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Philipp Lahm celebrates with a beer after they won the final football match of the German Cup (DFB – Pokal)
When Joachim Loew appointed Philipp Lahm as the captain of the German national team following Michael Ballack’s injury in 2010, many critics raised concerns over the former’s credentials in becoming one. The 29-year-old’s quiet demeanour isn’t typical of a team captain and starkly different from that of Michael Ballack and Oliver Kahn.
When Louis Van Gaal appointed the ‘Magic dwarf’ (as he is adoringly nicknamed in his country) as the club captain of Bayern Munich in 2011, it did little to instil confidence among the sceptics. Two years later, Lahm stood tall (metaphorically) in Wembley as Bayern Munich lifted the much coveted Champions League trophy and signalled a definitive shift in the domination of club football.
Lahm’s leadership in the field, perhaps, is not as inspirational as that of Michael Ballack or Roy Keane. But, the versatile full-back provides constancy in the side just like the North Star does in a clear moonlit sky. The importance of the captain to regularly feature in the team’s starting eleven is as vital as his ability to lift the team’s game when the chips are down. And there isn’t a footballer who has been playing football as often as Lahm for the last few years, both for his club and country.
Lahm was born in Munich, and always aspired to be a baker before he appeared for trials at FT Gern at the tender age of five on persuasion by a friend. But, the big leap from the suburbs of Munich to the biggest club in the country came at the age of eleven when a scout insisted that he appear for trials. Despite being reluctant to move away from the local outfit where he had made plenty of friends, Lahm eventually took up the offer after being promised he would be a ball boy at the Olympic Stadium for a Bundesliga game.
Lahm spent his youth career at the Bavarian giants but had to wait to make his way into the first team as the full back positions were dominated by the experienced duo of Willy Sagnol and Bixente Lizarazu. He was loaned out to Vfb Stuttgart for two consecutive seasons before finally returning to Bayern in 2005 with Lizarazu’s retirement in the offing. Since then, Lahm has been able to successfully hold on to his place in the side and has 232 appearances to his credit in a Bayern shirt.
Widely regarded as one of the finest full backs of his generation, Lahm has shown incredible consistency and versatility over his career. His reliable and cautious approach coupled with his high levels of fitness has made him an indispensable member of both his club and national teams. Predominantly right footed, but Lahm is equally comfortable playing on the left side of the defence having started his career as a substitute for Lizarazu.
Philipp Lahm (L) vies with Borussia Dortmund’s German midfielder Marco Reus
There aren’t many full backs around who are as balanced as Lahm, offensively as well as defensively. Lahm is equally confident, when going forward, making overlapping runs as much as he is when defending. It is no surprise that Lahm barely makes any cognizable errors on the pitch; the concentration levels that he maintains throughout a game are phenomenal. He can be a model example to the new generation defenders.
A quick glance at the statistics reinforces his claim to be the best full back in the world at the moment. Lahm(40) has played more games than Ashley Cole(39), Jordi Alba(36) and Daniel Alves(36) last season having 15 assists to his name which is the cumulative sum of the number of assists the other three have. In the attacking department, Lahm (1.5) has a better key passes to number of games ratio as compared to the rest and has lost the ball away in the opponent half far less frequently than the others (0.7 times dispossessed per game).
However, there is not much to choose between them defensively though. Jordi Alba(3.2) has the best average interceptions per match with Lahm(1.9) being a distant second. The low fouls-to-games ratio brilliantly highlight the cautious approach to the game he adopts and acute sense of positioning on the field. He is tied with Ashley Cole with 0.5 fouls committed per game.
What makes these statistics even more fascinating is that he has averaged close to 50 games per season in Bayern colours over the last four seasons; a Herculean feat given the competitiveness of football in Bundesliga. Moreover, the defender has been a constant figure in Loew’s side and hasn’t missed a single game in Germany’s World Cup ’14 qualifying campaign.
Still on the right side of thirty, Lahm has still got a few good years of football left in him. Guiding Bayern Munich to a historic treble was the pinnacle of his career and he foresees the club to develop into an even stronger force under Pep Guardiola. However, the holy grail of football has eluded him once already back in 2010 when Germany bowed out in the semi finals. He will have a chance to put that right when he leads the Mannschaft out into the pitch in Brazil next year; another step closer to greatness.
