Thread about the amazing person that is @philipplahm for his 37th birthday!
made by @NathuHutchcraft and me

Philipp Lahm was born on November 11th, 1983 in Munich, Germany. He is considered one of the greatest and most inspirational footballers in the world.

He started his career at an early age by playing for his hometown youth team, FT Gern München. Thereafter in 1995, he joined Bayern Munich youth team winning twice the Bundesliga title.

In 2001, when he was 17, he started to play for the B team and in the 2nd season he became the captain. He played as a right full back and defensive midfielder.

On November 13th 2002, he made his debut for Bayern Munich first team in the UCL against RC Lens as a substitute. Unfortunately he made no others appearances and he was loaned to VfB Stuttgart for two seasons.

For Stuttgart, Philipp played the left back position becoming regular very quickly. He made his first UCL appearance as a starter in 2003 against Manchester United and in 2004 he scored his first bundesliga goal against VfL Wolfsburg.

In 2005, he suffered a stress-fracture on his right foot and then a torn cruciate ligament, ending his season in Stuttgart. In the same year, he returned to Bayern Munich making his first professional Bundesliga appearance in November against Arminia Bielefeld.

Later on August 20th, 2006 he scored his first goal for Bayern Munich for 2-1 win over VfL Bochum. During 2009-10 season, Philipp returned to his favorite position as a right back, scoring one goal and 12 assists.

After Mark Van Bommel left the club, Philipp was the new captain for the rest of the season but eventually he was named club captain.

On May 19th 2012, Philipp led Bayern Munich to the 2012 UCL Final against Chelsea at the Allianz Arena but unfortunately they couldn't win. It was a very painful game for Bayern fans.

The most successful season of his career was the 2012-13 when he captained Bayern Munich to an historic and fantastic treble (Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Champions League).

For the 2013-14 season he played as a defensive midfielder under Pep Guardiola. On October 2014, he scored his first brace against Werder Bremen. On February 2016, Philipp made his 100th UCL appearance and in 2017 his 500th appearance for Bayern.

On May 2017, he made his final career appearance before retiring, winning the Bundesliga title for 5th time in a row. He entered to the Bayern Munich's half of fame for his: 8 Bundesliga titles, 6 DFB Pokal, 3 DFL Supercup, 1 UCL, 1 UEFA Super Cup and 1 FIFA Club World Cup.

Philipp made his international debut in February 2004, where he was Man of the Match in a 2-1 German win over Croatia. In 2006 World Cup he scored his first goal in the opening game against Costa Rica.

On July 13th 2014, Lahm led Germany to a World Cup victory against Argentina in the final, making one of his biggest achievement. Later he decided to announced his retirement from international football with 5 goals in 113 appearance.

Philipp is involved in some charity campaigns and events, he created a foundation called Philipp Lahm-Stifung to support children and is an official ambassador of the FIFA for SOS Children's Villages and for Germany's bid to host the UEFA Euro 2024.

He was honored by a Tolerantia Preis in 2008 for his fight against intolerance and homophobia in sports. Also in 2014, he was awarded by Germany's most prestigious award ceremony: The Bambi Award.

Finally he wrote an autobiography called "The Subtle Difference: How to become a Top Footballer" it was No. 1 bestselling book in Germany.

End of the thread!

Happy Birthday Captain!