Magath slams Loew over striker

Felix Magath has voiced his concerns over how Joachim Loew runs the Germany national team.

The Wolfsburg coach was unhappy at Loew’s failure to call up Bastian Schweinsteiger for the recent friendly against Argentina, despite the Bayern Munich midfielder having earlier returned to training and actually playing in a friendly with his club on the same day.

Loew had said that the 28-year-old was left out due to fitness concerns, but Magath believes he could have played some part, and that it sets a bad example to, from his point of view, keep players in the dark.

“I was irritated by (Loew’s) statement,” Magath told Focus.

“Do observers get a good impression when one of the leading players says ‘I don’t know, I’m not going’?

“When this is what it is like in the team it is difficult to work together on the pitch.”

While Magath clearly feels the team suffer from a lack of communication, he also criticised Germany’s style of play.

“In this team, they put too much emphasis on attractive play, and perhaps too little on being combative and committed,” he said.