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Philipp Lahm ( born 11 November 1983) is a German footballer who plays as a full back or defensive midfielder for Bayern Munich and the German national team, both of which he captains.
Lahm is considered one of the best full backs of his generation, and was included in the World Cup team of the tournament in 2006 and 2010, the UEFA Team of the Tournament in 2008 and 2012 and in the UEFA Team of the Year 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2013. Although Lahm is right-footed, he is able to play on both sides of the pitch. He often cuts from the flank to the inside of the pitch to either shoot or pass. He is renowned for his pace, dribbling and precise tackling abilities as well as his small stature, giving him the nickname the "Magic Dwarf".
Philipp Lahm
Lahm in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Philipp Lahm | ||
| Date of birth | 11 November 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Munich, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Full back / Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Bayern Munich | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1995 | FT Gern München | ||
| 1995–2001 | Bayern Munich | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2003 | Bayern Munich II | 63 | (3) |
| 2002– | Bayern Munich | 260 | (8) |
| 2003–2005 | ? VfB Stuttgart (loan) | 53 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1999 | Germany U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2000 | Germany U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Germany U19 | 9 | (1) |
| 2002–2003 | Germany U20 | 6 | (0) |
| 2003 | Germany U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2004– | Germany | 108 | (5) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:43, 3 May 2014 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
International career
Youth Teams and Euro 2004
Lahm started his international career in the U19 national team. He was part of the team that won silver for Germany in the 2002 U19 European championship playing in all games in the final tournament and scoring a crucial goal in the 90th minute (2–3) against England in a game that ended 3–3. Afterwards he played a few U20 and U21 matches for Germany before impressing Rudi Völler enough to hand the youngster his debut on 18 February 2004, at 20 years of age. His first game was a 2–1 win over Croatia, where he played the full 90 minutes and was chosen as the man of the match by German football magazine Kicker. He was also part of Germanys team in UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal and played full 90 minutes in all three games. Although Germany did not make it past the group stage, Lahms performance was considered very promising and many German papers saw this as the sole positive aspect in Germanys lack of accomplishment in the tournament.
2006 World Cup
Lahm missed more than a year of international football between January 2005 and March 2006 due to injuries (stress-fracture on foot and a torn cruciate ligament), including the Confed Cup 2005, 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 the 2006 FIFA World Cup and thus had to wear a special cast on his left arm, 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 against Costa 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 awarded Man of the Match for his performance in the second group game against Poland. He was also the only German player to play the complete 690 minutes of the World Cup and was also elected to the All Star Team of the tournament.
Euro 2008
PhilippLahm
During UEFA Euro 2008 he was in Germanys starting line-up in all games and was only substituted in the final 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 mid way through the second game. On 25 June 2008, he scored the winning goal of the Euro 2008 semi-final against Turkey in the 90th minute. He described this as the most important goal of his career and although he was elected Man of the Match, he himself didnt consider this as well-deserved. On 29 June 2008 – in the Euro 2008 final against Spain – on 33 minutes Xavi played a piercing ball through the German defence and a lack of communication between Lahm and German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann allowed Fernando Torres to net the decisive goal in the game; Spain prevailed 1–0 to win its second European Championship title in 44 years.
2010 World Cup
Lahm was ever present during Germanys 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign and was the only player to play every single minute. Following the withdrawal of regular captain Michael Ballack from the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad due to injury, Lahm was chosen to captain the team at the upcoming tournament. On 13 June 2010, he captained the German National Team in the opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Australia, becoming the youngest player to captain a German side in a World Cup tournament. Lahms captaincy would later become permanent, when coach Joachim Löw announced Ballack would not be considered to play for Germany anymore.
Euro 2012
Fig : Lahm warming up for Germany in 2011.
Captain Lahms solid defending helped Germany win all ten qualification matches for UEFA Euro 2012, and he also provided one assist each for Mesut Özil and Mario Gómez. He was an ever-present in the German defence that attracted praise from a variety of sources. Lahm scored the opening goal in their 4–2 victory over Greece in the quarter-finals.
2014 World Cup
On 16 June 2014, Lahm started for Germany in central midfield in their first match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, a 4–0 defeat of Portugal in Salvador.
PhilippLahm ? The Little Giant ? 2003 - 2014 HD
Honours
Club
- Bayern Munich Junior Team
• U-19 Bundesliga: 2001, 2002
Bayern Munich
• Bundesliga: 2002–03, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14
• DFB-Pokal: 2002–03, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14
• DFL-Ligapokal: 2007
• DFL-Supercup: 2010, 2012
• UEFA Champions League: 2012–13
• UEFA Super Cup: 2013
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2013
National team
• UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship Runner-up: 2002
• FIFA World Cup Third Place: 2006, 2010
• UEFA European Football Championship Runner-up: 2008
Individual
• Silbernes Lorbeerblatt: 2006, 2010[58]
• FIFA World Cup 2006 Man of the Match: vs. Poland
• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2006, 2010
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013
• UEFA Euro 2008 Man of the Match: vs. Turkey
• UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 2008, 2012
• ESM Team of the Year: 2013
• FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball: 2013
• FIFA/FIFPro World XI: 2013