SP IEGEL: Mr. Lahm, you are getting married in Munich on Wednesday, just a few days after Germany's last game in South Africa. Did you expect to be flying home earlier from the World Cup?

Lahm: No, I was aware of the quality of the team and that playing in the semifinals would be a realistic goal. And as far as the wedding goes, it was always clear to me that I would definitely be there on time.

SPIEGEL: Is the team coming?

Lahm: No, just the family and our closest friends. They include only one footballer, Andreas Ottl, who I've known for years. About 100 people are invited.

SPIEGEL: You seemed depressed when the dream of winning the World Cup was over. What were you thinking as you were walking alone around the pitch after the final whistle in the match against Spain?

Lahm: That it was a shame for the entire team, including the coaches and staff. You spend so many weeks together, and everyone is doing everything possible to achieve this victory. And then, within 90 minutes, everything falls apart.

SPIEGEL: Why did you stay on the field instead of going into the locker room right away after the final whistle?

Lahm: I wanted to feel the atmosphere a little longer. Besides, you can be alone on the field, but it's more difficult when you get into the locker room.

SPIEGEL: Did Spain run rings around the German team?

Lahm: Spain has a world-class team of players who have been playing together in this system for years. It's noticeable, everything worked like clockwork with them. But we lacked absolute confidence when attacking the Spaniards, the confidence that we could beat this major power if we took advantage of one of the few chances to score.

SPIEGEL: You are the captain. When you sense a lack of confidence in the team, are you able to do something about it on the field?

Lahm: You try to do it with body language. And you try to edge on the team by the way you play, for example, by taking control of the ball and moving it in the right direction, that is, showing them to move forward. Bastian Schweinsteiger does it exactly the same way as I do.

SPIEGEL: Would the team also have made it to the semifinal with Michael Ballack?

Lahm: It's pointless to talk about that. He wasn't available.

SPIEGEL: And the other way around?

Lahm: Would we have made it to the final with him? That's just as impossible to say.

SPIEGEL: Shortly before the game against Spain, you told journalists that you would like to keep the position of captain, which was awarded to you after Ballack's injury before the World Cup. There was talk in the media of a power struggle. Were you shocked by the fuss you created?

Lahm: A little surprised. There is no power struggle. So you like doing your job and you say that it's fun -- what's wrong with that? Now that I have my role on the field pretty much under control, I would like to take even more responsibility.

SPIEGEL: It seemed like it was staged, when you said that on the day Ballack left South Africa after visiting the team there, as if it had been arranged with the coach. Were you trying -- or were you told -- to send a message that the old leader was no longer welcome in the new team?

Lahm: No. Besides, I didn't find out until later that he was leaving on that day. The coach told me. What's the problem here? The only one who makes a decision like that is the national coach. And if he says that Michael's back on board, then Michael's back on board.

SPIEGEL: Team manager Oliver Bierhoff said that your comment was unnecessary at that point.

Lahm: It didn't make any difference to the team before the semifinal game. I was asked a question and I answered it honestly. In fact, I think it's a compliment to the team members when their captain says that he'd like to continue working with them. And one thing is clear: I want to continue having a responsibility and speaking my mind, regardless of whether I'm wearing the captain's armband.

SPIEGEL: Is Ballack coming back?

Lahm: Michael is a very, very good footballer. I can't say anything other than that or make any decisions.

SPIEGEL: Perhaps the coach will be looking at two applications for the position of captain soon, Ballack's and yours. Will it be a decision about a certain style?

Lahm: Maybe a choice between two styles of leadership. Every person is different and has a different take on leadership.

SPIEGEL: You tend to be the quieter type.

Lahm: A team is always like its captain. And the captain is like the team. My style is to have a lot of conversations. It's important to address many issues, especially on the training field. That's the style that suits me the best.

SPIEGEL: There was apparently some tension within the team at the 2008 European Championship. Some players complained about Ballack's harsh tone.

Lahm: That was a misrepresentation. The mood is always good when you're playing successfully. The only problem was that we weren't really playing good football at the time. Now, at the World Cup, we showed that we were enjoying the game and having fun. It changed the way people looked at the entire team and each individual player.

SPIEGEL: It's Joachim Löw's team. Why haven't you ever stated clearly that he should stay on as national coach?

Lahm: It's the same thing as it is with Michael Ballack. It isn't my job to make personnel decisions. The team likes the coach, otherwise it wouldn't harmonize as well and play such good football. That's all there is to say.

SPIEGEL: Löw doesn't have a new contract yet. Does it violate some players' code to speak out in favor of the coach, because it could seem as if you were chumming up to him?

"It Would be a Shame if Löw Didn't Stay on as Coach"

Lahm: He's a good coach. It would be a shame if he didn't continue as coach. But, on the other hand, one hopes that the next coach will also be a good coach.

SPIEGEL: Is it possible to imagine the new national team without Löw?

Lahm: I think so, because it has a great deal of quality. It just has to keep on doing what it's been doing. You see that in the Spaniards.

SPIEGEL: Their team continued to develop with a new coach after winning the European Championship.

Lahm: It's still working just as hard as did in the past. That's the approach we have to take.

SPIEGEL: In November, you accused your club, FC Bayern München, of lacking a "philosophy" when coach Louis van Gaal's job was in jeopardy. At the time, it was said that you were trying to distinguish yourself or, perhaps, that the agency that manages you was positioning you for leadership roles.

Lahm: You just have to take a look at the course of my career. I've always been a football fanatic, and I've always been interested in tactics. As a result, I grew into a role of shared responsibility. I'm the vice captain at Bayern. Over the years, you become more experienced and grow into your responsibilities. I'm a case in point, and so is Bastian Schweinsteiger. And if you ask any of my former coaches, they'll tell you that I always spoke my mind within the team.

SPIEGEL: Löw characterizes his football as conceptual and distinguishes it from the individualistic approach. Has the latter approach to the game, in which the coach makes himself dependent on the intuition and moods of individual stars, fallen out of favor?

Lahm: In Germany, people still look for the boss on the field. But when you look at the top teams around the world, you see that these bosses no longer exist. They're all homogeneous teams, and some of them certainly have world-class players, but they fall in line with the fixed order and tactics. That's the case with Spain and the Netherlands, with FC Barcelona and with Inter Milan. None of these teams has the one star that stands out.

SPIEGEL: And Diego Maradona's Argentinean team lacked this homogeneity at this World Cup?

Lahm: The Argentineans were split into five offensive and five defensive players. Once we had overcome the first block, we were able to spread out, and then we had plenty of room. It was all open.

SPIEGEL: For the 12th time, Germany has made it into the top four at a World Cup, but for the first time in many years, it wasn't the embittered ensemble that so often annoyed foreign observers. Why did it come across as so likeable?

Lahm: It's because of the new generation of players and their football style. We now have so many technically strong players who are capable of fast dribbling here and there, which is a result of improved training in our clubs. And we've become international. Various nations have an impact on our team, Turkey through Mesut Özil, Brazil through Cacau, Tunisia through Sami Khedira, and so on. As a result, new qualities have been added to our German virtues.

SPIEGEL: Do the proverbial German virtues even exist anymore?

Lahm: For me it means goal orientation. For example finishing a determined move by slamming the ball into the goal. And then there's the fact that we're able to prepare very well for a tournament like this. The same thing is evident before individual international matches. When we're only able to be together for three days beforehand, our game looks completely different, and not nearly as good as when we have 10 days to get ready. This is very extreme in our case. We always need a certain amount of time to get attuned to each other, and also to figure out who is the best fit for whom.

SPIEGEL: Was coming across as likeable at the World Cup part of the mission?

Lahm: I think that's just the way the national team is now. It's likeable. We don't play games, we don't pretend. The young players are open to everything. We're international and we're showing that everyone in Germany belongs together.

SPIEGEL: To what extent is the team a reflection of the country?

Lahm: Our country is finally being perceived the way it really is. At the 2006 World Cup, the world got to know us as fantastic, fun-loving hosts. At the 2010 World Cup, we conveyed our love of the game, and yet we also showed discipline, respect and everything that goes with it. And I'm pretty sure that that's the way Germany is, too. And then the fact that there are so many players whose parents come from other countries reflects what Germany is today. After all, there aren't too many families in our country anymore in which the parents, grandparents and all the relatives are all from Germany.