Top Facts about Philipp Lahm, The Magic Dwarf

Philipp Lahm, born 11 November 1983, is a former German professional player who played as a right back or defensive midfielder, with the most of his formative years spent at left back.

Until retirement from top flight football, he was also the captain of his country's national squad, which he guided to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Many people regard Lahm as one of the strongest defenders of his generation, if not all time.

In 2006, 2010, and 2014, he was named in the World Cup team of the tournament, as well as the UEFA Team of the Year in 2008 and 2012, as well as the UEFA Team of the Year in 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

The first

fact about Philipp Lahm

is that thanks to his strategic maturity and mobility, Lahm was capable of playing on both sides of the ground while being right-footed. He would frequently cut in from the flank to the inside of the pitch to attack or pass.

Lahm was known for his speed, technique, endurance, and accurate tackling skills, as well as his diminutive size, earning him the title "Magic Dwarf."

Facts about Philipp Lahm:

Philipp Lahm’s willingness to organize people around him without them actually thinking he was doing so — to control by knowledge — allowed him to retire from international football at the pinnacle of the sport, having won the World Cup in 2014. That isn't to suggest that Lahm is a softie; he would always question his managers' tactical directives.

Philipp Lahm early life

Lahm was born to two football-crazed parents. Daniela, his mother, was a youth leader at FT Gern, and his father was a participant at the same team. Philipp was born on November 11, 1983, after the couple met and married by FT Gern.

Philipp Lahm parents

were working in the soccer industry and so he was always familiar with the green pitch.

The fact about

Philipp Lahm childhood

is that it wasn't long until he was playing for the youth teams and building a reputation for himself, thanks to his deep links to the team and its proximity to his family's home in western Munich. It was clear right away that his talent far outweighed that of his teammates, rivals, and parents.

By the age of ten, representatives from Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich were making frequent trips to watch him perform, but amid their stated desire to recruit him, Lahm was adamant about not leaving.

He was satisfied and confident at FT Gern, where he could play with his best mates and take advantage of the club's close-knit atmosphere.

Ultimately, the persistence of both clubs, as well as the realization that he would have to move sooner or later, forced him to choose between the two.

As he was debating his options, Lahm was given the opportunity to scout 1860 when FT Gern was invited to play against one of the club's youth squads.

Following the game, Lahm, who is not one to lament gently, blamed the sparse quality of 1860's amenities and proceeded to Bayern. He debuted at Bayern's training ground, Säbener Strasse, as a young 11-year-old eager to overcome his physical limitations by sheer determination.

He won the

youth title twice with

, the second time as captain, before being promoted to the B team as a 17-year-old, where he was named captain in his second season. Mentors at Die Roten were pinning their masts to his potential as a Bayern hero around this time.

“If Philipp Lahm doesn't make it in the Bundesliga, nobody will,” his manager at the time, Hermann Hummels, whose son Mats would later win the World Cup alongside Lahm, told the public.

Philipp Lahm personal life

A fact about

Philipp Lahm personal life

is that beyond the football, he is regarded as being a private individual who keeps a low profile; his best friend Andreas Ottl was the only player participant at his wedding to Claudia Schattenberg. Julian is the couple's son.

Lahm, a Munich native, was a lifetime Bayern Munich supporter who also worked as a ball boy at the Olympic Stadium. Lahm is involved in a number of charitable campaigns and activities. In June 2007, FIFA revealed that Lahm and Hargreaves will travel to Africa ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to help the team.

Despite the fact that Hargreaves was unable to participate due to injury, Lahm and his German national colleague Piotr Trochowski traveled to the region, stopping not only to visit the 2010 FIFA World Cup promoters but also to visit a local SOS Children's Village and participate in the Kick-AIDS case.

Lahm founded the Philipp Lahm-Stiftung to help disadvantaged youth, and he also serves as an authorized representative for "FIFA for SOS Children's Villages." He was also a spokesperson for World AIDS Day in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

He has since participated in a speeding drive as well as other campaigns such as Bündnis für Kinder, a campaign fighting child violence. On September 20, 2008, Lahm received the Tolerantia-Preis for his significant contributions to the fight against bigotry and homophobia in sports, especially football.

He also said that it's a "shame that being homosexual in soccer is still a controversial subject," that he would have no trouble playing with a homosexual colleague, and that he is "not afraid of homosexuals."

However, because of the bullying they would face if they openly admitted to being gay, Lahm does not encourage footballers to do so. At the age of 27, he published his book, Der feine Unterschied: Wie man heute Spitzenfußballer wird (The Slight Difference – How to Become a Professional Footballer), in which he looked back on his playing career and personal memories, as well as the overall football world, football in the social sense, and the usefulness of various training and preparation approaches.

Rudi Völler (who was also attacked by Lahm in the novel) and Ottmar Hitzfeld were among the reviewers of the No. 1 bestselling book in Germany, which was criticized for sections of the book in which he judiciously criticized his former managers' work.

Philipp Lahm professional career

Philipp Lahm is generally recognized as one of the best full-backs of all time due to his positioning and tackling abilities considering his small size, his ability to read the game, his leadership capabilities, and his talents.

Lahm carried the armband for club and country, having unparalleled popularity in both. He was not the sort of chest-thumping, troop-rallying, shouting leader that many equate with captaincy positions.

He is one of modern football best defenders, a player who for more than a decade has stood head and shoulders far above his teammates and competitors. A man who was able to balance the rarity of exceptional stats with visibly intelligent results. Lahm has carved his name into the pantheon of sport's finest defensive players as a role model.

Philipp Lahm club career

Amid the unfailing trust in Lahm's abilities, many skeptics doubted if he was really as good as the acclaim he was getting.

After making his Bayern debut in the 90th minute of a Champions League group stage match versus Lens two days after his 18th birthday in 2002/03, it would be another 18 months before he got his real opportunity, due to the dominance of French full-backs Bixente Lizarazu and Willy Sagnol.

Another of Lahm's managers, Hermann Gerland, had been unsuccessful in his attempts to locate a club willing to take the youngster on loan for several months.

“Lahm was a fantastic athlete even at that time, but when I suggested him out on loan, no one wanted him. Since he was dissatisfied, one boss even demanded that I refund him for the gas money he had expended to come and see Philipp.

When I ran into the same boss in Berlin a few years back, I pulled out my wallet and said, "Now, young man, how much did you want for that trip?"

VfB Stuttgart (loan)

Between 2003 and 2005, he spent two years with

in the south-west region. Felix Magath was the club's manager at the time, and amid a sour image in the United Kingdom due to his traumatic tenure as Fulham manager, he was well-liked in Germany. His demon-like attitude to training and discipline wasn't for all, but it performed well for a young player like Lahm.

The fact about Philipp Lahm Stuttgart career is that he was recruited as a back-up for Andreas Hinkel, who performed right back, but manager Felix Magath switched him to left back, where he beat German international Heiko Gerber.

Philipp Lahm earned his Bundesliga debut versus Hansa Rostock on the first day of the 2003–04 campaign, coming on as a replacement left back in the 76th minute for midfielder Silvio Meissner.

On the fourth matchday, he made his first career appearance as a left back as a 63rd-minute replacement for Gerber, and on the sixth matchday, he played the entire 90 minutes against

.

He went on to become a frequent left back for Stuttgart after that. Lahm made his first Champions League debut as a starter versus

on September 29, 2003. In a 5–1 away victory for Stuttgart over

on April 3, 2004, he netted his first ever Bundesliga goal.

Lahm played in 31 Bundesliga and seven Champions League games for Stuttgart in the 2003–04 season, finishing second in the German footballer of the year vote. Lahm had a much more challenging time in Stuttgart throughout his second season.

He struggled to get off the floor and adapt to the strategies and structure of new manager Sammer after the Euro 2004 competition and the subsequent shortened break and pre-season preparation. He did, however, make 16 Bundesliga games for Stuttgart before the Christmas break, 14 of which were for the full 90 minutes, as well as six UEFA Cup performances.

Lahm sustained a stress fracture in his right foot in January 2005, and was absent for four months before returning in April versus

. Just five weeks later, he was hospitalized again, this time with a torn cruciate ligament, effectively ending his campaign and future in Stuttgart.

Bayern Munich

Lahm relocated to Bayern Munich in July 2005. Nevertheless, due to a broken cruciate ligament he sustained shortly before his arrival, he had to begin his professional career in FC Bayern as a recovery player.

He came to the field at the end of November, first for the B team, then for Bayern, marking his first career Bundesliga game versus

in November 2005. During the 2005–06 season, he made 20 Bundesliga appearances and three Champions League appearances for Bayern, sharing playing time with Bixente Lizarazu.

During the 2006–07 term, Lahm started all 34 Bundesliga matches and nine of the ten Champions League games for Bayern and was only replaced twice, owing to the fact that he was the team's sole left back and his consistently decent results during one of Bayern's worst seasons in many seasons.

He scored his first goal for Bayern on August 20, 2006, in the club's first away match of the season, a 2–1 victory over

.

Bayern purchased German international left back Marcell Jansen for the 2007–08 season, and Lahm was expected to move to right to fit Jansen and substitute French right back Willy Sagnol.

Due to injuries (both his and Jansen's), he was forced to play left for Bayern and stayed there until the end of the season, despite expressing his desire to play right on many occasions during the tournament.

Throughout the campaign, there were rumours that Lahm would quit Bayern Munich in the summer of 2008 to join FC Barcelona, and the deal appeared to be nearly completed.

FC Bayern Munich, on the other hand, signed a new deal with Lahm on May 16, 2008. His new contract required him to remain in Munich until June 20, 2012. In 2008–09, Lahm had his best scoring term, scoring 3 times in the Bundesliga and once in the DFB-Pokal.

After providing an unpermitted conversation to the Süddeutsche Zeitung on November 8, 2009, Lahm received the largest penalty in Bayern Munich history (approximately to be over €25,000). He chastised the club's relocation strategy, as well as the lack of game strategy and strategic planning.

Lahm had turned down tempting deals from Manchester United and

to remain with Bayern in May 2008, after club president Uli Hoeneß vowed to create a squad capable of competing in Europe.

Fans and the public, both domestic and international, had mixed reactions to the event, with some suggesting Lahm should have kept his views to himself and others thanking him for his integrity. Despite being fined and harshly chastised by the club's management, he was retained in Bayern's starting squad and went on to have a successful season.

During the 2009–10 season, Lahm was capable of playing in his favorite role of right back under new manager Louis van Gaal.

He had one of his best seasons ever after a little early struggle, establishing an outstanding right wing alliance with

, delivering one goal and providing 12 assists in all of his appearances.

Van Gaal selected Lahm as his vice-captain, and he played full-time in all of Bayern's competitive matches excluding the DFB-Pokal first round contest.

Bayern won the league and cup double and advanced to the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, where Lahm spent 90 minutes at right-back in a 2–0 loss to

. After captain Mark van Bommel left the team in January 2011, Lahm was appointed interim captain for the rest of the 2010–11 season before being named club captain.

Lahm was a well-known right-back even before new manager Jupp Heynckes took over the reins at Bayern Munich in the summer of 2011, but it wasn't until the new coach was able to fully use the talented full-back that we saw just how effective he could be in an offensive context.

Bayern received a makeover under the Gladbach legend, being mainly a counter-attacking team that placed a focus on preventing goals from being conceded, while the front-line pounded opponents across Europe with intensity.

Lahm commanded Bayern Munich in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final versus

at the Allianz Arena on May 19, 2012.

In the penalty, he converted the team's first goal, but Bayern fell second for the second time in three years. Lahm led Bayern Munich to an unprecedented treble of the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and Champions League in the 2012–13 season.

He assisted his team to a 2–1 win over fellow Bundesliga side Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium in London in May 2013. He expressed his excitement at winning the championship after the match, stating, "It's amazing – a big relief as well as a huge joy. Since losing in the finals twice, the burden was immense."

Under new boss Pep Guardiola, Lahm has been used as a defensive midfielder since the start of the 2013–14 campaign. Guardiola had this to say about Lahm, "[He] is perhaps the smartest player I've ever worked with in my life. He's on a different plane."

That year, Lahm and Bayern reached a new landmark when he captained Bayern to a historic 24th Bundesliga title and the fastest league championship in Bundesliga history, keeping the title with seven games left to play, breaking the team's previous record.

Lahm agreed a new deal with Bayern in 2014, which would hold him at the club through 2018. In a 6–0 Bundesliga rout of Bremen in October, he netted his first ever double.

Bayern Munich was crowned Bundesliga winners for the third straight season in April 2015, earning Lahm his seventh league title. In the DFB semi-final, he was one of four Bayern players who failed to score in a 2–0 penalty shootout loss to Dortmund.

With the acquisitions of Vidal and Joshua Kimmich prior to the 2015–16 campaign, Bayern manager Pep Guardiola announced that Lahm could come back to his fullback position. In a 2–2 tie with Juventus in February 2016, Lahm earned his 100th Champions League play.

He became the 28th player in the game to reach 100 performances, and the second German after former Bayern Munich teammate Kahn. In April 2016, he matched Kahn's "in Germany" mark of 103 games.

The noticeable fact about Philipp Lahm Bayern Munich career is that the German has had an illustrious career, winning eight Bundesliga trophies, six German Cups, a Champions League, a European Super Cup, and a FIFA Club World Cup.

Three times he had received the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt, Germany's highest sporting honor, demonstrating the high regard in which he would be held in his birthplace.

When you add on five entries in the UEFA Team of the Year and a sixth-place finish in the 2014 Ballon d'Or, the magnitude of Lahm's accomplishments becomes clear.

Philipp Lahm international career

Lahm began his international career with the German U19 side. He was a member of Germany's silver-medal winning U19 European team in 2002, appearing in all of the final tournament games and scoring a decisive goal in the 90th minute (2–3) versus England in a match that finished 3–3.

Following that, he appeared in a few U20 and U21 matches before impressing Völler enough to give him his start in February 2004, when he was 20 years old.

His first match was a 2–1 victory over Croatia in which he played the whole 90 minutes and was named man of the match by German football magazine Kicker. He was also a member of Germany's squad at Euro 2004 in which he played all three games for the entire 90 minutes.

Despite the fact that Germany did not advance beyond the group stage, Lahm's quality was hailed as impressive, and several German newspapers cited it as the only bright spot in the competition.

The

fact about Philipp Lahm

international career is that due to injuries (stress fracture in the foot and broken cruciate ligament), Lahm lost more than a year of international football throughout January 2005 and March 2006, such as the 2005 Confederations Cup, but he quickly returned to the starting lineup following his rehabilitation.

Jürgen Klinsmann picked him as the first choice for the left back role despite injuring his elbow in a friendly match just before the 2006 FIFA World Cup and having to wear a special brace on his left arm.

In the sixth minute of the World Cup opener in Germany against

, he moved inside the field and fired a right-footed shot into the top-right corner of the net. For his success versus Poland in the second group game, he was named Man of the Match.

He was also the first German player to play all 690 minutes of the World Cup and was named to the event's All-Star Team.

He started all of Germany's matches at UEFA Euro 2008, but was only replaced in the final after a cut on his foot necessitated stitches. Lahm began the competition as a right back, but halfway through the second round, he switched to left back to replace the poorly performing Jansen.

In the 90th minute of the Euro 2008 semi-final against

on June 25, 2008, he scored the game-winning goal. He listed it as his most significant career goal, and despite being named Man of the Match, he did not believe it was well-deserved.

On June 29, 2008, in the Euro 2008 final against Spain, Xavi passed a penetrating ball through the German defense on 33 minutes, and a lapse in contact between Lahm and German keeper Jens Lehmann enabled Fernando Torres to score the game's crucial goal; Spain won 1–0 and won its second European Championship title in 44 years.

Through Germany's World Cup qualifying effort in 2010, Lahm was the only player who played every single minute. After usual captain Michael Ballack was forced to withdraw from the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad due to injury, Lahm was selected to lead the team at the international game.

Philipp Lahm became the youngest player to captain a German team in a World Cup competition when he joined the national team in the opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup versus Australia on June 13, 2010.

The squad made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing to

1–0. Due to an illness, Lahm was unable to play in the bronze-medal match versus Uruguay, so Bastian Schweinsteiger captained the side, which won 3–2.

The fact about Philipp Lahm captaincy is that as coach Joachim Löw declared that Ballack would no longer be considered to compete for Germany, Lahm's captaincy became official.

Captain Lahm's strong defense enabled Germany win every ten UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying games, and he also assisted

and Mario Gómez once each. He was a constant presence in the German defense, earning praise from a wide range of quarters.

Germany defeated Portugal, the Netherlands, and Denmark in all three of their group games. Lahm scored the winning goal in Germany's 4–2 quarter-final win over Greece. In the semi-finals, Italy defeated Germany 2–1. In a 3–0 victory over Austria during qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, Lahm earned his 100th cap for the German national team on September 6, 2013.

He appeared in defensive midfield for Germany during their first encounter of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, a 4–0 win over Portugal. For the quarter-final versus France, Lahm switched to right back, and he stayed there in Germany's 7–1 semi-final victory over Brazil.

Lahm was added to the 10-man list of candidates for FIFA's Golden Ball award for the contest's greatest player on July 11, 2014. He led Germany to their fourth World Cup triumph, a 1–0 victory over Argentina in the final. It was the first World Cup victory for a unified state Germany.

The fact about Philipp Lahm international career last days is that he announced his resignation from international football on July 18, 2014, at the age of 30. In 113 games, he had five goals. Schweinsteiger took over as leader of the German national team on September 2, 2014.

Philipp Lahm stats

Philip Lahm began his professional sports career in 2002 and announced his retirement from the competition in 2017.

An important fact about Philip Lahm stats is that apart from two seasons spent on loan with Stuttgart, Lahm is one of the most well-known one-club footballers.

Lahm scored 22 goals in 652 games in all competitions during his relatively brief playing career, which began in 2002 and concluded in 2017. In Stuttgart he played 71 games and scored three goals.

Philip Lahm played 113 matches for the German national team over his 10-year career, hitting 5 goals. His first match for Germany was against

, and he last featured for the national team versus

in the 2014 World Cup final.

Philipp Lahm social media

Regarding

Philipp Lahm social media

accounts, it should be mentioned that the retired German ace has an Instagram page (

) with 4.5 million followers. In the page he mainly posts about his family life and children, and also the programs in which he participates for commentating.

He also has Twitter (

) with more than 459K followers and

account with more than 6 million followers, in which he shares some aspects of his personal and family life with his fans.

Philipp Lahm body measurements

Speaking about

Philipp Lahm body measurements

, it should be said that his height is 1.70 meters (5 ft 9 in) and he weighs 66 kilograms.

Philipp Lahm net worth and salary

Philipp Lahm, who is 37 years old in 2021, is projected to have a net worth of $110 million. He has amassed the most of his fortune through his successful career as a football player.

Philipp Lahm is a special breed in an age where the bulk of players switch employers on a daily basis. Through renewal of contract, he could make his salary higher several times during his time in Bayern.

The important fact about

Philip Lahm net worth and salary

is that it's likely that he earns money from other sources, such as publishing books and commentating on football TV channels. His annual income is estimated to be about $14 million, according to reliable reports.

Read More: 

Follow 

for the