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'Indescribable! Unique! Sensational!'

Philipp Lahm's career in pictures

Tue | 16/05/17 | 13:34

'Indescribable! Unique! Sensational!'

fcbayern.com showed Philipp Lahm images of his career and discussed them with him.

“That was a long time ago. I was about five when I joined FT Gern with a friend and started out in the U8s. We lost every match in the first few months and then scored our first goal on my birthday – 11 November. Our celebrations were huge although we went on to lose 10-1, I think (laughs). I then joined FC Bayern in 1995.”

“That was in 2002 and my second U19 title. I played almost all of the season with the reserves but was involved for just the semi-final and final. Ahead of the final, coach Kurt Niedermayer gave me a week’s holiday but then I started pre-season with the reserves again straight after the U19 final. We had an excellent crop of talent that time. Basti Schweinsteiger was there, Andi Ottl, Piotr Trochowski and Michael Rensing – just to name a few. We beat VfB Stuttgart 4-0 in the final in Unterhaching. I captained the side with Markus Husterer out injured – and at the trophy presentation I was like Oliver Kahn saying ‘There is it!’ It was a huge moment for all of us.”

“I still had a long-term contract with Bayern, but I wasn’t able to train regularly with the first team so I decided on a loan to Stuttgart. I wanted to take the next step and that really worked out under Felix Magath. I became a first-team player there and made my international debut for Germany. I’ve also worn no.21 on my kit since then. I just went down through the list of kit numbers and that was the first free number that I liked.”

“I returned to FC Bayern in 2005 but was still injured after a cruciate ligament tear and didn’t play my first game until November. We won the double at the end of the season and I got to hold up the Bundesliga trophy on the town hall balcony at Marienplatz. In my hometown, that was a dream come true. Just sensational!”

“2006 was my first World Cup, and just a few minutes into the opening game in my hometown of Munich I scored the first goal of the tournament – it just doesn’t get much better than that. And when you know a bit of the background to that then you can better understand what a unique experience that was for me. I tore a tendon in my triceps in a warm-up game at Luckenwalde and it was still unclear just before kick-off whether I’d be allowed to play with specially made cast. The Argentinian referee Horacio Marcelo Elizondo then gave me the green light shortly before the game.”

“I had a cheerful childhood, but many children don’t have that as I saw for myself during a visit to the townships in South Africa. After that it was clear I had to do something to help. Shortly after I founded the Philipp Lahm Foundation to help benefit children and teenagers who still have their whole lives ahead of them. The areas we concentrate most on are sport and education.”

“That was an extraordinary moment in my career. I had criticised the transfer policy and other things about FC Bayern in an interview and then had to report to Kerl-Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Hoeneß and Karl Hopfner. Everyone can imagine that I went into these talks full of respect and they went very, very well and helped us progress. I was 26 at the time and had just signed a new long-term contract, and I was very interested in making sure that things progressed in the right direction at the club. I wanted the club to move forward, nothing else. I can say now that FC Bayern has a clear playing philosophy and has strengthened with the best people in individual positions. That’s how it has to be at a top club like Bayern. This whole episode with the surrounding circumstance was an important step for me personally and allowed me to mature further.”

“Besides the birth of my son, my wedding with Claudia was the best day of my life outside of football. We planned the ceremony so it would absolutely not clash with the 2010 World Cup. The party and wedding ceremony took place in Aying, just south of Munich, and all our friends and family where there. The weather was also perfect – it was just fantastic. We’ll never forget that day. Family has always been important to me. We all grew up together in one house and the support from my family has always been great. My parents never said I had to do this or that, but allowed me to make my own decisions and always stood by me.”

“As someone born and raised in Munich, the Oktoberfest is always something special. And of course the Lederhosen are a symbol of my Bavarian homeland. My family lives in Munich and I have a lot of friends here. FC Bayern is the club where I’ve spent almost all of my career. It’s home for me, which is hugely important to me.”

“The ‘Finale dahoam’ when we lost the Champions League final to Chelsea at the Allianz Arena was a truly devastating moment for the whole club and the fans. It was a really painful moment for Basti after missing his penalty. He was in a heap on the floor. We’ve known each other for so long, won so many titles together and done so much together. We’ve become really great friends over the years, so I tried to support him in that devastating moment and help him – even though I was beyond disappointed myself at that very moment.”

“Finally! That was my first thought after the final whistle at Wembley. After losing two finals, we had finally won the Champions League. It was an unbelievably great feeling because we’d all put so much effort into that success over so many years at Bayern. It was an indescribably great feeling to have that trophy in my hands – a unique moment!”

“This photo is from when we won the DFB Cup in Berlin to secure the treble. We worked so hard in the two years under Jupp Heynckes, and Basti and I had held many productive talks with him. He played a huge part in us winning the treble after we finished second in three tournaments the season before. He built us up again and got us ready, and in that moment, it was clear to us we’d just achieved something great.”

“It was our aim to become the first German men’s team to win the treble and therefore write footballing history. You can imagine that we celebrated after the final in London, but we still had to focus on the final game in Berlin. We were really keen on winning the treble and rewriting history.”

“My 100th international cap in hometown, my home stadium – another story in my career that had already seen so much. Not many players manage to make it to 100 international games – it’s a really proud landmark and shows how consistent I’ve been over the years with my performances. It’s something special to stand alongside Franz Beckenbauer, who played 103 times for Germany. I was really pleased that Michael Ballack was also honoured on the same day. It’s often said we had problems with one another, but that’s not the case. Michael is a deserved Germany international who has done a great deal for German football. I was at his final match and we had a good, long chat.”

“We had three great and successful years under Pep. We felt from the beginning that we had similar ideas of football and were able to talk about things. Pep loved the details of what we spoke about. You could see as a player that he was concerned day and night about the game so that we were fully prepared for the next opponent – I really enjoyed that. We developed a special relationship from our time together, which is definitely also beyond the scope of careers.”

“To raise the World Cup trophy aloft as a captain is a truly indescribable moment. It’s one you dream of as a little boy. I already knew before the tournament that I’d retire from international football after the World Cup. I think that’s why I appreciated everything even more. The time from Mario Götze’s goal in the 114th minute until about an hour and a half after the game will remain with me forever: The relief after the final whistle. The great joy at celebrating our achievement with teammates we’d travelled the world with. Climbing those steps, getting the medal around your neck, lifting the trophy, the winners’ photo on the pitch, celebrating with the staff and the fans. Then meeting the President and Chancellor in the changing room – they’re moments you just can’t put into words.”

“The decision to call time on my career was one I took a long time to consider. I informed the board at Bayern of my decision around new year. The topic then came up around the cup game against Wolfsburg on 7 February and I decided to stand up in front of the media and conform my decision.”

“I really hope that Xabi and I can enjoy a Weißbier together on Saturday. It’s been wonderful to play together with someone like him. Xabi is an exceptional footballer with an unbelievable career – but it’s even more impressive what a great person he is. He really immersed himself here – he wanted to understand FC Bayern from the start and quickly learnt German. I don’t know how often we’ll see each other in the future when he returns to Spain, but I do know that whenever we do meet it’ll be heartfelt and friendly. He’s a great sportsman and I’m glad we got to know each other.”

“It’s always nice. We’ve worked for a whole season to be top of the Bundesliga once again. A lot of people see it as a given, but that’s never the case for the players. There is a lot of hard work every day behind it all, so great credit to the team. It’s not a given to close out the Bundesliga season with four games to spare like we did.”

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