Germany's football captain Philipp Lahm has bid farewell to his international career. His retirement comes just five days after he led his country to the World Cup triumph in Brazil. His career, already packed with Champions League and Bundesliga titles, culminated in Sunday's 1-0 victory over Argentina that made Lahm only the 20th World Cup winning captain. He showed off the World Cup to an estimated 5 lakh people who gave the team a heroes' welcome in Berlin on Tuesday. Lahm, one of the best defenders of his generation, has been Germany's captain since 2010. The full-back made his international debut in 2004 against Croatia. The 30-year-old has played 113 games for Germany. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has paid tribute to the retiring skipper. Merkel told a press conference in Berlin that she would like to express to Lahm her greatest respect for all he has done for the national team.