10 Things you Didn't know about Germany's star coach Joachim Loew

 As celebrations in Germany begin and fans express their love (or loew) for the man, here are 10 things to know about Joachim Loew.
1. Understanding the vitals

Joachim Loew was born in Schonau, West Germany on Feb 3, 1960. Standing tall at 182 cm - he is German, after all - the 54-year-old looks good for a middle-aged man.

Also, Joachim Loew is pronounced yoa-kim-luv, so now we can declare his name loud and proud.

2. A serious coach with a cute nickname

Loew is nicknamed Jogi, a shortened version of his first name Joachim. It certainly has no reference to a certain comic book and cartoon-animated bear, but we think that's rather cute for a serious football coach.

3. Sorry single ladies, someone has already put a ring on it

Loew is married to 52-year-old Daniela Loew, and the pair have been together for over 27 years. They have no children. Props to the guy for sustaining his marriage as well as his football team.

Their love story is also a sweet one. The couple reportedly met in 1978 when he was 17 and she was 15, when he was a soccer player with German club SC Freiburg. They had dated for eight years before tying the knot.

4. He has a massive annual salary

Loew's annual salary is a staggering US$3.6 million (S$4.5 million), 82 times more than the average person in Germany. He also has a net worth of US$18 million (S$22.4 million).

This makes him one of the highest-paid national football team coaches in 2014. Judging by his coaching success, we think he very well earned it.

5. An ex-football player with a broken dream

Loew was a football player with SC Freiburg from 1978 to 1980 and from 1985 to 1989. He was displaying exceptional talent as a young amateur player, and by the age of 18 had obtained his first professional contract.

Unfortunately, a broken shin bone at the age of 22 dashed his hopes of making it to the top. Loew then decided to become a coach, studying the game on and off the field.

6. He rose to fame as a national football coach

Loew joined the German national football team as assistant coach in 2004, alongside Jurgen Klinsmann. The pair led the team in the 2006 World Cup to win all three games in their group and finish third after beating Portugal.

When Klinsmann decided not to extend his contract with the team, Loew took over the position of head coach. With one of the youngest squads on the field, he led the German national team to a third place finish in the 2010 World Cup and finally, to championship victory in 2014.

7. Dressed by Hugo Boss like a true German boss

So he has made it onto the good-looking and the richest list, but the high-achieving Loew is not leaving himself out of the best-dressed group.

His trademark outfit was a lucky blue cashmere sweater at the 2010 World Cup. This year, thanks to Hugo Boss, he adopted a minimalist style with a simple collared shirt and slim-cut pants.

Casual and cool with just a tinge of sleek sophistication, Loew looked clean and sharp at every game, just like his German team.

8. Loved on the field, banned from the wheel

Banned from driving for six months for clocking up too many points on his licence, the German coach did not drive in Brazil for the World Cup at all.

According to German newspaper Die Welt, he has been frequently caught speeding and using his mobile phone at the wheel.

Germany's general manager Oliver Bierhoff had joked that he will "talk with our sponsors Mercedes-Benz to see if they can provide him a car with a speed limiter".

9. Not a straight-laced coach, but not gay either

Loew had dismissed rumours of him being gay in 2011, when the German daily paper Die Welt asked him if he was "grouped with the gay half" of the national football team.

This was in reference to Oliver Bierhoff's, Germany's team manager, previous comments that "half the national team is supposedly gay, including the training staff".

In reply to the paper, Loew said, "Feel free to ask my wife".

10. The hair is real

There were rumours in Germany several years that his thick mop of black hair is actually a wig, but in an interview with Die Welt, Loew regarded the rumour as "rubbish". He even offered the reporter to tug on his hair.

There is even a facebook group dedicated to the black luscious locks of the German coach, titled "How awesome is Joachim Loew's hair?"

Loew has never disclosed how he manages to maintain his perfect crop of hair. We can only speculate that he dries or dyes it regularly.