00:00It takes a world-class player like Lothar Matthäus to play week in, week out from the age of 18
00:06all the way to 39 and to amass 21 years at football's highest level.
00:14It's tough to determine the length of the average footballer's career.
00:18Many start their journey in the youth ranks before abandoning the path by about age 22.
00:25Of those who play on into their mid-20s, their careers could last up to 15 years.
00:30Some have been known to play into their 40s.
00:35Like that other big sporting event, the World Cup is held once every four years.
00:42So a healthy 10 to 12-year career at the highest level is usually only enough to play two or
00:47three World Cups.
00:50There are some who have played in four, but only six players have ever played in five.
00:56That includes Matthäus, who left France 98 as the World Cup appearance record holder.
01:02With a record of eight league titles and 14 cup competition wins, plus his two international trophies, his career could
01:10be considered an impressive feat based on those numbers alone.
01:15Add 28 personal awards and honours, it's clear just how big his presence on the field was.
01:23In his autobiography, Diego Maradona gave Matthäus the biggest compliment he could give another player, saying,
01:30Lothar was the best rival I had in my whole career, while Pele branded the German one of the best
01:37that football has ever seen.
01:40But the unfortunate reality is that Matthäus' outspoken personality caused feuds with quite a number of colleagues.
01:48Most notably, Lothar butted heads with German national team captain Jürgen Klinsmann and head coach Bertie Fultz,
01:55which saw him removed from the squad for the 1996 Euros that Germany went on to win.
02:031994 was supposed to be the sweepers' last international outing,
02:07but against all odds, he turned up at France 98 as a replacement for the injured sweeper Matthäus Sammer,
02:14another great from that generation.
02:17Matthäus came on as a substitute against Yugoslavia to set a new record for the tournament with his 22nd appearance.
02:24He would go on to play in all of Germany's matches that followed,
02:28with Croatia knocking them out at the quarterfinals,
02:31staking his record for the most matches played at the World Cup at 25.
02:37It took a player of the stature of Lionel Messi to overhaul Matthäus' mark,
02:42notching appearance 26 in the perfect fashion, leading Argentina to World Cup final glory.
02:52It's a testament to Matthäus' consistency and longevity that even Messi had to work hard to overhaul it.
03:00A relentless and fierce competitor, Lothar Matthäus' story is the World Cup's story.
03:06And even without the game's record, nothing can change his brilliant legacy.
Comments