With Chelsea’s Michael Ballack set to miss the upcoming World Cup in South Africa due to an ankle ligament injury he suffered in his club’s last game of the season, a 2-0 win over Portsmouth in the English FA Cup, Germany has turned to Phillip Lahm to fill in the captain’s role.

And according to former Germany captain Lothar Matthaus, Lahm of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich is an excellent choice to take over the armband. Matthaus has let it be known that he thinks Lahm will prove to be a strong captain in the tournament due to his fine leadership skills.

Germany manager Joachim Low confirmed the appointment of Lahm as captain on May 28 and he’s also confident that the 26-year-old defender has what to takes to lead the team in the World Cup.

Matthaus noted that Lahm is well respected in the German squad and has also filled in as captain for Ballack previously during several recent international games when Ballack was out because of injury.

Matthaus added that Lahm has always played well for his club and country and is a very experienced player. He said the new captain has already played in several important football tournaments and that he represents the opinion of his teammates well. Matthaus also feels Lahm should feel at home on the pitch as he’s joined by six of his Bayern Munich teammates in the squad.

Keeping that in mind, Matthaus is certain that the manager made the right choice by choosing Lahm before his Bayern teammates Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Miroslav Klose as Lahm is an excellent role model to the other players. The appointment by Low means that Lahm is now the youngest player to ever captain a German national team during a World Cup.

Matthaus believes that a captain needs to lead the way for the squad’s inexperienced and younger players and Lahm fits the bill perfectly.

Lahm joined Bayern Munich’s youth team in 1995 and made his senior debut in 2001. He was loaned to VFB Stuttgart for a period of time between 2003 and 2005 and played 53 games for the club, scoring two goals. He went back to Bayern in 2005 and has been a steady fixture ever since with a total of seven goals in 201 matches.

He played three games for his country’s Under-21 side in 2003 and then made his debut for the senior national team just a year later. Lahm has played in 64 games for Germany and managed to score three goals along the way.

Lahm has already played for his nation in Euro 2004, the 2006 World Cup, and Euro 2008. He was also named to the Mastercard All Star Team in the 2006 World Cup as well as the UEFA Team of the Tournament at Euro 2008. Even though he’s only 5 foot 7, he’s well known for his defending, dribbling, and crossing abilities and is now considered to be a vital part of his club and country reams.

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