When you hear the word “captain” in sports, you associate the term with qualities, such as leadership, integrity, and intelligence. A true captain not only represents his/her team on the field, but off the field as well. Apparently, captain of the German National Soccer team, Philipp Lahm, didn’t get the memo.
Philipp Lahm’s new book, “Der feine Unterschied,” or “The Subtle Difference,” was released on Aug. 29 and has caused quite a bit of controversy. In this book he criticizes former managers, including German legend, Jürgen Klinsmann, who won a World Cup in 1990. Klinsmann coached Lahm during his time as manager of Germany and Bayern Munich.
According to Yahoo! Sports, an excerpt from the book reads, “After six or eight weeks, all the players already knew it wouldn’t work with Klinsmann. The rest of the season was damage limitation.”
Look, we all make mistakes and say things we shouldn’t, but Philipp Lahm should know better. When you accept the honor of being captain, you must also accept the responsibilities. The captain is supposed to be a role model and the voice of reason. When things go bad, it is the captain whom the team looks up to. If Lahm truly felt that way about Klinsmann, he should have stepped up then and said something, not write it in a book after the fact.
Whether Lahm meant what he said about his former managers or said it to simply sell more books, it still sets a bad example. Lahm apologized for his comments and will remain captain of Germany. However, if you’re Lahm’s team-mate, are you truly comfortable with him as your leader? What’s to stop him from writing another book and throwing you under the bus?
