Lahm is also a former captain of hisnational team, which he led to win the2014 FIFA World Cup, before retiring from international football.[2][7] He was included in theWorld Cup team of the tournament in2006,2010, and2014, and the UEFA Team of the Tournament in2008 and2012 and in theUEFA Team of the Year 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014. With 113 international appearances, Lahm is one of the 10 players with the mostcaps for Germany.
Lahm developed into a professional football player within theBayern Munich Junior Team.[2] He joined the team at the age of 11 after a youth coach, Jan Pienta, had scouted him several times while he was playing for the local youth team in his hometown Gern, Munich.[8] He was already considered very talented; one of his coaches,Hermann Hummels, even stated that "If Philipp Lahm will not make it in theBundesliga, nobody will anymore."[9] He twice won the Bundesliga youth title, the second time ascaptain of his team,[8] and then was introduced into theB team at the age of 17. His former amateur coachHermann Gerland considers Lahm to be the most talented player he has ever coached[10] and made him the captain of the B team during his second season. Up to this point Lahm played as adefensive midfielder,right midfielder or rightfull-back.[11]
On 13 November 2002, Lahm made his debut for the Bayern Munich first team as a 92nd-minute substitute in a 3–3 draw withRC Lens in thegroup stage of theChampions League.[12] However, sinceWilly Sagnol andBixente Lizarazu were established as Bayern's first choice full-backs, and the club's midfield was also well-staffed, Lahm made no further appearances during the2002–03 season and was loaned toVfB Stuttgart for the2003–04 and2004–05 seasons to gain first team experience in the Bundesliga.[13]
Lahm was originally signed as a back-up forAndreas Hinkel, who played as right back, but coachFelix Magath moved him to the left back position, on which he toppled the German internationalHeiko Gerber.[14] He made his Bundesliga debut on the first day of the season 2003–04 againstHansa Rostock as he came in as a substitute left back in the 76th minute for midfielderSilvio Meissner. He made his first professional start as a left back on the fourth matchday as a 63rd-minute substitute for Gerber and his first game over the full 90 minutes followed on the sixth matchday againstBorussia Dortmund. Thereafter he established himself as a regular left back for Stuttgart.[15] On 29 September 2003, Lahm made his firstChampions League appearance as a starter againstManchester United. On 3 April 2004, he scored his first ever Bundesliga goal in a 5–1 away win for Stuttgart againstVfL Wolfsburg. During the 2003–04 season Lahm appeared for Stuttgart in 31 Bundesliga and sevenChampions League matches overall and came second in the election for theGermany Footballer of the year.
During his second season in Stuttgart, Lahm had substantially more difficult time.[14] After theEuro 2004 tournament and the resulting shorter vacation and pre-season training, he had difficulties getting off the ground and also in conforming with the tactics and system of the new coachMatthias Sammer. However, he still made 16 Bundesliga appearances for Stuttgart before the Christmas break, 14 of them over the full 90 minutes, and six appearances in theUEFA Cup.[16] In January 2005, Lahm suffered a stress-fracture in his right foot and was thus sidelined for four months, making his comeback on 9 April 2005, againstFC Schalke 04. Only around five weeks later, he was injured again, this time suffering a torncruciate ligament which ended his season and simultaneously his career in Stuttgart.[8]
In July 2005, Lahm returned to Bayern Munich.[2] However, the torn cruciate ligament he had suffered just before his return forced him to start his professional time at FC Bayern on rehabilitation. He returned to the field at the end of November, playing twice for the B team and thereafter making his first professional Bundesliga appearance for Bayern in November 2005 againstArminia Bielefeld.[17] During the2005–06 season he appeared for Bayern 20 times in theBundesliga and thrice in theChampions League, contending over field-time evenly withBixente Lizarazu.
During the2006–07 season, Lahm played in all of Bayern's 34Bundesliga games and in nine of the tenChampions League games and was only substituted twice, mainly because he was the only left back in the team but also due to his sufficiently solid performances during a season that was one of the worst for Bayern in many years. On 20 August 2006, in Bayern's first away match of the season, a 2–1 win overVfL Bochum, he scored his first goal for the club.
For the2007–08 season, Bayern bought the German international left backMarcell Jansen and Lahm was supposed to revert to right, both to accommodate Jansen and to replace French right backWilly Sagnol. Due to injuries (both his and Jansen's) he still mainly ended up playing left for Bayern and remained left for the end of the season, although he expressed his wish to play on right several times during the year 2008. During the whole season there were various rumors suggesting that Lahm would leave Bayern in the summer of 2008 to joinFC Barcelona and the transfer seemed to be almost a done deal.[18] However, on 16 May 2008 FC Bayern signed a new contract with Lahm. His new contract kept him inMunich through 20 June 2012.[19]
Lahm had his most prolific goalscoring season in2008–09, scoring three times in theBundesliga and once in theDFB-Pokal. However, the season was a poor one for Bayern, leading to the sacking of head coachJürgen Klinsmann after less than a year in charge.
On 8 November 2009, Lahm was given the highest fine in the history of Bayern Munich to date (estimated to be over €25,000) after giving an unauthorised interview in theSüddeutsche Zeitung. He criticised the transfer policy of the club and the lack of game philosophy and strategic planning.[20] Back in May 2008 Lahm had turned down lucrative offers fromManchester United andF.C. Barcelona to stay with Bayern as club presidentUli Hoeneß promised to build a team that could challenge in Europe.[21][22][23] This incident drew mixed reactions from fans and the media, both local and foreign, with some saying that Lahm should have kept his opinions to himself and others praising him for his honesty.[24] Although he was fined and heavily criticised by the club, he kept his place in the Bayern starting lineup and went on to have a good season.
During the2009–10 season under the new coachLouis van Gaal, Lahm was able to play in his preferred position as a right back. After some difficulties in early games he played one of his best seasons ever, forming an excellent partnership on the right wing withArjen Robben, scoring one goal and giving 12 assists in all of his games.[25] Lahm was also chosen as vice-captain by Van Gaal, and played full-time in all of Bayern's competitive matches apart from the first-round game in theDFB-Pokal. Bayern went on to win the league and cupdouble and reached the2010 UEFA Champions League Final, where Lahm played 90 minutes as right-back as they lost toInter Milan 2–0.
After the departure of captainMark van Bommel in January 2011, Lahm was made the new captain for the remainder of the2010–11 season and eventually named club captain.[26] On 19 May 2012, he captained Bayern in the2012 UEFA Champions League Final againstChelsea at theAllianz Arena. Lahm scored the team's first penalty in theshootout but Bayern finished as runner-up for the second time in three seasons.[27]
In the2012–13 season, Lahm captained Bayern to an historictreble of theBundesliga,DFB-Pokal andChampions League. In thefinal of the Champions League on 25 May 2013, Lahm helped his side to a 2–1 victory over fellow Bundesliga sideBorussia Dortmund at historicWembley Stadium in London.[28] After the game, he revealed how happy he was at winning the title, saying "It's incredible – a huge joy and huge relief. The pressure was enormous after losing in the Champions League final twice."[29]
From the start of the2013–14 season, under new managerPep Guardiola, Lahm was utilised as adefensive midfielder.[30][31][32] Guardiola said of Lahm: "[He] is perhaps the most intelligent player I have ever trained in my career. He is at another level."[31] That season brought a new milestone for Lahm and the club, as he captained Bayern to a record 24th Bundesliga title and the earliest league championship in Bundesliga history, retaining the title with seven games to spare, which beat the mark set by the club in the previous season.[33][34] In June 2014, Lahm signed a new contract keeping him at Bayern until 2018.[35]
On 18 October, Lahm scored the first brace of his career in a 6–0 defeat ofSV Werder Bremen in theBundesliga.[36] On 26 April 2015, Bayern were confirmed as Bundesliga champions for the third consecutive season, giving Lahm the sixth league championship of his career.[37] On 28 April 2015, he was one of four Bayern players to miss in a 2–0 penalty shootout defeat to Borussia Dortmund in theDFB-Pokal semi-final.[38] Leading up to the2015–16 season, Bayern head coach Pep Guardiola stated that Lahm could return to his role at fullback with the arrivals ofArturo Vidal andJoshua Kimmich.[39]
On 24 February 2016, Lahm made his100th UEFA Champions League appearance in a 2–2 draw withJuventus in Turin.[40] He equaled Kahn's record "in Germany" of 103 matches on 13 April 2016.[41] The2015–16 season ended with Lahm captaining Bayern to a fourth consecutive Bundesliga title; the first time a team had won four back-to-back championships in the competition's history.[42]
On 4 February 2017, Lahm made his 500th appearance for FC Bayern in a 1–1 Bundesliga draw with Schalke 04.[43] Three days later, Lahm confirmed that he would be retiring at the end of the2016–17 season.[44] He had rejected an offer from the club to become a sporting director.[45] On 20 May 2017, Lahm, along with teammateXabi Alonso, made their final career appearances before retiring, Lahm captaining Bayern as they ended the season as champions for the fifth consecutive year.[20] He was substituted in the 87th minute and received a standing ovation from the Allianz Arena crowd in a 4–1 win overSC Freiburg.[46] It was confirmed on 19 July thatManuel Neuer would succeed Lahm as team captain.[47]
Lahm entered Bayern Munich's Hall of Fame on 27 May 2017; he won eight Bundesliga titles and the Champions League while playing for the club.[48]
Lahm started his international career in theU19 national team. He was part of the team that won silver for Germany in the2002 UEFA European Under-19 Championship playing in all games in the final tournament and scoring a crucial goal in the 90th minute (2–3) againstEngland in a game that ended 3–3.[49] Afterwards he played a fewU20 andU21 matches for Germany before impressingRudi Völler enough to hand the youngster his debut on 18 February 2004,[50] at 20 years of age. His first game was a 2–1 win overCroatia, where he played the full 90 minutes and was chosen as the man of the match by German football magazineKicker.[51] He was also part of Germany's team inUEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal and played full 90 minutes in all three games. Although Germany did not make it past the group stage, Lahm's performance was considered very promising and many German papers saw this as the sole positive aspect in Germany's lack of accomplishment in the tournament.
Lahm missed more than a year of international football between January 2005 and March 2006[52] due to injuries (stress-fracture on foot and a torncruciate ligament), including the2005 Confederations Cup, but after his recovery he immediately made it back to the starting line-up. Even though he injured his elbow in a friendly game right before the2006 FIFA World Cup and thus had to wear a special cast on his left arm,[53]Jürgen Klinsmann still chose him as first option for the left back position. He scored the first goal in the opening game of the World Cup in Germany againstCosta Rica in the sixth minute, cutting inside the area and launching a right foot shot into the top-right corner of the net. He was awardedMan of the Match for his performance in the secondgroup game againstPoland. He was also the only German player to play the complete 690 minutes of the World Cup and was also elected to theAll Star Team of the tournament.
DuringUEFA Euro 2008 he was in Germany's starting line-up in all games and was only substituted in thefinal after getting a cut needing stitches on his foot. Lahm started the tournament as a right back but replaced the under-performing Jansen as left back midway through the second game. On 25 June 2008, he scored the winning goal of theEuro 2008 semi-final againstTurkey in the 90th minute. He described this as the most important goal of his career and although he was electedMan of the Match, he himself did not consider this as well-deserved.[54] On 29 June 2008 – in the Euro 2008 final againstSpain – on 33 minutesXavi played a piercing ball through the German defence and a lack of communication between Lahm and German goalkeeperJens Lehmann allowedFernando Torres to net the decisive goal in the game. Spain prevailed 1–0 to win its second European Championship title in 44 years.
Lahm was ever present during Germany's2010 World Cup qualifying campaign and was the only player to play every single minute.
Following the withdrawal of regularcaptainMichael Ballack from the2010 FIFA World Cup squad due to injury, Lahm was chosen to captain the team at the upcoming tournament.[55][56] On 13 June 2010, he captained the national team in the opening game of the2010 FIFA World Cup againstAustralia, becoming the youngest player to captain a German side in a World Cup tournament. The team advanced all the way to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Spain 1–0. Lahm did not play in the third-place (bronze) match against Uruguay due to an infection, so in his absenceBastian Schweinsteiger captained the team which won 3–2.[57]
Lahm's captaincy would later become permanent, when coachJoachim Löw announced that Ballack would not be considered to play for Germany anymore.[58][59]
Captain Lahm's solid defending helped Germany win all tenqualification matches forUEFA Euro 2012, and he also provided one assist each forMesut Özil andMario Gómez. He was an ever-present in the German defence that attracted praise from a variety of sources. Germany won all three group games against Portugal, Netherlands, and Denmark. Lahm scored the opening goal in their 4–2 victory overGreece in the quarter-finals. Germany was eliminated 2–1 by Italy in the semi-finals.
On 16 June 2014, Lahm started for Germany in central midfield in their first match of the2014 FIFA World Cup, a 4–0 defeat ofPortugal inSalvador,[61] and remained in the position for the other two group games and theround of 16 match againstAlgeria.
Lahm reverted to right back for thequarter-final againstFrance, and remained there in Germany's7–1 victory overBrazil in thesemi-final. On 11 July 2014, Lahm was named on the 10-man shortlist for FIFA'sGolden Ball award for the tournament's best player.[62]
On 18 July 2014, Lahm, at the age of 30,[64] announced his retirement from international football.[50][64] He had scored five goals[50] in 113 appearances.[7][50][64] On 2 September 2014,Bastian Schweinsteiger succeeded Lahm as captain of the Germany national team.
On 8 December 2017, Lahm was named honorary ambassador for Germany's bid to host theUEFA Euro 2024.[65] Lahm was aUEFA Euro 2020 ambassador and later became the tournament director for UEFA Euro 2024.[66] In August 2022, Lahm criticised the awarding of the2022 FIFA World Cup toQatar, citing human rights violations in the country and claimed that he would boycott the tournament.[67]
Although Lahm is right-footed, he was able to play on both sides of the pitch due to his tactical intelligence,crossing ability, and versatility.[20][68][69][70][71] He played as aleft-back for much of his early career before switching toright-back later on. He often cut from the flank to the inside of the pitch to either shoot and/or pass. In particular, he was renowned for his pace, technique, stamina, and precise tackling abilities, as well as his small stature, which earned him the nickname the "Magic Dwarf"; despite his size and playing role, he was described in 2010 by Matthew Scianitti ofCBC Sports as having "deceptive strength and impressive shooting skills," which allowed him to assist his teams both offensively and defensively.[72][73][74]
During his time under manager Pep Guardiola, Lahm also occasionally played as acentral or defensive midfielder, in a pivot role in a 3–4–3 formation, which has been likened to that of ametodista ("centre-half," in Italian football jargon), due to his ability to dictate play in midfield and act as aplaymaker by starting attacks in addition to assisting his team defensively by winning back possession.[20][75][76][77] Owing to his positioning, tactical sense, and tackling ability despite his small stature, as well as his wide range of skills, such as ability to read the game, leadership qualities, consistency, and ability on the ball,[70][71][78][79] he is widely regarded by pundits as one of the best full-backs of all time.[3][4][5] Guardiola once described Lahm as "perhaps the most intelligent player" he had ever coached.[31]
During their time together at Bayern Munich, Lahm also formed an efficient partnership with wingerArjen Robben along the right flank. Robben's improved defensive work-rate at the club allowed him to track back and cover for Lahm's overlapping runs.[80]
Lahm is known as a private person who maintains a low-profile outside of football; his best friendAndreas Ottl was the only footballer present at his wedding to Claudia Schattenberg.[81][82] The couple have a son, Julian,[83] and a daughter, Lenia.[84] AMunich native, Lahm is a lifelong Bayern fan and served as a ball boy at theOlympic Stadium.[85]
Lahm is involved in many charity campaigns and events. In June 2007,FIFA announced that Lahm andOwen Hargreaves would visit South Africa in advance to support the2010 FIFA World Cup.[86] Although Hargreaves never managed to take part in the trip due to injury, Lahm and Germany national teammatePiotr Trochowski visited the country taking time not only to visit the2010 FIFA World Cup organizers but also to visit a local SOS Children's Village and to take part in the Kick-AIDS event.[87]
Lahm has established a foundation, Philipp Lahm-Stiftung, to support underprivileged children and is also an official ambassador representing "FIFA for SOS Children's Villages".[88] In addition he was an ambassador of the 2007, 2008 and 2009World AIDS Day. He has also taken part in a campaign against speeding and various others such asBündnis für Kinder, a campaign against child abuse.[18][89]
Lahm was awarded a Tolerantia-Preis on 20 September 2008, due to his outstanding contribution against intolerance andhomophobia in sports, particularly in football. He also stated that it's a "pity that being gay in football is still a taboo subject" and he would have no problem with a homosexual teammate and is "not afraid of homosexuals".[90] However, Lahm does not advise footballers to publicly admit to being homosexual, because of the abuse they would suffer.[91][92]
In August 2011 at age 27 Lahm released hisautobiography,Der feine Unterschied: Wie man heute Spitzenfußballer wird (The Subtle Difference – How to Become a Top Footballer), reviewing his football career and personal experiences, the general football environment, football in the social context and the effectiveness of different coaching and training methods. The number-one bestselling book received extensive media attention in Germany, and has been criticized for parts in which Lahm discerningly analyzed his former coaches' work; among the critics wereRudi Völler (himself criticized by Lahm in the book) andOttmar Hitzfeld.[93]
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
