Hamburg  - Germany coach Joachim Loew has admitted to dissenting voices in the national team squad but still feels the Euro 2008 finalists can look back "positively overall" on the year.

Apart from the run to the final in the summer, where they lost 1-0 to Spain, Loew also pointed to his side's confident start to the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, where Germany top Group 4 with 10 points from four games.

"We also noticed though that there was some disharmony after the European Championships," Loew said in an interview published on the website of the German football federation DFB.

This disharmony seems to have been triggered by Loew's decision to drop Torsten Frings in two World Cup qualifiers, which led the veteran midfielder to publicly lambast his coach.

Team captain Ballack also criticized the move, saying it showed a lack of respect for long-time Germany players. Loew subsequently ordered Ballack to apologize. As a result, Ballack remained on the team and its captain as well.

In addition, forward Kevin Kuranyi walked out of the team.

Loew said the public discussions had not had a positive effect on the Germany team and lessons had to be learned.

"We have seen that you have to constantly remind several players of certain rules. It's a never-ending process," he said. "But everything has been openly discussed."

Loew said the priority now was to qualify for World Cup in South Africa. (dpa)