Quotes from Philipp Lahm

You can never know if there will be a second Cruyff, someone with a great personality who can grow up and make it into the squad of the club they love. But what is certain is that, in the Champions League, there will be big clubs producing these players forever.

It is something special when you play a final at home in your own stadium.

At the start of every season, I always asked myself - am I meeting my own standards? Can I still do it? I didn't want to come to the conclusion that I couldn't during a season.

Of course, the moment when the ball hits the net, that's fascinating for kids playing the game and motivates them to join a club.

It doesn't matter if you have the best individual players, as you need to have the best team unit.

Football is teamwork, unity, defence, assists, sacrifice.

History shows that it is incredibly tough for a defender to be named Footballer of the Year because over the course of a year there is normally always a forward who steals the headlines up front.

My first club was FT Gern. I joined through my parents and friends. My father played for them and a friend from nursery school took me to training once. I was five at the time.

It's obvious that I'd like to keep the captain's armband. The job gives me a great deal of enjoyment. Why should I then give it up by choice?

Felix Magath works with pressure. At first, we didn't know where we stood with him. That prompted the players to give their best because they wanted to play, but after a while the players knew where they stood and Magath no longer received the same effect.

As a full back, your role is just as much in playing in midfield, getting forward and creating chances, as it is stopping them at the other end.

An openly gay footballer would be exposed to abusive comments.

Any business or club has to have a hierarchy. Everybody needs to know and understand his role in the overall structure. Bayern Munich is no different.

Every Bundesliga match is a new challenge, our opponents don't make it easy for us.

We can never achieve perfect football at Bayern because the game is always changing. There are always new influences and different styles.

Whether we have the best individual players doesnt matter, you have to have the best team

Those who have achieved success in football have a degree of responsibility to be open and honest about our 'calling,' our passion.