Interview with Philipp Lahm about the DFB team, the 2024 European Football Championship and UEFA

Mr. Lahm, does the European Championship have to save football in Germany?

No, you don’t have to save football. I know what you mean, Qatar, the discussions about the World Cup. But football still works. And by that I don’t just mean that you saw super attractive games in Qatar. Football also brings people together.

In Qatar there was more of a feeling that he was dividing. Can the EM be something like a counterweight to FIFA football under Gianni Infantino?

We are a democratic country, we are in the heart of Europe. We have to and want to show that. Everyone can go to the stadium here, everyone loves whoever they want, we are an open society. At other tournaments, sport is also used for the self-interest of politicians, we can do that too – by showing how we are and how we want to live. This is a great opportunity beyond football, especially in the difficult times we are going through.

You want to set a good example, but the EM could become concretely political. The qualification has just started – also with Belarus. There are calls for an expulsion. Or how about a wildcard for Ukraine?

Belarus was an issue at UEFA before the qualifying groups were drawn. But you shouldn’t always blame football or sport as a whole. That’s what politics is for, the governments, the EU, where you can get together and decide things. Sometimes it’s not that easy, an exclusion also has legal aspects that go beyond the sport.

Can something like an alternative to football as organized by FIFA emerge from Europe?

I do think that UEFA and the big national associations should form a counterpart to FIFA and Infantino. When it came to playing a World Cup every two years, Europe was clearly against it and openly expressed this stance to Infantino and FIFA. We also have to defend what we have in Europe. Or if we look back at Qatar: It is clear to me that Europe should have a clear stance when awarding such tournaments. In any case, I’m glad that UEFA is our point of contact.

However, the European voice did not carry much weight at the FIFA Congress. Would you have wished that the DFB had nominated its own presidential candidate with other European associations?

But which candidate stands up if he already knows beforehand that he will lose?

He would not have won, but he would have made possible the more democratic process of voting by vote instead of the process of voting by acclamation. At least then it would be clear who voted for and who against Infantino.

One could have considered whether UEFA would submit a candidate. And yet I think: The DFB has shown attitude.

If we look at the European Championship: As tournament director, you certainly want a strong German team.

I would like a national team where everyone stands up for the other, which plays for the people, for every citizen, so to speak. When I look at the World Cup, I saw Argentina and Morocco, but not our team. But that’s the crucial question: Who or what do I play football for? Why am I actually there?