Name	Philipp Lahm
Height	5' 7
Naionality	German
Date of Birth	11 November 1983
Place of Birth	Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Famous for

hilipp Lahm (born November 11, 1983 in Munich, Bavaria) is a German footballer who currently plays as a defender for Bayern Munich and Germany at Euro 2004 and is in their squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He scored the opening goal of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is considered one of the best young fullbacks in the world, and is shown by his inclusion in the Mastercard All Star Team.

Career
Philipp Lahm developed into a professional football player within the Bayern Munich Junior Team. As Bixente Lizarazu was the main left back for Bayern Munich, Philipp Lahm was loaned to Stuttgart for the 2003/04 and 2004/05 seasons. In July 2005, Philipp Lahm returned to Bayern Munich. However, just before his return to FC Bayern, he suffered a torn cruciate ligament and would have to go on rehabilitation. He made his return to Bayern in December 2005.

Although Lahm is right-footed, and while he played as a right wing-back as a youth, today he is almost exclusively played as a left wing-back. The reason for this is partly because good left-footed wing-backs are rare in German football, and partly because his signature move (coming from the left flank and then dribbling towards the centre over his strong right foot) is so effective that putting Lahm onto the "correct" side would rob him of his best offensive weapon.

He scored the opening goal of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany against Costa Rica in the 6th minute, cutting inside the area and launching a right foot shot into the top-right corner of the net. He was also the only German player to play all 690 minutes of the 2006 World Cup.

During and shortly after the World Cup there were rumours of a big money move to Chelsea FC. However the transfer never took place, due to his impressive showings and his growing reputation in World football, Bayern Munich issued a public warning to any interested suitors, stating he was untransferrable.

Lahm was nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year 2006 following his outstanding performance in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was in contention alongside fellow Germans; Michael Ballack, Miroslav Klose and Jens Lehmann, but the award was won on 18 December 2006 by the Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro. However, he was chosen as the left back for the UEFA Team of the Year 2006.
source: wikipedia.org
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