Oliver Kahn

Oliver Kahn
Oliver Kahn (Confed-Cup 2005).JPG
Personal information
Full name Oliver Rolf Kahn
Date of birth 15 June 1969 (1969-06-15) (age 40)
Place of birth    Karlsruhe, West Germany
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper (retired)
Youth clubs
1975–1987 Karlsruher SC
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1987–1994
1994–2008		 Karlsruher SC
FC Bayern Munich
Career		 128 (0)
429 (0)
557 (0)   
National team
1994–2007 Germany 86 0(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Oliver Rolf Kahn (born 15 June 1969 in Karlsruhe) is a former German football goalkeeper. He started his career at Karlsruher SC and in 1994 was transferred to FC Bayern Munich, his last professional club. He is one of the most successful German players in recent history, having won eight German championships, six German cups, the UEFA Cup (1996), the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup (both 2001). His individual contributions have earned him four consecutive UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards, three IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year awards and two German "Footballer of the Year" trophies. He played for the German national team (from 1994 to 2006), where he was starting goalkeeper of the 2002 World Cup squad which reached the Finals and won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball for his performance. Kahn is nicknamed "King Kahn"[1] or "The Titan."[2]

He made his last professional appearance for FC Bayern Munich on 27 May 2008 at the Salt Lake Stadium (Yuvabharati Krirangam), Kolkata in a friendly against Mohun Bagan AC of India during Bayern's Asian tour of 2008. Around 120,000 people turned up for the match. The match ended 0-3 in favour of Bayern and Michael Rensing substituted 'King Kahn' in the 55th minute.[3] He is considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of the game and is the only goalkeeper in the history of football to win the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (in World Cup 2002).

Contents

Club career

Karlsruher SC

Kahn signed his first professional contract at Karlsruher SC in the 1987–88 season, at first being the reserve goalkeeper behind Alexander Famulla. However, he had to wait until 1990 until KSC coach Winfried Schäfer decided to start Kahn over Famulla. In the following years, Kahn established himself as a quality goalkeeper, greatly contributing in establishing KSC as a force to reckon with in the Bundesliga. He was a key player in the fondly-remembered KSC team which reached the semi finals in the 1993–94 UEFA Cup, the most memorable moment being a historic 7-0 rout of Valencia CF after losing the first match 1-3.

FC Bayern Munich

Kahn was first signed by Bayern Munich at the beginning of the 1994–95 season, and has since gone on to win multiple honors, both at the domestic and international level. The Bavarian club paid him a then record fee for a goalkeeper of 2.5 million euros, and thus Kahn was firmly established as Bayern’s first-choice. Although suffering a rupture of his cruciate ligament in the next season, he developed into a formidable player. In 1999, he led Bayern to the Champions League final, although Manchester United scored two goals in injury time to win the title (called the "Tragedy of Camp Nou" by fans of Bayern Munich, and "Miracle of Camp Nou" by fans of Manchester United). He was named Man of the Match when he supported his club to the 2001 Champions League title, making several crucial saves in the penalty shootout that commenced after the teams remained tied 1-1 after extra time. He also received the UEFA Fair Play Award for this match, after he walked up to a devastated Santiago Cañizares after the penalties and attempted to comfort him.[4]

Due to injuries and personal problems, his game went into a rapid decline after the 2002–03 season. This culminated with Kahn allowing a seemingly soft shot into the net against Real Madrid in the 2004 Champions League season, contributing to the elimination of his team from the competition. However, since the 2003–04 season and despite advancing in age, Kahn’s performances have vastly improved and he has re-established himself as a reliable shot stopper.

Kahn has announced his intention to honor his contract and play through the 2007-08 season.[5] As of 2007, he is the all time clean sheet leader in the history of the Bundesliga with 190 and it adds up to a total of 736 playing minutes.[6] Milestones continued to fall for Kahn; on 2 September 2007, he played in his 535th Bundesliga match, becoming the league’s all time leader in matches played among goalkeepers. Kahn made his final European appearance for Bayern in a 4-0 defeat to Zenit Saint Petersburg in the UEFA cup semi-final on 1 May 2008. Kahn played his last Bundesliga and Bayern Munich game on Saturday 17 May against Hertha Berlin.[7] Kahn captained his team to a 4–1 victory.

He played a testomonial match with FC Bayern Munich versus the select Germany XI on 2 September 2008 which ended 1-1.

International career

Oliver Kahn training for Germany, 2004

Kahn’s international debut for Germany came in a match against Switzerland on 23 June 1995; however, it was some time before he became the team’s primary goalkeeper. Initially Kahn was the reserve keeper as Germany were victorious in Euro 96 in England. He spent the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France on the bench, and it was not until Andreas Köpke announced his retirement at the end of the tournament that Kahn was finally given his chance in the No. 1 shirt. Euro 2000 was a difficult period for then-defending champions Germany, as they made an embarrassing exit in the group stage, having scored only one goal. The team drew with Romania and suffered losses to England and Portugal. Afterwards, Kahn became captain of the national team, succeeding Oliver Bierhoff.

Kahn put in what was perhaps his worst performance of his international career against England in Munich in 2001. Germany were favored to win by many as they had beaten England in 2000 1-0 at Wembley stadium. Many in the media were touting Kahn's remarkably fast reflexes. Despite a strong start from Germany, they were routed 5-1 by a fantastic hattrick by Michael Owen. After the match, Kahn called the defeat a "catastrophe" but still was optimistic Germany would qualify. Kahn's German team managed to make the World Cup by winning a playoff against Ukraine. Despite criticism, Kahn remained as Germany's number one for the upcoming World Cup. Kahn was also named the best goalkeeper in the world by IFFHS for the second time in his career.

Expectations for Germany were comparatively low entering the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but it was Kahn’s shot-stopping prowess and leadership that carried the team to a surprise appearance in the finals, and allowed only three goals in the course of the competition. Despite playing much of the final match with torn ligaments in his right ring finger, Kahn was still blamed (perhaps unfairly due to the injury) for losing the championship after allowing the first goal by Brazilian striker Ronaldo off a rebound in the 67th minute. Kahn nevertheless won the Lev Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament, and became the first goalkeeper in history to win the Golden Ball for the best individual performance. He also became the 1st German goalkeeper to keep five clean sheets in a World Cup tournament. Kahn maintained his number one spot for Euro 2004, but Germany were once again eliminated in the group stage. Oliver Kahn gave up his capataincy to Michael Ballack after the tournament.

Since then, Kahn had lost his status as the first choice goalkeeper for the national team, with team manager Jürgen Klinsmann rotating the number one spot between Kahn and his longtime competitor whom he had been attempting to fend off, Jens Lehmann of Arsenal F.C.. On 7 April 2006 Klinsmann announced to use Lehmann as the first-choice goalkeeper in the 2006 World Cup. Kahn decided to stay on as a backup for the competition. Despite their acrimonious pre-tournament battle for Germany’s starting role, Kahn openly accepted Klinsmann’s decision. Kahn and Lehmann embraced and shook hands as the former offered words of encouragement before the quarter-final penalty shootout against Argentina. In the postgame conference, Kahn publicly praised Lehmann for his two decisive penalty saves.

After Germany was eliminated in the semifinals by Italy, Kahn was given the start for the Third Place play-offs held on 8 July 2006. Kahn was also the captain of the team in the absence of the injured Michael Ballack, and so earned his last international appearance for Germany, which defeated Portugal 3-1. Although overshadowed by Bastian Schweinsteiger’s game-winning performance in the match, Kahn played to a high standard, pulling off several saves throughout the match. Kahn deflected a shot by Portuguese forward Pauleta after he beat the German defence, and he later saved Deco’s kick made from just inside the box. Following the match, Oliver Kahn announced his retirement from the German National Team. Throughout his international career he earned 86 caps for Germany, including 49 as team captain. He never won a World Cup, but finished as runner-up in 2002 and third in 2006.

Private life

In 2003 Kahn split with his wife Simone, with whom he has had two children, David and Katharina-Maria. The separation occurred after he was romantically linked to former barmaid Verena Kerth. The affair with Kerth was widely publicised in German tabloids when Kahn left Simone whilst she was in the eighth month of her second pregnancy. Kahn and Kerth have been in a relationship since then. Lately the relationship seems to have cooled off and Kahn has been seen again with his wife.

Popular culture

Kahn is the subject of the song Olli Kahn by the German pop group Die Prinzen,[8] which was recorded during the 2002 World Cup. The song was later covered by Die Toten Hosen, another popular German band.

Trivia

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Germany League DFB-Pokal Europe Total
1987–88 Karlsruhe Bundesliga 2 0 0 0 – 2 0
1988–89 2 0 0 0 – 2 0
1989–90 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
1990–91 22 0 0 0 – 22 0
1991–92 37 0 2 0 – 39 0
1992–93 34 0 5 0 – 39 0
1993–94 31 0 3 0 10 0 44 0
1994–95 Bayern Munich Bundesliga 23 0 21 0 5 0 30 0
1995–96 32 0 2 0 12 0 46 0
1996–97 32 0 4 0 2 0 38 0
1997–98 34 0 8 0 8 0 50 0
1998–99 30 0 8 0 13 0 51 0
1999–00 27 0 5 0 13 0 45 0
2000–01 32 0 4 0 16 0 52 0
2001–02 32 0 5 0 14 0 51 0
2002–03 33 0 6 0 6 0 45 0
2003–04 33 0 5 0 8 0 46 0
2004–05 32 0 7 0 10 0 49 0
2005–06 31 0 6 0 7 0 44 0
2006–07 32 0 3 0 9 0 44 0
2007–08 26 0 7 0 9 0 42 0
Total Germany 557 0 82 0 142 0 781 0
Career Total 557 0 82 0 142 0 781 0

1 Includes German Super Cup

Honours

Bayern Munich

International

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Marc Heidenreich (15 April 2003). "Training mit "King Kahn"" (in German). ZDF.de. Retrieved on 11 November 2007.
  2. ↑ "Der Titan sagt Servus" (in German). Vanity Fair (13 July 2007). Retrieved on 11 November 2007.
  3. ↑ "Modern great Kahn bids adieu in Kolkata". FC Bayern Munich Website (27 May 2008). Retrieved on 24 July 2008.
  4. ↑ "Bayern dominate awards". BBC Sport Online (22 August 2001). Retrieved on 24 July 2008.
  5. ↑ "Kahn legt sich fest: 2008 ist Schluss" (in German). 11freunde.de (7 January 2007). Retrieved on 11 November 2007.
  6. ↑ "Bundesliga — Die offizielle Webseite". Retrieved on 11 November 2007.
  7. ↑ "Colossus Kahn brings career to an end". FourFourTwo (16 May 2007). Retrieved on 15 May 2008.
  8. ↑ "Olli Kahn". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved on 24 July 2008.
  9. ↑ "Arsenal boss has a striking dilemma". Dispatch Online (6 March 2001). Retrieved on 11 November 2007.
  10. ↑ "Spiele von Oliver Kahn 2000/2001" (in German). Retrieved on 11 November 2007.
  11. ↑ "Quirky Injuries". goalkeepersaredifferent.com. Retrieved on 11 November 2007.
  12. ↑ Christoph Ries (26 April 2007). ""Eier, wir brauchen Eier"" (in German). 11freunde.de. Retrieved on 28 August 2007.

External links

Persondata
NAME Kahn, Oliver Rolf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION German footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 15 June 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Karlsruhe, West Germany
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH