For almost 20 years, he was the 'Mr Reliable' at FC Bayern. Philipp Lahm made the leap from the German record champions' academy to the senior squad and became part of one of the most formative generations in the club's history, which culminated in the Champions League triumph at Wembley in 2013 and the associated first treble for a German team. Today, November 11, the FCB Hall of Fame member celebrates his 40th birthday – fcbayern.com wishes him all the best for the occasion.
21 trophies with Bayern
"He's the most intelligent player I've ever coached," said coaching icon Pep Guardiola about the versatile defender, who held the Bayern defence together over many years with clever tackling and nigh-on perfect positional play. Always fair and one step ahead, the long-time Bayern captain was never shown a red card in 517 competitive appearances (16 goals) for FCB, nor in his 113 caps (five goals) for Germany. He collected 21 trophies at club level alone and became a World Cup winner with the national team in Brazil in 2014.
These days, Lahm is the tournament director for the upcoming European Championship in Germany and is working on creating another magical summer for his country, like the 2006 World Cup. We wish him all the best for the future!
FC Bayern has dedicated a special documentary to the Wembley generation:
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