Bayern Munich defender Philipp Lahm will captain Germany in the absence of the injured Michael Ballack, while Manuel Neuer will be the starting goalkeeper at next month’s World Cup, the coach, Joachim Löw, said today.

“Lahm has played in his position with great class and will take over the role of captain,” Löw told reporters at their Italian training camp. He appointed the 24-year-old Neuer as the team’s first-choice keeper, with Tim Wiese as second choice and Bayern Munich’s Hans-Jörg Butt third.

“Bastian Schweinsteiger, on the pitch, will play the role of Ballack and interpret it in his way while Philipp Lahm will become captain. Schweinsteiger will be the vice-captain,” Löw said.

What do you think about Löw’s choices? Does Lahm have what it takes to captain the German team?…

Composure, tactical awareness and strength are all qualities Dennis Aogo boasts in abundance. After tasting success as part of the Germany side that won the U-21 European Championship 2009 in Sweden, the confident 23-year-old is now hoping to pit himself against the very best in world football at the 2010 World Cup.

The son of a Nigerian father and a German mother, the Hamburg left-back was born in Karlsruhe and was soon discovered by renowned talent-spotters SC Freiburg, signing for the club aged 15. The pacy wide man rose through the ranks of the German national youth teams before celebrating his Bundesliga debut aged just 17. After heading north to Hamburg in the summer of 2008, Aogo soon became an established member of a first team squad which reached the semi-finals of the 2009/10 Europa League.

On 13 May 2010, the flying defender made his first appearance for the German national team as Joachim Low’s charges coasted to a straightforward 3-0 friendly victory over Malta in Aachen. Now Aogo is hoping the Germany boss will consider him for a starting role on the left side of defence at South Africa 2010.

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The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is barely 15 days away and Bastian Schweinsteiger has been hard at work preparing for the tournament with the rest of his teammates.

His girlfriend, Sarah Brandner, has also contributed to the team’s bid for the World Cup. She is showing support for her team by appearing in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2010 sporting the German national football team colours — in body paint.

She appears nude in the photos save for the German national team jersey painted on to tastefully cover strategic areas of her body. The body painting was done by world-renowned body painter and make-up artist, Joanne Gair. She was most famous for her work on Demi’s Birthday Suit, which appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair.…

Germany defender Philipp Lahm, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt all sat out training on Thursday at the team’s pre-FIFA World Cup training camp in northen Italy.

Having only recently joined the squad, Lahm and Schweinsteiger were sent off on mountain bikes for some light training in the Italian Alps, while Butt remained at the team hotel because of an upset stomach.

Germany coach Joachim Loe has not said yet whether Schweinsteiger and Lahm will be used against Hungary in Saturday’s penultimate warm-up match as the pair both played in Bayern Munich’s UEFA Champions League final defeat.

Their Bayern team-mates Thomas Mueller and Holger Badstuber both trained with the national squad for the first time on Thursday: Mueller was sporting a bruised chin after falling off a mountain bike on Wednesday.…

Bayern defender Philipp Lahm will lead Germany in the football World Cup in South Africa in the wake of captain Michael Ballack’s injury, media reported Thursday.

Bild also reported that Manuel Neuer would be the starting goalkeeper for the team when it kicks off its campaign for a fourth title next month.

The paper reported that coach Jogi Löw told Lahm yesterday that the 26-year-old defender would lead the team and that officials would announce the decision before Germany’s friendly against Hungary on Saturday.

Quizzed at Munich airport yesterday, Lahm did not discuss the role of captain but said his job in the team was “to move forward and to reinforce the belief and the confidence that we will have a very successful World Cup.”…

Germany enjoyed an easy workout against a local amateur team in their training camp in Sudtirol, thrashing their hapless opponents 24-0 with Bayern Munich strikers Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez netting five each.

Fellow strikers Cacau and Stefan Kiessling scored two each, while Lukas Podolski was also on target as Joachim Low’s side showed no mercy on youthful opponents from Eppan. The rest of the goals were scored by Piotr Trochowski (three), Andreas Beck (two), Toni Kroos (two), Arne Friedrich (one) and Sami Khedira (one).

Stuttgart striker Cacau, who is preparing for his first major tournament, said the excitement is increasing by the day.

”I am enjoying the atmosphere,” he said. ”The tension is rising every day as the World Cup beckons and we are all really looking forward to it getting started.”…

This veteran stopper took advantage of the unfortunate injury to Leverkusen’s Rene Adler to force his way into the Germany squad at the eleventh hour. At the start of the season, he was a second-stringer at Bayern but went on to cement his place in the team with a string of mature and steady performances.

Prior to this spring, Butt had not featured in the German side for seven long years, his last international being a friendly with Canada in June 2003. He was the Nationalmannschaft’s third-choice keeper at Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup. “I did not think this summer would be spent in South Africa, but it is a nice surprise for me,” he says.

He was the regular penalty taker at previous clubs Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen. Indeed, he was Hamburg’s joint-top scorer with nine goals in the 1999/00 season.

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Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben has had a fantastic revival since he left Real Madrid to join his current team. He helped his team to a Cup double, only missing out on the treble when they lost in the Champions League finals.

Robben’s ability to take off past defenders and create chances as much as he scores has made Bayern Munich one of the most exciting sides to watch in Germany, maybe even in Europe.

Robben scooped up a staggering 71 percent of the votes, after 241 Bundesliga players were polled. In second place was Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko, and third was handed to another Bayern Munich man in the form of Bastian Schweinsteiger, who will have to be outstanding for Germany at this summer’s World Cup tournament in South Africa.

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