Oliver Kahn - Retired, legendary Bayern goalkeeper - Page 5 - TalkSoccer

**Oliver_Kahn** · 18-01-2007, 03:51 PM

For all Oliver Kahn fans, here's a great video:

**Oliver_Kahn** · 01-02-2007, 02:23 PM

Bayern's hoped-for title challenge in the second half of the season has opened with nothing more than a defeat and a draw: the champions lost in Dortmund and were then held to a goalless draw at home by relegation candidates Bochum on Tuesday evening. Oliver Kahn emerged from the dressing room to face the press afterwards.

Question: Everyone was expecting the team to release its pent-up anger after the defeat in Dortmund. Why didn't that happen?

Kahn: "That's what I assumed would happen too. I think we were OK in the first half. But the longer it stayed goalless, the more it drained our confidence. It got worse and worse when the crowd started whistling."

Question: Surely an experienced team shouldn't be knocked out of its stride by a hostile reaction from the crowd?

Kahn: "I don't blame the fans for whistling. They were expecting a clear-cut victory over Bochum. But it doesn't matter how hardened your team is. I have a feeling one or two of our players are struggling to cope with the pressure."

Question: You're known as a fighter. Are you giving up on the league title?

Kahn: "I still believe we can win the league, although it doesn't look very promising right now. Football makes its own rules, and for the time being, Bayern have drawn 0-0 against Bochum. But Bayern are always capable of winning the next seven or eight matches."

Question: Should you now focus on the Champions League and the Real Madrid?

Kahn: "No, we're not thinking about Real Madrid. It's a long, long time in the future. Our only focus is the Bundesliga. Our next game is a tough match in Nuremberg, but maybe it's come at just the right point in time."

Question: Are you not getting sick and tired of repairing errors made by the men in front of you?

Kahn: "No, because I understand the way a team reacts to the pattern of a match. At the moment, we're missing those big turning points, which would have been a first-half goal tonight. The little things, millimetres, make the difference. If we'd somehow sneaked a goal during the first half, we might have gone on to win by three, four or five goals."

Question: Could we see any dramatic changes at the club?

Kahn: "We have to keep our feet on the ground. We won the league and the Cup two years in a row. You've got to expect a few setbacks. Even Bayern have no God-given right to the German championship and top spot in the league. In fact, I think it's tremendous that we at Bayern have to work hard every year to maintain this position."

Question: Are Bayern favourites to beat Nuremberg on Friday?

Kahn: "Bayern are always favourites wherever we go. Nuremberg are in good form. But it's always about the little things. Maybe we'll get the breaks in Nuremberg, and it could be a great release. A team which wins its Champions League group, and qualifies to face Real Madrid in the last sixteen, is capable of much more than this."

**Trim** · 01-02-2007, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oliver_Kahn

For all Oliver Kahn fans, here's a great video:

YouTube - Oliver Kahn saves -Thank you Kahn- (2-2)

What a great video... He's a legend.

**Oliver_Kahn** · 01-02-2007, 08:53 PM

Indeed...We'll ALL miss him

**Oliver_Kahn** · 05-02-2007, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn admits he is far from content with the manner in which his side have fallen out of the title reckoning this season.

The Bundesliga champions have endured a campaign to forget and currently find themselves out of the UEFA Champions League spots and a full 11 points behind leaders Schalke.

Ottmar Hitzfeld's return to the dugout on Friday failed to stop the slump, as a 3-0 reverse at Nurnberg drew criticism from their veteran goalkeeper.

Kahn is indignant at the ease in which opponents are breaching Bayern's rearguard, of the opinion that things must improve, and quickly.

""It is crazy how easy it is to score against us," said Kahn to Bild.

"There are so many petty errors that you simply despair of as a goalkeeper.

"I am in top condition and (goalkeeper coach) Sepp Maier and I ask ourselves what it is we are training for. The team is so insecure.

"We have now got to go all out for our minimum aim of third place and then see if we have a bit more luck against Real (Madrid) in the Champions League."

Sky Sports - The Best Sport Coverage From Around The World

**Trim** · 05-02-2007, 09:06 PM

Yeh, it sucks. Our central defenders make the most amateur mistakes. Lucio and Van Buyten are not and never were a good partnership. It's rumored they don't even speak to each other. That sucks. Hitzfeld should consider starting Demichelis instead of Lucio. Bayern was much secure with Demichelis as CB when Lucio was injuried, definately.

**Oliver_Kahn** · 05-02-2007, 09:28 PM

Indeed mate, we should start thinking about getting some millions in, by selling Lucio

**Oliver_Kahn** · 10-02-2007, 12:33 PM

Whenever Bayern hit a rough patch, Oliver Kahn finds himself even more in demand than normal. That was the case again on Friday as a huge throng of reporters, camera teams and photographers gathered for a news conference featuring the club captain. fcbayern.de summarises Kahn's statements.

Oliver Kahn on...

...the first week under Ottmar Hitzfeld:
"We've spent a lot of time on tactics. When things aren't going well, it's important that everyone knows what he has to do. We have to re-establish our discipline and adhere to our tactical instructions. Organisation and discipline are the basis for winning matches again, and regaining our belief before we play Madrid. Ottmar Hitzfeld has a very clear idea of how he wants us to play. It involves organisation, discipline, co-ordination, communication, and getting forward at speed. The training routines are very different from what we're used to, with a large number of new ideas. I've noticed that Ottmar Hitzfeld has moved on. He's not just stood still for three or four years. That indicates his class as a coach, and as a person."

...Bayern's targets this season: "I think even the final doubter has now grasped what's at stake. I don't believe any of us want to appear in the UEFA Cup next season. Every player wants to measure himself against Europe's best. Bayern will always aim to play in the Champions League. We all have to give everything for the club now, and make sure we achieve our minimum target, qualifying for the Champions League. And by the way, it's not all over yet this season. If we hit a winning streak and run up several victories in a row, you never know what might happen in football. But that's all in the future. For now, our job is to show we're solid, and go after third place. Then we can start thinking further ahead."

...the potential in the team: "There's too big a discrepancy between what this team's capable of, and how we've performed recently. It's a mental thing in my opinion,. A team which qualifies for the Champions League last sixteen as winners of a difficult group can definitely achieve a great deal more. We'll be successful again once we tighten up in defence. That's Ottmar Hitzfeld's philosophy, and it's Bayern Munich's philosophy. Whenever we've defended well in the past, we've won a high percentage of our matches. That's what we want to get back to. Then we could achieve a lot."

...his personal development: "I deal with certain things from the past very differently nowadays. The word you're looking for is personal development. I don't need to start anything populist anymore. Smoothing our internal communications and devising sensible solutions is more important to me than charging around like a wild man."

...Lukas Podolski: "Poldi is new at Bayern. It's completely different here compared to Cologne, where he was a hero and treated like a god. In Munich, all the players are at the same level, so it's not easy making the transition. He needs to grasp that and learn from it. I believe he's understood the situation by now, and he's ready to work on himself, just like Bastian [Schweinsteiger] has done. He spent a lot of time alone with me after regular training, working on his shooting. You can see it's paid off, he often scores from long range."

**Trim** · 10-02-2007, 01:44 PM

Indeed Olli. I agree on every word.

**Trim** · 11-02-2007, 07:38 PM

"Golden band" for Oliver Kahn

Bayern's goal keeper Oliver Kahn was honoured alongside the three time Rodel Olympics winner George Hackl and the spear-throwing European Champion Steffi Nerius with "the golden band" of the German sport press. This honor is already assigned since 1927 for successes of many years in the sport. Due to the preparation for Bundesliga match against Arminia Bielefeld, Kahn will not personally participate in the award ceremony, but he will be represented there.

**Trim** · 11-02-2007, 07:38 PM

Good job Kahn. Nice achievement.

**Oliver_Kahn** · 12-02-2007, 01:58 PM

The Greatest of all Time

**Oliver_Kahn** · 19-02-2007, 11:28 AM

Long term Bayern observers were beginning to worry a little about Oliver Kahn, as the veteran keeper has appeared curiously resigned to his fate behind a leaky defence since the winter break. Following the 3-0 reverse in Nuremberg, even Ottmar Hitzfeld wistfully yearned for a return of the man "who used to kick in the dressing room door."

Those minor concerns were banished at the weekend, when the man fondly known as 'Vul-Kahn' for his propensity to erupt in anger at unworthy displays showed flashes of his trademark explosive passion during and after Bayern's 1-0 defeat in Aachen.

The keeper was already simmering after a messy goal against on 10 minutes. Following a world-class stop to deny Jan Schlaudraff on the stroke of half-time, centre-half Daniel van Buyten received a verbal and physical lecture he is unlikely to forget in a hurry. And at the final whistle, the club captain was involved in a prolonged and heated exchange with combative Alemannia striker Sascha Rösler.

A man who's had enough

"There comes a moment when I have to fight back. I can't be going to Dortmund, Nuremberg and Aachen, getting my ass kicked every time, and just grin and bear it when the crowd gets on my back," Kahn fumed on Sunday, fed up to the back teeth with his side's dismal form.

"What we need now are battlers and lads who are ready to stand up to the situation," the captain raged. "It's become a question of character. Every player has to recognise it's all or nothing for the club. We can't just turn up and collect the benefits. The time has come to give something back to this football club."

UEFA Cup, no thank you

Echoing remarks made by coach Hitzfeld, Kahn questioned the attitude shown by some of his team-mates in the battle for a Champions League qualifying place. "I'm hoping none of this somehow goes over some people's heads. If that's the case, they have no place in the team," the keeper continued. "With all due respect to the competition, I have no desire to appear in the UEFA Cup next season."

Kahn demanded an injection of passion and aggression, "and then we'll make our own luck." Now was the time to cease moaning and move on. "I'm a man with a certain sense of honour. You can't be satisfied at giving up the points every time we travel. You have to force the issue sometimes, and not resign yourself to your fate."

Hitzfeld: Kahn is a role model

Despite Saturday's reverse, Hitzfeld was extremely pleased with his captain. "I liked the look of Oliver Kahn yesterday. He was passion personified, he was at boiling point and showed 100 percent determination," the coach commented on Sunday. All that, and without kicking in the dressing room door too.