Joachim Löw extended his contract on Monday as Germany national team coach until 2020.

Löw’s previous contract had been set to run until the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, but he is now set to remain in charge until the pan-European UEFA Euro 2020 competition.

Should he still out the length of his contract, it would make him the joint-second longest serving manager of Germany.

World champion

Löw took over from Jürgen Klinsmann in 2006, having served as his assistant in the previous two years.

After Klinsmann took Germany to the semi-finals of their home World Cup, Löw has ensured that they have reached at least the semi-finals of each of the following major competitions in the ten years since.

But of course the peak of his time in charge so far was leading his side glory at the World Cup in Brazil, with Mario Götze scoring the only goal in extra time of the final against Argentina, after the side had destroyed the hosts in the semi-final in Belo Horizonte.

Although they failed to progress to the final at UEFA Euro 2016, losing to hosts France in the semi, the DFB are clearly convinced that he can carry his mightily impressive record into each of the next two tournaments as well.

That would extend his reign to fourteen years, bringing him level with Helmut Schön, who between 1964 and 1978 won both the World Cup and European Championships. Only Sepp Herberger, who served for a total of 20 years either side of the Second World War, has been in charge for longer.

Focus remains on Russia 2018

“When your head and heart say yes then the decision is made easier,” said Löw at the press conference where his extension was announced.

“We want to continue on from our success in Brazil at the World Cup in Russia,” he also said. “Developing a team and the players and leading them at the highest level motivates me as much as winning titles.”

He added that is only focus was on finishing top of their qualifying group for the next tournament.

“I have always stressed that I don’t think there is any better manager for Germany than Jogi Löw,” added DFB president Reinhard Grindel.

“He has shaped and continued to develop the team in the past few years with his passion and technical expertise, and led us to winning the World Cup.”

He added that “he is showing how determined and motivated he is to defend our title in Russia in 2018.”

Quotes via DFB.