Lahm future debated

The subject of the future Germany captain has been debated a lot in recent weeks. Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm, who is also the captain for the German national team, decided to step down after the World Cup 2014. He was one of high profile players to announce retirement after the World Cup. As a result, Joachim Loew has a tough job on his hands and the captaincy to a player who has enough experience and leadership qualities. It is easier said than done because this was a very young German team.

It was heavily speculated that Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer maybe the next captain. He will follow in the footsteps of Oliver Kahn if he is named as the next captain, but the 27-year-old refused to entertain such speculation by saying that it is up to the manager. Germany will be one of the favourites to win the upcoming Euro 2016. Qualifiers for this tournament will begin with Germany taking on Scotland. Neuer says that he is expecting tough match against the Scots given that they will regard this to be the ‘match of the year’.

Germany come into the encounter on the back of a disappointing defeat at the hands of Argentina in a friendly match, which once again raised questions about the defence. “We have a lot of players that have already been captain. A few of them have been on the team council but there are also players like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira or myself. We now have the experience of winning the World Cup. So there are more players coming to the fore to take responsibility and replace Lahm and Miroslav Klose. The manager must decide if a goalkeeper is the right player to be captain,” said the Bayern goalkeeper, who is regarded as one of the best in the world.