Philipp Lahm Quotes

Germany, when you're a young player, is the best. There are lots of young talents here, and people have faith in them.

I played for Barcelona, for Ajax, where it's important to develop and integrate young talent.

It's fantastic for Arsenal, and for English football as well. You've got an English club with a lot of young English talent committing themselves to a club.

I had some very good players and some wonderful young players hitting the scene. Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Michael Owen - we had something tangible to work with and move forward.

There won't be more Messis, and we don't expect there to be more, as there won't be another generation in La Masia like the one with Xavi, Busi, Puyol, Iniesta and me.

When I first arrived at Napoli, I was the ball boy, which meant that I got to watch as the legends trained. Then, once I joined the youth team as a young teenager, I was a midfielder just like Tardelli.

I'm really excited by this opportunity to continue helping develop and work with some of the great young players we have coming through in the first-team environment and to work alongside Unai and his coaching team to help Arsenal win trophies.

A lot of the guys who played in the 1995 final for Ajax had been there since the age of 12 or 13. Patrick Kluivert and Edgar Davids had been there from age seven or eight, so I had a lot of catching up to do.

Manchester City has a really good academy, and they're winning titles at all ages.

I would have definitely loved to have continued with the French national team. Having said that, perhaps when I left, it opened the doors of the national side for young talented players.

If you look at most youngsters, they have worked well under Van Gaal. I had never heard of Thomas Muller at Bayern Munich before Van Gaal managed him, and he's now one of the best players in the world.

I learned so much during my time at United. Sharing a dressing room with Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Ryan Giggs at such a young age was an amazing experience. I didn't play as much as I would have liked, but it was a master's degree in development both as a player and a person.

There has been a great list of players who cut their teeth in Europe.

German football is like English football. The Germans and the English do not play like a Brazilian side. They have to improve, bring up their young players, who have character.

Football's about the young players, bringing youth team players through to the first team and hopefully getting the best out of them so they can go on to play for their country.

England really is the birthplace, the heart and soul of football. If Barcelona had Liverpool's fans, or Arsenal's, or United's, we'd have won 20 Champions Leagues, hahaha!

I want to help grow the game in India and encourage young kids to play football.

It's very important that Manchester United have four or five young players every year from the youth system.

Italian football remains a very successful product, which has inspired people all over the world.

I am very shocked and disappointed to be leaving Blackburn Rovers. I am extremely proud to have managed this club and I enjoyed a fantastic relationship with the players, my staff and the supporters during my time in charge.

Arsenal have a history of bringing through youngsters, giving them opportunities, and turning them into world-class players.

Little details about young footballers catch your eye when you have been around a big club for a long time. At first, it can be minor things, like the way certain young players stand out from the group when the academy lads cross paths with the senior team on their way to training in the morning.

For me, playing through all the youth teams at Borussia Dortmund was a really good experience because I was able to play against talented opponents at a relatively early age.

Me being at Coventry, instead of a big Premier League club, probably helped me develop. You don't get put in the academy system, playing Under-18s and Under-23s.

For the fans, for the club, for the young players, I want to show there is a pathway at Fulham for young players to go through in the first team.