the two sides had "shaken hands" on the contract extension. "We respect the efforts of the national coach," Zwanziger said. The contract extension will not come cheap: Loew's pay packet looks set to increase by about 20% to around three million euros annually. Looking ahead to Euro 2012 The move means Loew will still be in charge when Euro 2012 rolls around. His first contract would have seen him stay as head coach until just after the World Cup in South Africa next year. "There is the fundamental readiness to continue our work until after the 2012 Euro," said Loew in a statement on the DFB web site. "Until the signing of the contract, some points need to be discussed and cleared, which are important for the work of my team," he added. Loew wishes to retain his current coaching team, and Zwanziger has confirmed the DFB agreed in principle to extend the contracts of assistant coach Hansi Flick and goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke. Loew, who took over from former coach Juergen Klinsmann in 2006, guided Germany into the final of Euro 2008, where they lost to Spain. Under his watch, Germany also finished top of their qualifying group for the 2010 World Cup.

ca/mrh/dpa/AFP/Reuters Editor: Sean Sinico DW.DE

Germany needs to improve to become a World Cup favorite Germany got the job done in a relative easy group and qualified for the World Cup. But how does the team measure up to the world's top national teams? Deutsche Welle's Jefferson Chase takes a closer look. Germany got the result they needed when it counted The one moment that best symbolizes the 1-0 win over Moscow that qualified Germany for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was directly after the lone goal was scored. Striker Miroslav Klose celebrated with one of his trademark forward flips - and only narrowly avoided landing on his backside. Match reports in German newspapers, perhaps understandably, were full of superlatives about Germany's gutsy away win. But that 1-0 victory was of the knife-edge variety, unlike Germany's 1-0 loss to Spain in the 2008 European Championships, the last time coach Joachim Loew had a chance to win a title. So have Germany improved enough to draw level with the Spaniards or Brazil? Or are they more on a par with other large European nations like England, the Netherlands and Italy. Here's a back-to-front run-through of the strengths and weaknesses of the German squad. Defense

Adler could become the next in a long line of stellar German national keepers The one position about which Loew has absolutely no worries is goal. 24year-old Rene Adler was the key to Germany's victory, making a number of world-class saves, and seems to have sealed his position as Germany's number one. The young keeper's most brilliant moment in Moscow came in the 73rd minute, when Russian midfielder Igor Semshov was clear on the right side and slotted a crisp pass in the direction of two teammates waiting in front of goal. Adler not only got a hand to the ball but cleverly deflected it over the end line. And should Adler get hurt, Loew can call on Robert Enke, Manuel Neuer or even Tim Wiese who've all proved their worth at the international level. Left back Philipp Lahm is arguably the best in the world at his position so his selection is a no-brainer. Interior defenders Per Mertesacker and Heiko Westermann provide a solid anchor in the back four. Youngster Serdar Tasci could also play a role. The big question is right back. Jerome Boateng, who made his national-team debut in Russia, showed he was capable of provided some welcome offensive pressure. But the 21-year-old also got himself sent off with a red card. Loew's task will be to get the youngster enough experience in friendlies between now and next June that he no longer poses a risk. Otherwise, he'll be forced to fall back on Arne Friedrich, who's been mediocre at best when wearing the German kit. Defensive midfield Ballack is a force in midfield but Germany could use a threat like Russia's Andrei

Arshavin Though not the force he once was German captain Michael Ballack is the lynchpin of the German squad. The 33-year-old not only wins lots of challenges but is responsible for the opening passes for Germany's offense. To cover Ballack's back when he presses forward, Simon Rolfes is a good choice. And Thomas Hitzlsperger is also a more offensive option because of his ability to blast in shots from long-range. If Ballack were to go down to injury, though, Germany would be in trouble. Ballack is to Germany what Gennaro Gattuso has been to Italy, and Loew needs to plan, as best he can, for the eventuality that his captain is unavailable. The problem is that no one currently on the squad or on the radar screen has the ability to fill the stopper-meets-playmaker role Ballack occupies. Offensive midfield and wingers Germany is counting on youngsters like Jerome Boateng, Marko Marin and Mesut Oezil The emergence of Mesut Oezil represents the biggest improvement of Germany's likely 2010 squad over the 2008 edition. The 20-year-old displayed both his pace and his eye for his teammates in setting up the lone goal in Moscow that punched Germany's World Cup ticket. But after that, the quality tails off. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski are active but relatively inefficient players who've never lived up their potential. It will be interesting to see whether youngster Marko Marin, Oezil's equally fleet-footed teammate at Werder Bremen, can break into the Germany's starting eleven. But even if he does, a comparison with the world's top teams suggests that Germany's offensive midfield is a relative weakness. Spain are spoiled for choice with Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Fabregas, Iniesta and Senna. Brazil,

too, can chose from nearly a dozen top-quality midfielders, including Kaka, whose skills and creativity are far superior to any member of the German squad. Thus, as the squad stands, Germany may find it difficult to come back if they go behind early in matches - something that most teams need to do if they want to take a major international title.

Klose showed his age in executing his celebratory front flip - he landed on his backside, not his feet The center forward This position is one of the biggest question marks in the team. If the Russia match is anything to go by, Loew could likely rely on a 4-3-3 formation for much of the tournament in South Africa. That essentially means the battle to fill the lone central forward slot is between Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez, the same pair of players contesting the same position at their mutual club Bayern Munich. For now Klose, who will be 32 years old next summer, gets the nod because he, in contrast to Gomez, has been effective for the national squad in the past. But he's clearly lost a bit of athleticism, so in his heart of hearts, Loew might well prefer the 24-year-old Gomez. Loew choice will probably be influenced by how much playing time the two strikers get at Bayern Munich. However that situation turns out, though, what Loew doesn't have is a center forward who can create goal opportunities for himself a la Wayne Rooney for England or Thierry Henry for France.

That means that Germany could have trouble against other defensively oriented teams like Italy. As one of the best teams at the back in the world, Germany could certainly fly high in South Africa, and no nation will relish facing them. But their creative deficiencies at the front also mean that Loew's men, if they face tough opponents early on, could end up smack on their backsides.

Author: Jefferson Chase Editor: Andreas Illmer

Leverkusen's Kiessling is becoming impossible for Loew to ignore With Klose, Gomez and Podolski out of sorts, the door is open for other German forwards. But does Stefan Kiessling have what it takes for the World Cup? Deutsche Welle spoke with him about his prospects. At the moment, the signs for Kiessling are pointing up Two years ago Kiessling, who's now 25 years old, was touted as one of Germany's most promising young players. He had just transferred from Nuremberg to much higher profile Bayer Leverkusen, and in March 2007 he earned his first cap for Germany in a friendly against Denmark. But only one further call has come from Germany coach Joachim Loew since then. While Kiessling's productivity has steadily improved, he failed to post the stellar numbers or create the sort of spectacular goals that elevated Mario Gomez and more recently Mesut Oezil into the Nationalelf. As Germany's qualifying campaign entered its decisive phase this autumn, Kiessling had become an afterthought. At least for Loew.

With six goals in 10 league matches, Kiessling is currently the most successful forward with a German passport. Indeed, Kiessling shares the top spot in the Bundesliga's goal scoring list with Bremen's Claudio Pizarro. And that hasn't gone without notice. In a poll carried out by the German Web site www.soccer-fans.de, more than 71 percent of respondents said they thought Kiessling deserved a spot in the national side. And in an editorial, the on-line soccer magazine Fussball Forum criticized Loew for breaking his meritocratic principles. If performance is the main criteria for inclusion, someone like Stefan Kiessling would definitely have to have been part of the squad, the magazine opined. What has Kiessling done to earn Loew's neglect? Nothing really, as it turns out. The overrated label

Kiessling scored in each of his first five games this season Kiessling was regarded as one of the top prizes on the transfer market in the summer of 2006. And the hopes thereby engendered may have been part of the problem. When I first came to Leverkusen, they'd paid 5.5 million euros ($8.3 million), and that was a sum that made me swallow hard back then, Kiessling told Deutsche Welle. I didn't have that much experience and hadn't played that many first-division matches for Nuremberg so 5.5 million was a burden to bear. Looking at the numbers, it's hard to argue that the striker hasn't lived up to expectations. Kiessling has improved his goal and assist tallies in each of his three seasons with Leverkusen. His 12 goals and seven assists in 2008-09 put him among the best forwards in Germany, but the key word here is perhaps among.

While Gomez was leading Stuttgart to a league title and challenging for the goal-scorer's crown, Kiessling often played second fiddle to his Leverkusen striking partner Patrick Helmes on a team that always seemed to fade as the season wore on. A Klinsmann type of player

At times Kiessling's game is reminiscent of Klinsmann's Another thing that has held Kiessling back is that he doesn't look the part of a German national. Klose, Gomez and even Podolski have a certain gravitas that fits well with the Nationalelf, whereas the blond striker often gives the impression of being a 1meter-90 (6-foot-two) kid who's just happy to be able to kick the ball around. Moreover, no one who's ever seen him play live would mistake Kiessling for a brilliant technician. He's a striker who scores by being in the right place at the right time, mopping up rebounds or getting a head on crosses. As such, he's a player whose form usually follows that of his team. When Leverkusen have done well, so has Kiessling, but when things have gone wrong, he hasn't been the one who can turn things round with an individual bit of brilliance. Leverkusen currently top the table, and Kiessling is off to his best-ever season start in 2009-10. The striker gives much of the credit to Leverkusen's new coach. In general, I like to practice because it's fun playing soccer, but under Jupp Heynckes, who was a striker himself, you can learn a lot - and that's unbelievably fun, Kiessling said. You don't have to go back too far in German soccer history to find a somewhat gangly forward who had success for the national team - Loew's predecessor, Juergen Klinsmann. Klinsi, too, as a player was mocked for being inelegant and happy-go-lucky, and he went on to score 47 goals for Germany in more than a decade in the national side.

A team effort

Kiessling could well take Cacau's spot in the Germany squad As goes Leverkusen, so goes Kiessling. Ironically, that means the striker's chances in the Nationalelf may be dependent on his club's back four, the part of the squad that wilted most in Leverkusen's plunge from the top to the middle of the table last season. Kiessling says that, thanks to new acquisitions like veterans Sami Hyypia, this year will be a different story. With Sami back there, we have the sort of person we needed last year to hold the defense together, Kiessling said. At the moment, everything's clicking. We've got a coach who directs us, and we so to speak play the music on the pitch. And he's astonishingly cool when it comes to the lack of calls he's had from Germany coach Loew. The last contact was in February, Kiessling told Deutsche Welle. Since then, I've heard nothing. But that's no big deal. Why should he call me up to say: You're in good form, but despite that I'm not taking you with us? Klose, Poldi and Gomez have the inside track, when it comes to the national squad. But injuries could keep one or more of them from travelling to South Africa, and Germany's fourth striker in recent matches, Cacau, is by no means guaranteed to be in the 2010 squad. So, in his heart of hearts, Kiessling must being hoping that Loew rings up soon to say he is in good form and will be taken along for football's most prestigious tournament. Stefan Kiessling is this week's featured guest on DW-TV's Bundesliga Kick-Off. Author: Jefferson Chase Editor: Chuck Penfold

DW.DE

Hamburg stay level with Bayer Leverkusen on top of the table Even with a new coach, and an early goal, Hertha Berlin could not prevent SV Hamburg coming from behind to hand them their seventh defeat in a row. Hamburg's David Jarolim (c) celebrates his goal By all accounts, it wasn't pretty. Hertha, under its new coach Friedhem Funkel, took an early lead when team captain Arne Friedrich headed one in from the corner. But it was all for naught as Hamburg evened things up in the 24th minute courtesy of Hertha defender Kaka, who headed it neatly over goalie Timo Ochs for an own goal. They then added another pair to make it 3-0 at the half-time whistle. Hertha was playing without its injured goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny. And things got worse when Ochs left the game with a muscle tear leaving Hertha to defend the goal with 19year old Sascha Burchert who was playing in only in his third Bundesliga game. After just five minutes on the pitch, Burchert came out of the goal and David Jarolim knocked the ball in from 30 meters out. Two minutes later, in what appeared to be an unbelievable replay, Burchert again ran out of his area and Ze Roberto picked up the clearance from inside the center circle and arced it into an empty net. Hertha now languishes at the bottom of the table. Claudia Pizzaro is all smiles Werder stay in touch with leaders Werder Bremen, in Sunday's second

game, beat VfB Stuttgart 2-0 and climbed into the top four on the table. A header from Peru striker Claudio Pizzaro in the third minute of the game put them up a goal and Aaron Hunt made it a pair when he scored Werder's second after the half. Saturday's games Leverkusen won two goals on penalty Leverkusen shot to the top of the table on Saturday, after demolishing Nuremburg. Meanwhile, Cologne held Bayern to a draw, Bochum tied with Wolfsburg, Mainz beat Hoffenheim and Hannover thrashed Freiburg. Leverkusen are now level on points with Hamburg at the top of the standings after thrashing Nuremburg 4-0. The first three goals fell in the first half with a free-kick from Toni Kroos, a penalty-shot by Simon Rolfes and a strike by Eren Derdiyok. The Bundesliga's top scorer Stefan Kiessling made it four for Leverkusen midway through the second half, to the joy of the home side's fans. Cologne will be pleased to take a draw from their encounter with Bayern Bayern frustrated Cologne managed to hold Bayern Munich to a scoreless draw in their clash on Saturday. Although Bayern appeared much the stronger side, the Bavarians were unable to convert

any opportunities including an 11th minute header by Bastian Schweinsteiger, which connected with the cross bar. Bayern coach Van Gaal replaced some of his star players at half-time. Frenchman Franck Ribery was taken off for Danijel Pranjic and Mario Gomez brought on to replace Jose Ernesto Sosa, but all to no avail for the side which is trailing at seventh in the rankings. Mainz ended Hoffenheim's unbeaten streak Wolfsburg moves to seventh Defending champions Wolfsburg drop down to seventh place in the standings, even after coming back to draw 1-1 in Bochum. Bochum took the lead in the 53rd minute with a header from Vahid Hashemian. However, the home side were soon reduced to 10 men when Shinji Ono was sent off for a penalty on Wolfsburg captain, Josue. Dzeko took full advantage of the gap in numbers, heading home the equalizer for Wolfsburg in the 75th minute. Mainz stop Hoffenheim Mainz ended Hoffenheim's six-match undefeated streak, beating the home side 2-1, and are level on points with Hoffenheim in the table. Mainz established their lead early, with Andreas Ivanschitz notching a goal in the sixth minute and Aristide Bance making it 2-0 just five minutes later. Andreas Ibertsberger scored a consolation goal for Hoffenheim late in the second half. Nuremburg fought back hard, but were caught exposed in the end Hanover run riot Hanover also opened the scoring

early when they thrashed Freiburg 5-2. Chahed and Bruggink opened the scoring for Hanover with two goals in the first ten minutes. Banovic pulled a point back for Freiburg before Hanover defender Haggui extended his team's lead to 3-1 shortly before halftime. The score remained that way until a string of goals in the final ten minutes of regulation time. Schuster scored for Freiburg in the 82nd minute, but Ya Konan caught out the Freiburgers on the counter attack in the dying minutes of the game and then Hanover substitute Pinto scored against a demoralized side in extra time to make it 5-2. Hanover climbed to eleventh in the standings, one point behind Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt. Dortmund get a needed boost Dortmund claimed a much-needed win In Saturday's evening fixture, Dortmund defeated Moenchengladbach 1-0 to claim only their second victory of the season. Scoring his first Bundesliga goal, Argentine forward Lucas Barrios sealed the match for Dortmund, advancing his team to 12th in the standings. On Friday, Schalke beat Frankfurt to climb to third in the rankings. av/nw/dpa/Reuters/AFP Editor: Nigel Tandy