Oliver Kahn - Retired, legendary Bayern goalkeeper - Page 4 - TalkSoccer

**Oliver_Kahn** · 30-11-2006, 02:10 PM

Bayern captain Oliver Kahn has taken part in a live video chat hosted by premium channel FCB.tv, attracting more than 500 questions from fascinated fans as thousands tuned in to hear the world-renowned keeper's views. Lack of time and the overwhelming response meant the 37-year-old could only answer a fraction of the queries, but fcbayern.de has picked out the highlights of the chat session.

Oliver Kahn on...

...how he dealt with demotion to number two keeper for Germany at the World Cup: "It was a heavy blow for me as a sportsman in the first instant, but after that I had two possibilities, either to pull out in frustration and act like I'd been insulted, or to make the best of a difficult situation. I chose the second option, and tried to do what I could for the team, so that our 2006 World Cup campaign would be as successful as possible. I think that's better than shutting yourself away in disgust and frustration. That's not my style."

...Bayern repeatedly going a goal down in recent matches: "It's not just bad news for our fans, it's always very, very difficult for me personally. We're not at our best yet, we're not able to dominate a match for the full 90 minutes. We need time to settle and find our rhythm. But dressing room morale is high. It doesn't matter provided we keep mounting comebacks, but we won't always manage."

...Bayern's title rivals: "I think Bremen are a strong team, very solid and very consistent. That doesn't mean I don't believe Schalke can stay up there at the top right until the end. But I think Bremen are a shade more stable and consistent."

...Bayern's chances of going top of the league before the winter break: "I'm convinced we can do it, but you'd expect nothing else. It has to be our goal at Bayern. We're on a roll now, we've won three in a row, and I think we can ride this positive wave."

...Bayern's chances of finishing Champions League Group B in top spot: "We can't be totally certain, as we have yet another very, very tough match against Inter Milan. Everyone knows we've always had huge problems against Italian teams. But we've been very convincing at home, and that's why I believe we can secure a very, very important draw."

...the possibility of winning the Champions League: "Bayern always have a very good chance of winning the Champions League. We've been very impressive in the Champions League this season. I do believe we have a chance, either this season or the next."

...how long he intends to keep playing: "Neither my brain nor my body is telling me I'm 37 years old. I honestly feel much, much younger than I am. Fundamentally, I could keep going for a couple of years after 2008, but I probably won't do that. Everything has to come to an end at some point. But you should never make definitive, final statements about anything in football."

...his plans after finishing his career: "At the moment I'm still too immersed in playing. I'm not thinking about what happens afterwards. And I believe it can sometimes be an advantage not to overdo the planning. I'm going to wait and see what comes my way."

...a potential career in coaching: "Basically, that's not something I'm really thinking about. Goalkeepers always have trouble gaining acceptance as a coach. I believe I could do it, but I don't think it'll be the course I follow."

...the European Player of the Year accolade going to Fabio Cannavaro: "I think it's great, to be honest, as it's always tended to be strikers or midfielders. I was incredibly impressed with him, I've rarely seen such a consistent performer in defence. He's been world-class and the award is totally deserved!"

...the promotion push mounted by his former club Karlsruhe: "Obviously I'm following them very closely, it's the club where it all started for me. I hope they go up, I know coach Ede Becker extremely well. I'd be delighted if they end up being promoted."

**Oliver_Kahn** · 30-11-2006, 02:15 PM

What can I say ... Kahn is just the best I've ever saw.

Magical20 · 30-11-2006, 05:08 PM

what can i say.. kahn's not the best i've ever seen... van der sar is

im sorry kahn..

just couldnt resist ...

andehm.. doesnt every keeper feel younger..?! keepers got a min. of 5 years more than other players to play..

so i guess its only logical

**Oliver_Kahn** · 05-12-2006, 09:46 PM

Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn has become the fourth player to make a 100th UEFA Champions League appearance against FC Internazionale Milano this evening.

Select band
Kahn joined Real Madrid CF stars Raúl González, Roberto Carlos and David Beckham in the UEFA Champions League's 100 Club, with Paolo Maldini set to join the same select band if he turns out in AC Milan's game against LOSC Lille Métropole on Wednesday.

Impending milestone
Germany goalkeeper Kahn's achievement has not gone unnoticed in Bavaria. "I was in nirvana," screamed the back page of regional newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung as they opted to focus not on the match that will decide who finishes top of Group B, but on the finest hour of one of Bayern's greatest ever servants.

Heavenly achievement
Kahn's debut in the competition back in 1994 following his switch from Karlsruher SC may have ended in defeat against a George Weah-powered Paris Saint-Germain FC, yet it was a minor low in a career that has been marked by highs, culminating in the "nirvana" of 2000/01 UEFA Champions League.

Crucial intervention
Kahn was central to that achievement, his man of the match accolade just reward for a superb performance that saw him deny Mauricio Pellegrino in the penalty shoot-out after extra time had ended 1-1. It helped vanquish the ghosts of two years earlier when Kahn conceded twice in injury time as Manchester United FC snatched victory from Bayern's grasp in dramatic fashion.

Crowd favourite
It was a day the 86-capped German international has since described as "hell", but the determination that has marked his career saw him storm back. Now 37, he holds an indelible place in the hearts of many Bayern fans, who sing his ode 'Olli Kahn' by German pop group Die Prinzen before every home match. They were in fine voice tonight as he made his 100th appearance in the competition, excluding games in the qualifying rounds.

**Oliver_Kahn** · 05-12-2006, 09:46 PM

The Greatest of all Time

**Oliver_Kahn** · 08-12-2006, 01:39 PM

Oliver Kahn remains Bayern's number one goalkeeper, despite his appearance as an outfield player in the Reds' first training session following the 1-1 draw with Inter Milan. The shot-stopper had not quit his position between the sticks, coach Felix Magath grinned: "He'd already calmed down before we left yesterday. He was fine by the time we got to the dressing room."

Patrick Vieira's stoppage-time equaliser for the visiting Italians on Tuesday evening had prompted one of Kahn's (in)famous, volcanic eruptions. After the match, the club captain stormed from the Allianz Arena without saying a word, and he remained tight-lipped on Wednesday.

Run opened in defeat

The late leveller had apparently rendered Kahn speechless. The 37-year-old had been desperate to keep a clean sheet in his 100th Champions League appearance. "He was angry about conceding a goal so late in a milestone match. He'd made some great saves up to that point," Magath opined. Mark van Bommel expressed sympathy for the keeper: "I can completely understand Olli's anger."

Kahn is the first goalkeeper and the fourth player ever to run up a century of games in the Champions League. Only Raul (106), Roberto Carlos (104) and David Beckham (101) have appeared more often in Europe's elite club competition. Kahn's first-ever outing on the premiere stage also featured goals against, as Bayern fell 2-0 away to Paris Saint Germain some 12 years ago on 14 September 1994.

Hero against Valencia

Since then, the Munich stalwart has experienced all the highs and lows the Champions League has to offer. Bayern have made the knockout round as group winners this season, but in 2002-3, the Bavarians finished bottom of their section without a win. Kahn has appeared twice in the final, losing in dramatic circumstances in 1999, but proving the hero in 2001 with three penalty saves against Valencia.

"This is another milestone, but in a team sport like football, it doesn't just belong to one individual," the keeper remarked on his home page. "The figure 100 goes next to my name, but I'd never have played so often if it wasn't for my team."

Still hungry

Despite running up a ton in the competition, Kahn still rates the Champions League as "the absolute highlight," and his burning desire to win remains as strong as ever. "Olli always goes mad in situations like that," Uli Hoeneß smiled on Tuesday night, "but I understand him. In his view, you can't make a single error for the full 95 minutes if you're aiming to win at the highest level."

"His desire and ambition in every situation rate as strengths. Obviously he can't be satisfied," Magath observed, extending sympathy and suggesting a cunning idea to the milestone man. "If he was to ask me, I'd tell him to write down the following statistic: he kept a clean sheet for 90 minutes in his 100th match."

**Oliver_Kahn** · 16-12-2006, 07:32 PM

Reaction to Mainz v Bayern:

Oliver Kahn: “We wanted to stay on top and we’ve succeeded in doing so. In the Champions League we achieved what we set out to do, and now in the German Cup we have to make sure we go through – and then everything will look good as we head into the second half of the season. There’s still a lot of league matches to go, and Mainz can still pull themselves clear. They mustn’t give up, that would be fatal. In football anything is possible.”

**Oliver_Kahn** · 22-12-2006, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Oliver Kahn has insisted that Germany would have won the World Cup if he had been in goal.

Arsenal's Jens Lehmann was preferred to Kahn between the posts this summer and helped the host nation to the semi-finals, where they were beaten by eventual winners Italy.

But Kahn believes that logically he should have been first choice keeper.

"I'm not criticising what Jens Lehmann did, but with me Germany would have been world champions," he told weekly magazine Stern.

"I'm convinced of it because the way my career has evolved points in that direction.

"In 1994 with Karlsruhe I reached the semi-finals of the Uefa Cup - two years later I won this trophy with Bayern Munich.

"In 1999 I lost the UEFA Champions League final in the harshest circumstances before winning this competition two years later.

"Finally I lost the 2002 World Cup final. This logic, and I really believe in the law of series, should have continued at the 2006 World Cup."

Kahn, who retired from international football after the World Cup, said he had tried to explain his theory to World Cup coach Jurgen Klinsmann before the competition but 'he didn't understand or didn't want to understand'.

"I told him 'I don't understand why you won't admit that I'm right'," Kahn added.

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?...orld+Cup+claim

**Oliver_Kahn** · 22-12-2006, 03:25 PM

**Oliver_Kahn** · 22-12-2006, 03:25 PM

He is better than Lehmann.

**kyan** · 22-12-2006, 03:39 PM

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i prefer kahn to lehmann anyway, lehmann is too inconsistent (hes been shit this season) but lehmann deserved a chance after his performances last year. but thats very cocky of kahn to be so certain germany would win with him ahead of lehmann.

the atmosphere in the germany camp in the summer must have been hilarious

**Oliver_Kahn** · 22-12-2006, 09:11 PM

Now that Klinsmann isn't in charge anymore Kahn can say whatever he wants.

**Oliver_Kahn** · 07-01-2007, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn has revealed he will retire from football at the end of next season.

The 37-year-old retired from international football following the World Cup, and is now set to bring the curtain down on a club career that will have spanned 20 years by the time he hangs up his boots.

Speaking to German daily Bild, Kahn rejected rumours he could move abroad, insisting: "It wouldn't make sense any more. I will fulfil my contract here until 2008 at Bayern. Then I'll be 39, and it will be time to discard the shorts and turn to something else."

After [the end of] my career I will do nothing for a while, and recharge my batteries. I'm not thinking now about any farewell celebrations. The main thing is that I want to win the German title for the 8th time, and I want to win the Champions League again."

The zenith of Kahn's career came in 2001, when he captained Bayern Munich to victory in the Champions League, and was voted man of the match for his performance in the final, a victory over Valencia on penalties.

Kahn reveals retirement plan - Football - Eurosport

**Oliver_Kahn** · 07-01-2007, 05:36 PM

He'll leave great memories to all football fans around the world.

I found a nice video, enjoy it:

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