TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Germany coach Joachim Loew took the acclaim of thousands of fans in his hometown of Freiburg on Tuesday, two months after leading his country to glory at the World Cup.
Loew, who maintains the strong accent of the Black Forest region, displayed the World Cup trophy from the balcony of the town hall in Freiburg, the largest town in the area, 40 kilometres away from his native village of Schoenau.
A huge banner made for the occasion, reading 'Welcome Home Jogi!' hung from the town hall.
In the town hall's guest book, Loew, who led Germany to their first World Cup in July since reunification and fourth overall, wrote: "I am one of yours, from here. I have always felt your support here."
Speaking to the gathered fans, the 54 year-old added: "After the final in Rio, our objective now is the final in Paris (of Euro 2016)."
The Schoenau im Schwarzwald village announced in July that he would also be made an honorary citizen.
"We are proud of Jogi Loew. He has carried the name of Schoenau throughout the world," said Peter Schelshorn, the mayor in the village of 2,300 inhabitants.
Loew started his playing career at SC Freiburg and came back for two further spells. He took over as coach of Germany after the 2006 World Cup.
Germany defeated Scotland 2-1 in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier in Dortmund on Sunday.
ANTARA | FITRI SUPRATIWI
