Philipp Lahm talks Borussia Dortmund, future plans

Lahm on Lahm

When Bundesliga.com's TV show “Bundesliga Weekly” sat down to talk with Philipp Lahm (full interview here), the first question was what Lahm’s own plans were for the future. Lahm retired from international duty after Germany’s victorious 2014 World Cup campaign, and he has stated that his current contract with Bayern Munich, expiring in 2018, will be his last.

Lahm’s intention appears unchanged. He told Bundesliga.com, “For me, it’s been Bayern all the way, and I want to bow out here at the peak of my career.” He also ruled out a transfer to another league, “just a bit short of the top; that’s not really my thing.”

Interestingly, and perhaps disappointingly given the high hopes of many fans, Lahm also “can’t imagine being a coach, still working according to training and match schedules.” Instead, Lahm is looking forward to time off with his family, according to his own schedule. But could we perhaps interest you in this vacancy at Sporting Director, Herr Lahm?

Lahm on Dortmund

Lahm had warm words for Bayern Munich’s perennial rival Borussia Dortmund. As the frightening first half of the German Supercup already suggested, Lahm believes the Bumble BVB’s (or is it Busy BVB’s?) will “be the main competition again.” While they lost some major players during the transfer period, they’ve made up the difference. Lahm believes “they’ll be putting out a very, very good team again... They’ll be our number one rivals.”

The Youth Academy and... Ancelotti

Lahm also mentioned the youth academy, citing the importance of producing home-grown players.

Asked about new coach Carlo Ancelotti, Lahm was rather reticent, but perhaps confirmed what many of us have surmised: “There might be some situations now where we might play a bit more defensively than we have done in the past.” We shall see!