The ex of Bayern, now director of Euro 2024, does an extensive review of his career in ‘fussball’
Philipp Lahm (Munich, 1983) is a perfect ‘Ambassador’ to talk about ‘fussball’. Not only because of his status as a Bayern legend and world champion with Germany in 2014.
The now director of Euro 2024 attends MARCA, taking advantage of the open day of the Bundesliga, in a ’round table’ together with various media reference worldwide.
Ask. When talking about Guardiola, the position of Lahm playing as a winger on the inside is often used as an example. What did Pep bring to Bayern and the Bundesliga?
Answer : The most important thing that Guardiola brought is the positional game and the clear distribution of roles on the field. He managed to give each player a proper context in the system and bring out the best in them.
When you see a Guardiola team play, even if you don’t know that they are trained by him, you manage to identify it. He transmits his essence to his teams.
The most important thing that Guardiola brought is the positional game and the clear distribution of roles on the field.
Q. However, Guardiola resisted the Champions League with Bayern.
Answer : It is not easy to win the Champions League, in the end this is a game and luck also plays a role. At Bayern, between 2010 and 2020, we played in the final in 2012, we won it in 2013, we were almost always in the semifinals…
At Bayern, in Guardiola’s three years, we dominated the games. We dictated what was played. We played the same at Allianz, as in Madrid, against better or worse teams… It’s Pep Guardiola’s style.
I really enjoyed playing for Guardiola
I really enjoyed playing for Guardiola. I liked the clear distribution that we had on the field, the idea of how to attack, the analysis that he made of the rivals and the way that he had to prepare the matches.
That made you enter the games with clear ideas and very confident.
Q. In your case, it even changed your position!
Answer : He made me play as a defensive midfielder, which was a new position for me. After 10 years, as a right back, left back, it was interesting to discover a new position and a new way of thinking about the game.
Q. Now that there is great concern about mental health. How did you handle the pressure of playing for Bayern?
Answer : There are 10 ‘top’ teams in Europe and Bayern is one of them. These 10 clubs generally concentrate the big stars and, when you are in one of them, you have to know how to deal with the pressure.
Q. What makes the Bundesliga special?
Answer : Among all the major leagues there are differences. In England the game is very physical, in Spain it is very technical.
The Bundesliga, on the other hand, is a ‘mix’. It is a League that offers great development for young players. Some have left, but they have gone to ‘top’ clubs.
That speaks well of the level of the League that we have.
The Bundesliga, on the other hand, is a ‘mix’. It is a League that offers great development for young players
Q. Bayern have a pioneering Campus in Europe to train new ‘Lahms’.
Answer : I arrived at Bayern in 1995 and, unfortunately, the Campus did not exist. The Academy has become very professional. It’s an honor, being from Munich, to play for the biggest team in the city. Every year an important selection is made.
Performance counts, but discipline is also evaluated, knowing how to handle pressure… It’s important for big clubs to have players from their youth ranks in the first team because they generate a significant degree of identification.
It is important for the big clubs to have players from their academy in the first team because they generate a significant degree of identification
Q. As a youth player and a symbol of Bayern, what do you think that players like Kroos or Alaba, who also went through the Academy, have gone to Real Madrid?
Answer : As I said before, there are players who have left the Bundesliga to go to big teams like Real Madrid. For example, Toni Kroos left in 2014, he has been there for 10 years, and he managed to revolutionize the team.
Alaba had a great development through the youth ranks of Bayern. It’s great to see that these types of players, raised here, continue to perform at the highest level.
It’s great to see how players raised here, like Kroos or Alaba, continue to perform at the highest level
Q. Are you worried about the side effects that the irruption of Saudi Arabia could have for the big leagues?
Answer : I’m not worried. I don’t think many players are thinking of leaving the Bundesliga to go to Saudi Arabia. For me football is much more than money. Football is youth, it’s structures, it’s the fans.
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