He is not just a player, but a spokesperson for the entire team in and out of the pitch.
The captain of the German national football team, Philip Lahm is no new man in high-level soccer competitions. After making 105 appearances for the German national team including three FIFA World Cup tournaments, during which he featured in all the matches and scored five goals, the German captain is looking forward for Sunday’s encounter with a lot of determination.
Born in 1983 in Munich, Lahm started his international career with the U-19 national team in 2002. He was part of the team that won Silver for Germany at the 2002, U-19 European Championship playing in all the games in the tournament and scoring a crucial goal at the 90th minute against England.
Because of his impressive performance, he was called for the U-20 and U-21 squads where he played a few matches before being spotted in 2004 by the then German national team coach Rudi Voller. His first game with the senior national team was a 2 – 1 win against Croatia where he played a full 90 minutes and was chosen as man of the match by German Football Magazine Kicker.
Though he might not be the tallest or quickest defender on the pitch, he commands a lot of respect from his team mates and opponents. Recently, he was very instrumental in convincing his team mates to accept the same match bonuses offered them during last year’s European Championship in Poland and Ukraine. He has established a foundation to support underprivileged children and is also an official ambassador representing FIFA for “SOS Children Villages”
-Philip Lahm, exemplar
