And how about you and Maxwell??? Seems like they have to all work in concert....He may be getting prepared for a Massive Trolling Armada on bigsoccer as we speak! Not many from the South African campaign showed up here during 2014 WC...so if he is worthy of that title you are decorating him with...he shall return and you need not to worry
What a shocker.. I thought he would play at least the EC in two years.. I am just stunned.. Good news for Bayern though. Lahm is the epitome of what German football has gone through the last decade. From the deepest downs to the greatest highs. He just could play all positions, always calm, always delivering. Fluctuations of form? Not with Lahm.. One of the most consistent players in the history of the sport. I take my hat off to Philipp Lahm, for me one of the best full backs ever and a all time great.
My Bad thought P to wee was ref to our pseudo Philip lahm ( lahmfan) here on big soccer..thats why my post sounded more like chinese to me after reading it again
It is pity. I thought he would play European Championship and after this he will retire. O.K we still have him at Bayern Munich. Now, Klose, Lahm.....I think will not hear that Schweini is also finishing..hm...Löw? we will see.. but it is pity... He was my favorite National player...
Whoa that's a bummer! I respect Lahm's decision and I thank our captain for all his contributions over the years, but what was the hurry? He must have his own reasons, but he's still 30 (not too old for a defender) and I think it's still a bit too early for him to retire from international football. I expected him to stay at least until Euro '16, if not WM '18. I was hoping for Germany to build an era of dominance over the next few years, but Lahm's sudden retirement decision comes as a serious disappointment right after the joy of winning the world cup. Not happy at all!
I am so SO sad about this news. I understand the idea of leaving at the peak of power to make a legacy, but its a great disappointment as with the World Cup win things are rosy and optimistic and I was hoping to see Lahm leading Germany to EC2016 (tough call but with a winning mentality and Loew finally turning it around it could be coming). And in any case even if Germany don't win EC2016 his legacy is still intact based on the last ten years. Its a great shame that one of the best fullbacks in the history of the game will not be serviceable anymore to Germany. I am just glad I own a Lahm jersey, but we will all miss him. Thank you Philipp Heres hoping for a decent replacement - Grosskreutz? Durm as RB? Jantschke? Boateng is competent but this World Cup showed that he might be even better as CB.
"I am happy and grateful that the end of my career end with the national team coincides with winning the World Cup in Brazil," he said in an open letter on the DFB website. Lahm's international career started in February 2004 with a 2-1 win over Croatia and ended with the 1-0 win over Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday. DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach said: "Philipp called me this morning and personally informed me of this step. I very quickly realised that it was pointless trying to persuade him to reconsider his decision. "He was not just a superb player for 10 years in the national team, but also a complete role model. I thanked him for everything that he's done for the DFB." Lahm now plans to focus his attention on the club side that he joined aged 11 and has been captain of since 2011. "There is hardly a better farewell than to be a world champion at the peak of your career," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28364966
A mistake at best He cannot be replaced. Its a case of next best option. Low's directive should be to persuade lahm to stay or reach some compromise where be has to commit less time to the team and remain as a substitute so we have that depth Losing a player of his quality is like conceding an early goal in a qf match This is a big win for other international teams who play Germany
My favorite Philipp-Lahm-moment for the national team was his winning goal against Turkey in the 2008 Euro semi final.
THISSSSSSS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What a surprise for me. He's only 30 (?) and still hasn't won a Euro cup. More respect to him though if he really doesn't feel he can handle it. I wonder if he'll come back at some point? Legend!!!! Without question will never forget this moment ^^^^ He was a goat for defending sooooo poorly that game and tournament but this moment made amends for all of the previous mistakes. Still my favorite DFB match ever to date! Danke Lahm!!!
I am shocked and gutted right now! I wish he would've stayed and completed the euro trophy.. This is a huge blow for the NT... The dynasty is set back big time with this! My favorite player
It's definitely a huge loss for the NT. I guess being a full back is rather taxing on the human body, so he wants to cut back a bit and enjoy a vacation once a year. Better to go on a high than to end up running out of steam at a big tournament I guess...maybe Spain's performance helped with his decision...
It's sad to have Lahm go, but I applaud him for doing it now rather than later. Löw has plenty of time now to work on finding direct replacement at RB and subs, restructuring the NT, rebuilding hierarchy and selecting leaders ahead of the next tournament. Schweini should definitely get the armband, next in line should be Hummels and Neuer. Retiring right after WC is best decision as Euro is a prep / stepping stone for the following WC.
My spontaneous Top 10 ranking of German full backs since WW II. 01 Andreas BREHME [left back, right back] 02 Phillip LAHM [left back, right back, defensive midfielder] 03 Berti VOGTS [right back] 04 Manfred KALTZ [right back, sweeper] 05 Paul BREITNER [left back, central midfielder] 06 Karl-Heinz SCHNELLINGER [left back, sweeper] 07 Hans-Peter BRIEGEL [left back, left wingback, defensive midfielder] 08 Bernard DIETZ [left back] 09 Erich JUSKOWIAK [left back] 10 Horst-Dieter HÖTTGES [right back, left back]