00:07It takes a world-class player like Lothar Matthäus to play week in week out from the age of 18
00:12all the way to 39 and to amass 21 years at football's highest level.
00:20It's tough to determine the length of the average footballer's career.
00:24Many start their journey in the youth ranks before abandoning the path by about age 22.
00:32Of those who play on into their mid-20s, their careers could last up to 15 years.
00:37Some have been known to play into their 40s.
00:41Like that other big sporting event, the World Cup is held once every four years.
00:48So a healthy 10-12 year career at the highest level
00:51is usually only enough to play two or three World Cups.
00:56There are some who have played in four,
00:58but only six players have ever played in five.
01:02That includes Matthäus, who left France 98 as the World Cup appearance record holder.
01:09With a record of eight league titles and 14 cup competition wins,
01:13plus his two international trophies,
01:15his career could be considered an impressive feat based on those numbers alone.
01:21Add 28 personal awards and honours.
01:25It's clear just how big his presence on the field was.
01:30In his autobiography, Diego Maradona gave Matthäus the biggest compliment he could give another player,
01:36saying,
01:40While Pelé branded the German one of the best that football has ever seen.
01:46But the unfortunate reality is that Matthäus' outspoken personality
01:51caused feuds with quite a number of colleagues.
01:55Most notably, Lothar butted heads with German national team captain Jürgen Klinsmann
02:00and head coach Bertie Foltz,
02:02which saw him removed from the squad for the 1996 Euros that Germany went on to win.
02:091994 was supposed to be the sweepers' last international outing,
02:13but against all odds, he turned up at France 98
02:16as a replacement for the injured sweeper Matthias Sama,
02:20another great from that generation.
02:23Matthäus came on as a substitute against Yugoslavia
02:27to set a new record for the tournament with his 22nd appearance.
02:31He would go on to play in all of Germany's matches that followed,
02:34with Croatia knocking them out at the quarterfinals,
02:37staking his record for the most matches played at the World Cup at 25.
02:44It took a player of the stature of Lionel Messi to overhaul Matthias' mark,
02:49notching appearance 26 in the perfect fashion,
02:52leading Argentina to World Cup final glory.
02:58It's a testament to Matthias' consistency and longevity
03:02that even Messi had to work hard to overhaul it.
03:07A relentless and fierce competitor,
03:09Lothar Matthias' story is the World Cup's story.
03:13And even without the game's record,
03:15nothing can change his brilliant legacy.
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