Loew extends contract

Germany's national coach Joachim Loew and his three right-hand men said on Tuesday they had agreed to two-year extensions to their contracts and hoped to build on the team's bold showing at the World Cup.

Loew, team manager Oliver Bierhoff and assistant coaches Hans-Dieter Flick and Andreas Koepke signed on with the German Football Federation (DFB) to 2012, when the European Championships will be held.

The 50-year-old chief coach called the negotiations "uncomplicated", without revealing details, and thanked DFB president Theo Zwanziger for his vote of confidence.