Lahm still enjoying ´special´ World Cup win but eyes more Bayern glory

Philipp Lahm will never tire of the “special feeling” he gets from being called a world champion, but remains focused on winning more major honours with Bayern Munich.

A year to the day has passed since Lahm lifted the World Cup trophy at the Maracana after Mario Gotze scored a 113th-minute extra-time winner as Germany beat Argentina 1-0.

Having captained his country to glory, Lahm announced his retirement from international football, deciding that – after 113 caps – he wanted to go out on top.

The memories of that day will remain with Lahm for a lifetime, but he remains keen to add to the seven Bundesliga titles, six DFB-Pokal winners’ medals and UEFA Champions League crown he has won so far with Bayern.

“The feeling is always similar. It is such a big joy, back then and also now when you think of it,” he told Spox.com. 

“But football is a rapid game. We already had a full season since then and the next one is just around the corner. We at Bayern have big goals. We want to come as far as we can in all the competitions, win silverware – it all happens very fast.

“Of course it is great to have won such a title. You stay world champion for your entire life. That is something special, something nice. A lot of people talk to you about it. That is also why it’s special.

“But it’s not like you wake up every morning and think about the title. Now there are new goals to achieve.” 

Reflecting on the best moment of the tournament in Brazil, Lahm added: “The biggest moment for me was the final whistle. The final whistle of the referee of the final of the World Cup. This moment I will keep in me for the rest of my life. 

“You are 1-0 in front, in extra-time in the final of the World Cup against Argentina and then comes the final whistle, and you realise that we became world champions.

“That is very special. It was great to celebrate with your team-mates, the coaches and the staff all together.”

Shkodran Mustafi played no part in the final due to a thigh injury, but the Valencia defender harbours great memories of the moment Gotze’s shot hit the back of the net.

“I know that I was on the bench, but I wasn’t sitting. There were two steps in front of the bench and I was kneeling to be as close to the game as possible,” he said.

“And then there was this crazy goal out of nowhere. It was almost a dead ball but Andre Schurrle played a fantastic cross and Mario took the ball perfect and finished. All of us ran onto the pitch and… well, there is no word to describe how we felt.”