He also struggled a bit in the Euros because Podolski gave him absolutely no cover at any stage of any match. Podolski made Marcell Jansen look worse than he is, then when Lahm moved to LB, he did the same to Lahm.
There arent as many people who watch the Serie A...or at least watch the teams apart from Milan, Inter, Roma and Juve. Hopefully now that Fiorentina are in the CL he gets some more credit for being a good player.
I'm glad more people have finally accepted it. I was pulling my hair at during the summer trying to point it out to people.
I dont understand how people didnt realise this...they just thought that Jansen and Lahm became completely inept defensively, overnight. Its not as if Mertesacker or Metzelder helped out either.
Lahm is still the best in the world for me. It's difficult looking good with an inept defender and midfield next to you and unfortunately that's what he has at Bayern with Lucio, Van Buyten and the central midfield. It's a shame if this side doesn't go in a good direction because he did just sign a contract extension with them.
The only game in which Lahm was completely exposed at LB was Turkey. He made one crucial mistake in the final as well. Apart that he was very solid defensively during the Euros, even with Podolski in front of him who, like you have mentioned, didn't do him any favors.
Apart from lots of mistakes, yeah, he's pretty good. Lahm is a better version of Riise, but he's not the best fullback in the world. He's not fast enough and he gets exposed defensively far too often. Turkey absolutely TORCHED him in the Euros, and for all the complaints of "he had no help" - he got burned one on one repeatedly. Help or not, that shouldn't happen. As for people who're claiming Lucio is a bad defender......um, what?
A lot of mistakes? Apart from the Turkey game and the one in the final what were some major mistakes he has made? And to say that he isn't fast is silly, his pace is one of the best attributes. I get the idea that you haven't watched a lot of him and don't really know much about the player. And Lucio is far from the best defender anymore, he isn't even the best CB on his team.
At this time? Have you watched him for the past two seasons? Apparently not. And your Lahm criticisms tell me you don't watch him frequently because he doesn't get 'burned repeatedly', and please find me other example of the torching he got against Turkey. EDIT: Sorry for the repetition.
The past two posters got it right. Lahm does not often get beat defensively and he has great pace. He had a few poor defensive displays in euros but those really were the exceptions to the way he's been playing for the past few seasons
I get the idea that you're a Lahm homer who's dismissing some terrible performances and says "well, aside from all his mistakes, he's perfect". Well, why don't we count mistakes like the one that sees him directly responsible for conceding the goal that lost Germany the Euros? Or was he spectacular in the 5-2 drubbing Bayern received today at the hands of Werder? Lucio may not quite have the form he once had, but its silly to blame a side with defensive problems on all of the other defenders. And no, compared to players like Ashley Cole or Patrice Evra, Lahm isn't that fast. He's not "slow", but he's not especially fast either. Yes, please ignore the giant elephant in the room - focus on something else. He was roasted alive against Turkey. Was just brutal. When was the last time that happend to Zambrotta? (And I don't think Zambrotta has been as good recently as he was at Juve, when he was easily the best LB in the world.) Shouldn't he be more consistent if he was the best LB in the world? I know you and ForeverRed are huge Germany homers, but at least lets try for some objectivity? Lets also keep in mind that the prior season was spent playing outside the Big 3 leagues and not in the CL.
Excellent post. Hate to agree with you, but that is just about spot on. Lahm is very very good going forward. However his mistakes shouldn't be excused. The idea that Lahm is better than Evra is ludicrous. Excusing Lahm's poor performances for a lack of cover from midfield is ignoring the fact that a great deal of Evra's matches over the last 2 seasons were played with Ronaldo, Giggs or Nani ahead of him. It's not like he had another fullback playing with him either. Fullbacks must be quick enough to get back and stop counters down their flanks (Lahm squeaks through) but they must also be good enough 1v1 defenders that they can stop the ball rather than just usher someone into touch or into another defender. You can say a lot of good things about Lahm, but Evra since moving to the prem has added tenacity and bite to his game.
There were games when Zambrotta had a bad day, no player is perfect. You should know, that every player has his bad day. While I can't give you examples off the top of my hed of Zambrotta examples, I have no doubt in my mind they exist and someone who follows him or has followed him closer than me (aside from you) can calrify that. And this is not a knock on Zambrotta whom I thought held down the best fullback title for years this decade. In terms of assessing Lahm, you're being extremely unfair and deliberate by using the Turkey match and bringing up Zambrotta who's had a near-full career already. I expected better from you. Also, I criticize Lahm when it's right. Feel free to serach every Germany and Bayern match thread over the past four years and you'll see that. This has nothing to do with bias. Last season for example he underperformed and was rather patchy. If Ashley Cole would have retained his form and game from his Arsenal time, there would be little debate, and if Evra was more solid at the back and could actually not fall apart in the final third, this would also be an easier argument but at the moment, no leftback in the world offers what Lahm does, even if it by default, he's the most complete and if I was to construct a team and had to choose a starting leftback I wouldn't think twice about choosing Lahm.
For me its this: 1. Evra-most complete player, defends and goes forward well 2. Lahm- pacy, probably the best LB going forward 3. Clichy- probably the fastest of the lot, great offensively, still needs a little more consistency 4. A. Cole- Was at one time the best in the world, his play has since stagnated 5. Vargas-definitely the most underrated on this list, will soon play for a European giant
why evra is winning?? .............my favorite one is marcelo before was lahm until this euro do you think that maxwell deserve a shot on the NT? zambrotta is right foot no?
Haha....I love how you bring up two extreme examples (Turkey and Bremen) while ignoring just about everything else. I guess that other fullbacks are indeed perfect and never have bad moments. No one is ignoring the Turkey performance, he was defensively exploited in that game. Bremen game is really irrelevant to bring up since he wasn't to blame for any of the goals and he was used as a wingback in that game rather than a LB in a flat back four. But I guess thats just you trying to twist things again. And how about his performances in the Euros overall or in the World Cup for that matter? Have any other LBs been as consistent and as complete and as important to their team in recent years?
Hilarious top list. Vargas btw is already at a club who has a better team than the inconstant kids one the pedophile Wenger created. Fiorentina>>>> Arsenal.. [FONT="]Zhirkov is the best left back btw. A monster of a fullback. The lack of knowledge of the thread starter is quite obvious with him not there. Media whore list.[/FONT]
Zhirkov is a fantastic player and I'm sure he would immediately establish himself as one of the top leftbacks, he just needs more exposure and a move to one of the bigger European leagues.
Zhirkov is more of a left winger than a left full back. He only played there for Russia in the past six months or so. He still plays left wing for his club by the way. He is brilliant though. Personally, I think Clichy is the best. Solid at the back, and unlike the others mentioned he can actually cross the ball.
You've obviously missed out on his mis-timed/reckless tackles and occasional over-exuberance when closing down opponents. Once he becomes a bit more mature and learns when to dive into a tackle and when to hold off, he will become much better. He can cross the ball but he certainly doesnt provide many, if any direct assists.
Evra sure is an excellent player. im not sure if he's the best ever though. But my opinion doesn't count for much