Bayern Munich Alumni: Philipp Lahm speaks on Bayern’s winning mentality

Bayern Munich Alumnus and former German international Philipp Lahm is not surprised by Bayern Munich’s insatiable thirst for success.

Why would he? He’s been a part of some of Bayern’s biggest successes and is easily a part of Bayern’s champagne all-time XI.

“The winning mentality was developed and passed on over generations,” the former Bayern captain said, in an interview with kicker.

He believes this has to do with the fact that the club has been run by almost only former players for several years and went on to state that this makes Bayern a unique club.

It is certainly the case that the likes of Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge over the past several years and in recent years, Oliver Kahn and Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidzic have upheld the winning mentality while operating from the front office, if not the pitch.

The current team would clearly be led, on the pitch, by Lahm’s former teammates, Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer. The former right-back describes them as the leaders a team needs. According to him, while die Rekordmeister have other excellent players that act as leaders on the pitch and in the dressing room, Müller and Neuer “set the tone and radiate their attitude to the other players”.

Lahm went on to deliver his expectations out of coach Julian Nagelsmann. While the veteran defender believes Nagelsmann has proved his merit in TSG Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig, he feels Nagelsmann is yet to show his full capacity at Bayern Munich.

“A title was okay. But at FC Bayern, more than one title has to come out of it in order to be able to work really successfully for several years,” he said, stressing on the fact that Nagelsmann needs to produce more titles and successes at Bayern to build his tenure here, long-term.

On Borussia Dortmund’s transfer window, where they bagged Niklas Süle, Lahm credits die Schwarzgelben for building a “core” of leaders. “With the reinforcements, an axis can develop there that is enormously important for every team,” he remarked.