Germany FA honours former captain Lahm

The German Football Association (DFB) has named Philipp Lahm as the honorary captain of the national team.

The former Bayern Munich captain announced his retirement from the national team on July 18 2014 after providing five goals in overall 113 caps, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Philipp Lahm is, as a football player and as a person, one of the greats for me. He always has a clear opinion and represents it. Lahm is an outstanding sportsman, an outstanding team player and also a socially committed person," DFB president Reinhard Grindel said on Friday.

The 34-year-old defender played his way through Germany's youth teams before he made his first senior appearance under head coach Rudi Voeller against Croatia in February 2004.

Lahm established himself as one of the cornerstones of the national team before he lifted the fourth World Cup trophy after beating Argentine 1-0 in the final of 2014 World Cup.

"It is a great honour for me to be in line with players I respect beyond and I look up to. As a captain, I have always considered myself as a representative of the team, therefore I accept this award in representation of all teammates, without whom I could never have come so far," said Lahm, who retired last season.

Lahm is now part of an exclusive club as the title has been only bestowed to seven other skippers. In 1958, Fritz Walter was the first captain who received the honour followed by Uwe Seeler (1972), Franz Beckenbauer (1982), Lothar Matthaeus (2001), Bettina Wiegmann (2004), Birgit Prinz (2013) and Juergen Klinsmann (2016).

--IANS

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