Germany coach: Virus shows world has ‘collective burnout’

By: CiaráN Fahey, The Associated Press Posted: 11:47 AM CDT Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2020 Last Modified: 2:39 PM CDT Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2020

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BERLIN - Germany coach Joachim Löw thinks the coronavirus pandemic is a sign that Earth is “defending itself a bit” against modern society, and said the widespread outbreak should be a wake-up call for people focused only on ”power, greed, profit."

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/03/2020 (2342 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BERLIN – Germany coach Joachim Löw thinks the coronavirus pandemic is a sign that Earth is “defending itself a bit” against modern society, and said the widespread outbreak should be a wake-up call for people focused only on ”power, greed, profit.”

Löw addressed media via a remote link on Wednesday, a day after the European Championship was postponed until next year because of the virus.

“The last few days have made me very thoughtful. The world has experienced a collective burnout. Not just individuals but everyone,” the 60-year-old Löw said. “I have the feeling the Earth seems to be defending itself a bit against people who always think that they can do everything and know everything.”

In this photo provided by DFB, from left, Germany soccer coach Joachim Low appearing via video link, German soccer federation spokesman Jens Gritter, President of the DFB Fritz Keller and team manager Oliver Bierhoff take part in an online press conference without any journalists because of fears over the new coronavirus, Wednesday, March 18, 2020. Low thinks the coronavirus pandemic is a sign that Earth is “defending itself a bit” against modern society, and said the widespread outbreak should be a wake-up call for people focused only on ”power, greed, profit."For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness. (Thomas Bocker/DFB via AP)

Löw welcomed the decisions to call off Germany’s friendly games against Spain and Italy this month and postpone the Euros, saying “people’s health and their security has to be the top priority.”

Play in the Bundesliga has been suspended through April 2.

Löw also took aim at populist politicians and said people’s priorities were not where they should have been.

“The pace that people were operating at in recent years was impossible to beat. Power, greed, profit, better results and setting records were at the forefront,” he said. “Environmental disasters in Australia or elsewhere only touched us marginally. Illnesses like Ebola in Africa somehow got stuck. Now we have something that affects all of humanity.”