Kai Havertz hailed departing Germany coach Joachim Low as the “biggest manager” in the nation’s history and admitted the players were disappointed to see his reign end in Euro 2020 defeat to England.
It was announced that Low, 61, would leave his position before the start of the tournament and his final game in charge saw Germany lose their last-16 clash 2-0 at Wembley.
Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane scored the goals which saw England through at the expense of their old foes, bringing the curtain down on Low’s 15-year tenure.
The man who guided Germany to the 2014 World Cup, as well as the final of Euro 2008, will be replaced by Hansi Flick and Havertz believes the new incumbent has plenty to live up to.
“It is very hard for us,” the Chelsea forward said of Low’s departure.
“I think for Germany he is the biggest manager of all time, the whole country is proud of him, the players are proud of him.
“The career for him is unbelievable and we are disappointed not to give him the best end but of course he is a great manager and a great person to all of us.”
Germany had just three shots on target as they were eliminated by England, Havertz with one of them as he forced a fine save out of Jordan Pickford early in the second half.
A glaring miss by Thomas Muller shortly after Sterling had given England the lead summed up Germany’s evening – but Havertz refused to blame the Bayern Munich man for their exit.
“I think all of our offensive players had good chances,” he told beIN Sports.
“So it isn’t all about Thomas, it is about everybody, the whole team, I think we could have created more chances but we didn’t do that so it is very tough to take.
“England has a good squad, good players. We have them too so of course we were very disappointed to lose the game. We have to keep on going, it is hard to take for us.”
Muller revealed he had had a sleepless night after missing his golden chance.
“This is the moment that gets stuck in your head and keeps you up at night,” he said on Instagram.
“Getting this chance and missing it hurts like hell. It hurts to let down my team-mates and coach, who put all of their trust in me.
“But what hurts the most is letting down all Germany fans out there who stood by and supported us at the Euros, despite it all.”
