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Sport1’s Florian Plettenberg, the network’s chief reporter for Bayern Munich and the German national team, has reported that the DFB will not dismiss head coach Joachim Löw even if Germany suffers another humiliating defeat at the hands of France on Tuesday. Plettenberg tweeted:
Nach @SPORT1-Infos darf #Löw auch bei einer Klatsche gegen Frankreich weitermachen. Eine Entlassung steht nicht zur Debatte. Grund: Der DFB hat schlichtweg keinen Plan B in der Hinterhand, will kein Chaos. Intern ist man überraschter über die Katastrophen-Form einzelner Spieler.
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) October 14, 2018
According to Sport1 info, Löw will be allowed to continue even with a disaster against France. His dismissal is not up for debate. The reason: the DFB simply has no Plan B up its sleeve, doesn’t want chaos. Internally, they are more surprised about the catastrophic form of individual players.
That revelation puts DFB President Reinhard Grindel’s initial statement, calling for solidarity, in a new light. After the defeat in Amsterdam, Grindel indirectly supported Löw, stating,
It was clear to all of us that our team’s journey after the World Cup can also bring setbacks with it. It is all the more important now to stand together on and off the pitch as a team.
It is a false solidarity, however, when the purpose of the call serves rather to deflect from an abject failure to hold leadership accountable, including Grindel himself.