Philipp Lahm spoke plainly. © fm

Philipp Lahm takes a stand against Italian football

Former national team captain Philipp Lahm has criticized the way Italian football is played and made an unusual comparison.

08 April 2025

From: dpa

"Italian teams today remind me of a Ferrari that, with its engine throttled down by 200 hp and its tank half full, runs out of fuel ten laps before the finish. Even the most beautiful design doesn't help," Lahm wrote in his column for Zeit Online before the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League between FC Bayern Munich and Inter Milan tonight (21.00 p.m.).

The former Bayern Munich player explained that the national team was better organized than coach Julian Nagelsmann's team in the Nations League against Germany. "But they couldn't handle their intensity," Lahm continued.

There is a lack of “initiative, commitment, athleticism”

"On the pitch, there's a lack of initiative, commitment, and athleticism. Italy puts in far less effort than the four other top leagues: Spain, England, France, and Germany. The players run less," criticized the 2014 World Cup winner. Italian teams lack dynamism, he said. "And that leads to a quality problem."

Inter is the only remaining Serie A team in the Champions League quarterfinals. Inter is also the last Italian team to win the Champions League title: against Bayern Munich in 2010. Almost 15 years later, Lahm believes the Milanese are "not the favorites" in their clash with the German record champions.