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"The 90th minute has been pursuing me for 20 years", Oliver Kahn remarked recently, having just won his sixth DFB Cup final.

The dying phase of that game saw a flurry of activity from Dortmund, pressing for an equaliser. And Kahn is certainly no stranger to last-minute drama. The 2001 title race finale at Hamburg and the 1999 Champions League final against Manchester United are two outstanding cases in point.

Controversial

Oliver Kahn bowed out of professional competition at the end of matchday 34. The "titan" has polarised opinion like few other players in recent years. In addition to all the titles, he also picked up a reputation for hot-headedness on the pitch - as numerous opposing forwards, and a few teammates, can testify.

Since taking his first major honour in 1996 - the UEFA Cup - Kahn has accumulated an impressive array of trophies, among them the Champions League and the World Club Cup. "There have been so many highlights, I couldn't give explicit preference to any single one", he says.

Exceptional

Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is a big fan, to put it mildly: "If I was to rate the players of the past ten years, I'd say Oliver Kahn was the most important. We've had a lot of good players - Stefan Effenberg, Lothar Matthäus - but in terms of value, as a sportsman and as a representative of the club, Kahn was the most important!"

The Oliver Kahn success story in brief:

1996: UEFA Cup winner
1996: European Championship winner
1997: German league title
1998: DFB Cup winner
1999: German league title
1999: Champions League finalist
2000: German league title
2000: DFB Cup winner
2001: German league title
2001: Champions League winner
2001: World Club Cup winner
2002: World Cup runner-up
2003: German league title
2003: DFB Cup winner
2005: German league title
2005: DFB Cup winner
2005: Confederations Cup 3rd-place
2006: German league title
2006: DFB Cup winner
2006: World Cup 3rd-place
2008: DFB Cup winner
2008: German league title