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World Cup 2010: Germany Captain Philipp Lahm Hopes To Emulate Spain In The Future
The defeat will help them grow, he says.
Jul 8, 2010 1:05:00 PM
By Subhankar Mondal
Germany captain Philipp Lahm says that the national team will try to follow Spain and keep on improving in the future.
Die Mannschaft suffered a 1-0 loss to the Roja in the semi-finals on Wednesday night. This was the second successive time that the Germans had failed in the last-four stage of the World Cup.
However, skipper Philipp Lahm says that Spain's march to the final has shown what the Germans can achieve by improving in the future.
"I am a little surprised by the margins of victory against England (4-1) and Argentina (4-0). But I have been training with these guys for a long time, and I knew what they were capable of," the Bayern Munich full-back told FIFA.com.
"We were able to believe in our future. Spain proved that there is always room for improvement. Three to four weeks ago, they had the same players, and then they gained in confidence. We too can do similar things.
"I am 26 and therefore I have some years of football at this level in front of me. There will be other semi-finals. But it is true, it will never be easy to think back on [the defeat]. But then again Italy and France were knocked out really quickly.
"One day, I am convinced that we will be up there with the best. And then also to lose a semi-final is not a mark of dishonor, that doesn't happen every day either."
Lahm also gave his prediction of the final.
"I see Spain winning it," he said. "But if not I will be happy to see my club mates [Mark van Bommel and Arjen Robben] return to Bayern with the trophy. The trophy would give us a boost at Bayern."
The 2010 World Cup is finally here, so keep up to date with all the news at Goal.com's World Cup homepage and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
Die Mannschaft suffered a 1-0 loss to the Roja in the semi-finals on Wednesday night. This was the second successive time that the Germans had failed in the last-four stage of the World Cup.
However, skipper Philipp Lahm says that Spain's march to the final has shown what the Germans can achieve by improving in the future.
"I am a little surprised by the margins of victory against England (4-1) and Argentina (4-0). But I have been training with these guys for a long time, and I knew what they were capable of," the Bayern Munich full-back told FIFA.com.
"We were able to believe in our future. Spain proved that there is always room for improvement. Three to four weeks ago, they had the same players, and then they gained in confidence. We too can do similar things.
"I am 26 and therefore I have some years of football at this level in front of me. There will be other semi-finals. But it is true, it will never be easy to think back on [the defeat]. But then again Italy and France were knocked out really quickly.
"One day, I am convinced that we will be up there with the best. And then also to lose a semi-final is not a mark of dishonor, that doesn't happen every day either."
Lahm also gave his prediction of the final.
"I see Spain winning it," he said. "But if not I will be happy to see my club mates [Mark van Bommel and Arjen Robben] return to Bayern with the trophy. The trophy would give us a boost at Bayern."
The 2010 World Cup is finally here, so keep up to date with all the news at Goal.com's World Cup homepage and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
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