Another summer to remember? For Germany: so far so great.
The arc of Philipp Lahm's career has had the rhythm of someone meticulously ticking items off a bucket list. He won eight German championships with Bayern Munich, a team he supported as a child. He served as captain for six years. He led the club to the national and European treble. A year later, he captained Germany to victory in the World Cup.Now, a few years after retiring, Lahm has become a respected figure in German football as a whole: intelligent, thoughtful, discreet by inclination but frank when required. He has held a handful of honorary and ambassadorial roles, but in 2020 he was given a real job, as tournament director of Euro 2024.Yet for all he achieved, Lahm will always be remembered at home as the man who ushered in the Sommermärchen, the fairytale summer, of 2006....