JOIN USBowing out on his terms
Few people in any sphere of life have the strength of character to walk away from what they do best at the peak of their powers. Philipp Lahm did that last week — and did it in the quiet, measured, discreet way that defines his play.
One week before that, as the nation’s captain, he was the first German to get his hands on the World Cup trophy in the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. In the stands, Chancellor Angela Merkel was beside herself with joy. On the mountain overlooking the stadium, the granite statue of Christ the Redeemer glowed in the black, red and gold colors of Germany’s flag.
Heaven on earth.
It was only the beginning. By Tuesday, when the team arrived back home in Berlin, half a million people greeted them in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Lahm uncharacteristically let himself go and played air guitar amid the celebration. But he knew, and by the end of the week Merkel knew, that his days leading the national team were over.
Coach Joachim Loew had said before leaving Rio de Janeiro that this was only the start for Germany — and that there was a pattern in place to go on developing the young team that made history by becoming the first from outside South America to capture the trophy in the Americas.
At breakfast the following morning, Lahm quietly told Coach Loew that he had been contemplating retiring from the national team for some time, and it now seemed the perfect time to bow out. He will continue as a player and captain of his club, Bayern Munich, where he began his apprenticeship as an 11-year-old and had recently signed a new contract running through 2018.
He had thought, as a child, that he might become a baker, but picked soccer instead. Now 30, Lahm hasn’t noticeably slowed, has no lingering injury problems and clearly isn’t tired of the game. His versatility in playing as an attacking fullback on either side or in anchoring the midfield could prolong his career well into his 30s — if he wants to.
But Lahm keeps his own counsel. He appears not to have discussed his decision with anyone at Bayern. He began representing Germany at the Under-17 level in 1999 and graduated to the senior team 10 years ago. At 5-foot-7 and 146 pounds, he is the smallest German on the field, but has captained the national team in 53 of his 113 appearances.
“It was clear within minutes of speaking to Philipp that there was no way I was going to talk him out of it,” Wolfgang Niersbach, the German Football Association president, said. “He was in his 10 years playing for the national team not only an outstanding player, but always an absolute role model. I thanked him for everything he has done for the DFB.,” he said, referring to the association’s German initials.
Lahm posted his own message on the association’s website. “Over the course of last season,” it read, "I made up my mind that I was going to end my international career after the World Cup.
“I’m happy and thankful that the end of my national team career coincided with winning the World Cup in Brazil. I have been on holiday for three days, and had the quiet and time to mentally come to terms with the end of my national team career. A heartfelt thank you for a wonderful time.”
In Munich, even the club’s president, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who played 95 times for West Germany, was taken by surprise.
“There is hardly a better farewell than to be a world champion at the peak of your career,” Rummenigge said. “But for the national team, it will not be easy to replace Lahm as a player, captain and a man.”
Loew knows it. “Philipp is a model professional who subordinates everything to success,” he said. “He is a great player with heart, passion and character. He has footballing intelligence and versatility, and has always been a central and key reference for me.”
As the news spread, one of his contemporaries paid his compliments in the way that has become customary. “Ten years in the national team, three years for Bayern — Philipp it was a pleasure to play in the teams with you,” Lukas Podolski wrote on Twitter.
His decision to leave international play but not club soccer was kept personal and private, just as was his marriage in 2010 to Claudia Schattenberg. The couple live outside the celebrity bubble the David Beckham era has generated, but that doesn’t mean he ignores the world outside soccer.
Charitable foundation
His charitable foundation has worked to alleviate the poverty he saw firsthand during a visit to a South African township in 2007. Lahm is also an ambassador for the SOS Children’s Villages charity and has campaigned against child abuse, attended World AIDS Day functions and spoken out against intolerance and homophobia.
Both on a personal and a public level, he comes across as a man who thinks deeply about his place in modern society.
His nickname in Germany is “Magic Dwarf,” which is meant as a compliment because he has achieved so much in a sport where some look down on a player so short in a league of such physical power. If you count one aspect of his play alone — the number of passes and the forays into attacking positions from whatever area of the field he occupies — the German team has mighty shoes to fill.
“This is the right time,” a news agency quoted Lahm as saying on Friday. “I decided that the World Cup in Brazil would be my last tournament.”
He decided. No fuss. No controversy. No regrets. No story to spin out in the tabloids.
The German Football Association and all involved had one simple, perfect headline: Danke, Philipp Lahm.