Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm is back in training from a knock and ready to play his 500th match for the German champions on Saturday against Schalke. The 33-year-old left back and midfielder has been named "the most intelligent footballer I have ever coached" by former Bayern coach Pep Guardiola and "the perfect professional" by Germany coach Joachim Loew. It thus comes as no surprise that Lahm is looking forward to the upcoming tasks in the Bundesliga, German cup and Champions League as the season starts to enter the decisive stages with plenty of midweek rounds. "It is about time the normal weeks are over. It always drags on until you have another game. We are looking forward to next week when things are happening again," Lahm said. Munich-born Lahm has been at Bayern since 1995, with a loan stint 2003-2005 at VfB Stuttgart. He has won every club title on offer highlighted by the 2013 treble, and also captained Germany to the 2014 World Cup title in an international career with 113 caps. Lahm boasts 21 titles overall while he only picked up 24 yellow cards, was never suspended and committed a mere 199 fouls in his Bundesliga career, according to the Bundesliga website. "He always performs. I have never seen Philipp have a poor match. He will always be a special person in my life, and he is an absolute legend," said Guardiola under whom Lahm became a midfielder at Bayern. Loew said: "Philipp Lahm provided consistency, reliability and the highest standard in the national side. He has a natural authority, takes on responsibility, is communicative and is a natural leader." It was Loew who made the then 26-year-old captain when Michael Ballack injured himself ahead of the tournament. Lahm had no intention to hand back this honour and went on to redefine the role as captain while Ballack never played for Germany again. "It was always a pleasure for me to help guide the style of play of my teams. Be it on the pitch, in training or through discussions with the players and the coaches. Being captain is the highest manifestation that this attitude is recognised," he once said. Despite all the success of the past Lahm can still make more headlines in the twilight of his career. He is yet to score a goal in so far 109 appearances in the Champions League, and with two more Bundesliga titles 2017 and 2018 would lead all Bayern (and Bundesliga) players with nine national titles. However, that will depend on when he decides to hang up his boots. Lahm plans to retire when his contract expires in 2018 but he has also not ruled out quitting after the current season - being heavily tipped to then fill the vacant position of Bayern sports director.
