Philipp Lahm Biography

by Sebastian Henke

Philipp Lahm is the captain of the German national team and Bayern Munich. Lahm is among the best fullbacks in the world and he is one of the top tactical players, very clever in duels.

Childhood

Philipp Lahm was born on November 11th, 1983 in Munich, Germany. He is the son of Roland and Daniela Lahm. He has 2 sisters, and his parents lived with his grandparents. This is why Lahm is a real family person today.

He started his career playing for small club FT Gern. In 1995, he moved to German record champion Bayern Munich*, where he played on several youth teams.

*Bayern Munich holds the record for the most German championships.

Bayern Munich

He won the national championship for youth teams twice. Lahm has never had a specific position. He played as central midfielder, right wing or fullback.

His favorite position was right back, but two of Bayern Munich's best players (Sagnol and Lizarazu) played this position. As a result, Lahm played only one game in his first season as a senior, when he was substituted once in a Champions League game in the 90th minute.

Lahm and Munich decided that it would be better for him to leave the club on loan, and he moved to VFB Stuttgart in June 2003.

VFB Stuttgart

He made his Bundesliga debut for Stuttgart on August 3rd, 2003 in a game against Hansa Rostock when he was substituted in the 76th minute. His performances became better and he got a spot in the starting 11 on his 6th game day, playing left back.

All in all, he played 53 games and scored 2 goals for Stuttgart before he moved back to Bayern Munich in 2005.

Return to Bayern Munich

He made his debut for Bayern Munich on November 19th, 2005 in a game against Bielefeld after he had recovered from an injury. After he was substituted twice, Lahm debuted in the starting 11 against Kaiserslautern and was an important part of the team from then on.

He played a fantastic World Cup with Germany and helped Germany place 3rd. During those years he switched between playing left back and right back. It always depended on the coach. Some coaches preferred him playing on the one, others preferred him playing the other side, but he was always part of the starting 11.

He has already won several titles with Bayern Munich including the national championship (three times) and the German Cup (three times). He played his 200th game for Bayern Munich in March 2012.