Both Bayern Munich and Germany miss Philipp Lahm’s leadership
Both Bayern Munich and the German national team share similar struggles that point back to the importance one man in particular: Philipp Lahm.
The hits keep coming. Unless you’ve been living under a rock in a sensory deprivation tank, you know that Germany tumbled out of the group stage of the World Cup. They become yet another defending World Cup champion to fail to advance from the group stage in the Cup after their championship. In the loss to Mexico, the near-loss to Sweden, and then the embarrassment of this 2-0 loss to South Korea, the same element was missing. The same player, really. It was not Leroy Sane, but rather Bayern Munich legend Philipp Lahm.
Lahm served as captain of the German national team for two World Cup cycles and would have provided the stable leadership this German side needed to calm and collect the team both on and off the field. Germany looked like a team that was not on the same page all tournament long. They struggled to connect and seemed to assume they would score and advance because of the crest on their chest rather than their strength, talent and cohesiveness as a unit.
This is easy to say now, I realize. When giants fall, pride and division are typically the assumed cancers that fell them. But when considering the struggles of Bayern Munich in their first season post-Lahm, the hole he left seems more apparent.
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Joshua Kimmich filled the right-back role amazingly this season, but for all his statistical feats, he was not a leader of Lahm’s magnitude and wasn’t expected to be. So who needed to be the Lahm-esque leader? Manuel Neuer was given the captains armband, but was injured all year. Muller? Hummels? Important players do not always make good captains. Even great teammates are not necessarily captain material.
Bayern (and likewise, Germany) missed the mental influence of Philipp Lahm to re-group and re-organize when games got a bit chaotic. Knowing there was a legendary player on the field with the leadership qualities of Lahm helps a team play more confident in themselves and have more faith in the gameplan. That was missing from these recent iterations of Bayern Munich and Germany.
For Germany, the Leroy Sane fiasco reportedly caused a rift within the team. But unlike 2014, when there was a midfield logjam that needed working out, there was no Lahm to work with Low and help to navigate the team to a solution.
After Bayern brought Jupp Heynckes back, they found themselves on a great run of form. The treble was within reach and felt almost likely. More injuries came, though. Questionable calls from referees appeared. There was no Lahm to steady the club. There was no legendary German captain to keep the standards of play high through the DFB Pokal final. What looked like another treble, turned into only the Bundesliga championship.
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Perhaps I am simply reaching for answers. Maybe I am putting too much weight in the armband. The absence of Philipp Lahm has certainly been an aspect on the year that received enough discussion, however. Kimmich’s rise and the prestige of German soccer have likely played a role in that. Both club and country would do well to consider how to inject similar leadership if they want to achieve at the highest levels, though.