Oliver Kahn - Retired, legendary Bayern goalkeeper

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Happy to hear the operation was successful.

Get well soon Captain!

[Oliver_Kahn]

Good to know it went well, we need the captain back as soon as possible

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Oliver Kahn dropped by the Säbener Strasse for the first time since undergoing surgery in the USA. The club captain was still heavily bandaged on his right elbow, but Hitzfeld said the operation had been “optimal”. The keeper should be back in action by early November.

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Oliver Kahn put in the longest working day of all the Bayern squad on Thursday, as the giant keeper was first to arrive at the Säbener Strasse and last to leave. A week after an operation on his elbow, the Bayern captain continued to pursue a rehab programme involving three long runs round the training ground on Thursday. “I’m feeling in great shape,“ he reported afterwards.

Kahn’s elbow is still heavily bandaged, but even in his final season as a pro and just days after returning from his appointment with the specialists at the Mayo Clinic in the USA, the 37-year-old has no intention of taking it easy. “There are plenty of things I can do, nothing specifically in terms of goalkeeping, but I can work on my fitness. That’s the positive side to this injury,” he reasoned.

One step at a time

Kahn will not attempt to use his right arm until the medical unit clears him to do so. The plan is to re-introduce the affected elbow step by step to the demands of top flight goalkeeping, while the player will need time to regain confidence in the joint’s stability under pressure. The Munich skipper appreciates the circumstances from the time he tore a cruciate ligament back in 1994. “Elbow, cruciate, it’s the same situation,” he remarked.

The player denied he was under pressure to make a speedy return. “I’m not setting myself any deadlines,” he explained, happy to take his time until recovering full fitness and expecting to return to match action “in three to four weeks,” i.e. in early November.

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Bayern keeper Kahn returns to training

Bayern Munich's veteran keeper Oliver Kahn has returned to training three weeks after an operation on his right elbow, the German league leaders said on Monday.

Kahn, who retires at the end of the season aged 38, had an operation earlier this month for an infection on his right elbow and has been replaced since then by former under-21 international Michael Rensing.

Check the pictures of Kahn's training comeback @ FCB - Pictures & Videos

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Kahn set for comeback

Oliver Kahn fielded shots from Sepp Maier, Walter Junghans and Bernd Dreher, while 20 yards away Franck Ribéry dribbled, passed and ran with his team-mates. Ribéry and Kahn then took each other on in shooting practice at the end of the session, much to Ottmar Hitzfeld’s satisfaction. The injury situation at Bayern showed definite signs of easing on Thursday, although neither of the world-class players has yet been given the final green light to resume playing.

“They could be in contention for Saturday,” Hitzfeld announced, as Kahn and Ribéry eye comebacks at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. The coach will watch Friday’s final training session before taking a final decision regarding Kahn.

Kahn, who underwent surgery on his right elbow four weeks ago, kept goal for the reserves in a warm-up game on Wednesday. “It gave him match practice,” Hitzfeld explained. The club captain resumed goalkeeping training some ten days ago.

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Amid reports China may bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the visit of the world's greatest goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn, is bound to raise hopes. Kahn tells Bivash Mukherjee he's "keen on discovering, developing and training goalkeepers here."

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn is already working on his post-retirement plans and favors a surprising Look East policy as a goalkeeping scout and coach that may well shore up China's fortunes on the pitch.

The German, now 38, took advantage of a brief break in the Bundesliga season for the 2008 European qualifiers to make a quick study trip to Shanghai over the weekend and get a first-hand look at the keeping talents in China.

At a soccer clinic at Tongji University, "King Kahn" was taken aback - but not surprised - by the roaring crowd that turned up to see him train on a wet day with 10 selected hopefuls. It is this enthusiasm that he says is forcing him to look at Asia after he hangs up his glove at the end of another hectic 2007-08 season next year.

"I have a lot of fans in Asia, especially in China, and it is my way of giving them back something for their support," Kahn says in a tete-a-tete with Shanghai Daily. "And it is not just because of the fans that I want to be here but I am interested in China as well. I had a brief training session with some of them the other day and was surprised by their willingness to learn things. I am keen on discovering, developing and training goalkeepers here."

Kahn's Asian tryst began during the hugely successful 2002 World Cup that was hosted in Japan and South Korea, when he single-handedly guided his national team to the final where it was beaten by eventual champion Brazil. But the German shot-stopper walked away with top honors - winning the Lev Yashin Award for the tournament's best goalkeeper and the first keeper in history to win the Golden Ball for the best individual performance in a World Cup tournament.

It was the kind of experience that impressed him to look to Asia, which may well work out to China's advantage today. If things work out as planned he will be bringing his formidable experience and enviable talent as the world's greatest stopper to budding goalkeepers here. With reports that China may bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, it may be the sort of start that the Chinese Football Association can only dream of.

An astute tactician, Kahn has chalked up most of the details for his Asian programs as well. What emerges though is a tech-savvy player, keen to use the modern media to the advancement of his cause.

He has already launched a Chinese Website (oilver kahn) where he interacts with his fans and has loads of video footage of his games, Internet coverage of his training session, chat lines and soccer tips - perfect for early learners.

Youngsters send demonstration videos of their skills, which is analyzed in faraway Munich and reverted back with comments from the veteran keeper himself. The German already has a column on the Chinese portal Sohu.com (kahn-ËѺü²©¿Í) that connects him to local fans.

Kahn though admits that there is "a lot of work to be done" here after his Tongji turnout.

"The enthusiasm is there but to become a world-class keeper involves a lot of discipline and hard work," says Kahn, adding that if he could groom just a few of them to world standards it would be a fulfilling experience for him.

He should know what it takes to reach there. Germany traditionally has had some great world-class keepers and he understandably prides himself as one of them.

"Germany always had solid goalkeepers who have given us three World Cups. Goalkeepers need to be fit all the time - respect discipline, hard work, and education ... everything. Every generation in Germany has produced some great stoppers like Sepp Maier, Tony Schumacher, Andreas Kopke ..."

Not surprisingly, there was a name missing from the list.

"You did not mention current German No. 1 keeper Jens Lehmann? You don't consider ..."

"No," came the curt reply.

And this despite the fact that Bayern Munich general manager and one of Kahn's most vocal supporters Uli Hoeness has voiced his support for Lehmann in the long-running feud between the two great German rivals.

Kahn corrects me.

"The question that was asked was on who should be the German goalkeeper at the 2008 European Championships. Mr. Hoeness thinks it should be Lehman on his current status as the Germany No. 1 keeper. I don't agree with him. He (Lehmann) is spending a lot of time on the bench with Arsenal. A German keeper needs more games ..."

The great Kahn meanwhile is already focused on the future and he insists that it is unlikely that he would extend his playing days.

But what if Japan, China, or even the United States come up with an interesting, and lucrative, offer?

"Still unlikely. When I stop, I want to stop playing for ever. I want to go out on a high. And there is no better place than Bayern Munich. I have had offers before from Barcelona and Manchester United, but I don't really like to move much. I have spent almost 14 years at Munich and that is where I want to say goodbye to my playing days. We have a busy schedule ahead of us now. We are fighting in all the domestic Cups, Bundesliga title and UEFA Cup. It would be perfect to win some, if not all, of them and say goodbye."

King Kahn, however, does not rule out a management level job with his current employers in the same vein as his predecessors - Franz Beckenbauer, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Hoeness - all former Munich greats - and all of whom he obviously admires a lot.

"I have served them for 14 years ... if such an offer is made I will surely give it a thought and repay them in the same manner as Beckenbauer did," he says.

But after a long, sometimes controversial, but cherished career wherein he has collected possibly all the medals and titles one can hope for, Kahn says he would first want a break from the game he has served so well.

In an amazing career, where he has witnessed the highs and lows that goes with soccer, he has an enviable record to his name. He has kept more clean sheets than anyone in the Bundesliga history - it's 185 and still going strong - and played more games, which is well over 500, than any other keeper.

All that is about to come to an end next year. What will surely be a loss to soccer, may well work out to China's gain - hopefully.

Keen on scouting China keepers_English_Xinhua

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Oliver Kahn, became the first-ever player to register 300 Bundesliga victories, and also chalked up 250 wins with Bayern to break Sepp Maier’s club record of 249.

One word:

LEGEND.

[Poldi]

What else to say then LEGEND!!!

We will not have so great goalkeeper for a 100 years, and not only we, the world will not have it!

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Bayern drew 0-0 today with MSV Duisburg.

Oliver Kahn registered his 200th clean sheet in the Bundesliga.

Congratulations, captain!

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With two weeks remaining until Bundesliga hostilities resume, Bayern captain Oliver Kahn is convinced his illustrious 20-year career will end with Bayern lifting the championship shield. “I believe we’ll be more consistent than we were in the first half of the season and win the league relatively comfortably,” Kahn predicted at the club’s Marbella training base on Wednesday.

Out of action for a day with a neck injury in the last of more than 50 such training camps, the three-time World Goalkeeper of the Year said he had “no regrets whatsoever” about the imminent end to his playing days, and had “switched on the autopilot” in what he hopes will be a glorious conclusion to his career in mid-May. “If everything works out and we play to our potential, taking all three trophies is not unrealistic.“

Living in the here and now

The 38-year-old, who can add another 30 competitive appearances at most before the final league fixtures on 17 May, is ready to sacrifice every other potential distraction in a bid for trophy success. He directed a fervent appeal at everyone associated with the club to focus on the current season rather than treading water before the arrival of Jürgen Klinsmann as coach in the summer.

“It’s good everything’s been sorted out, but we cannot allow ourselves just to be talking about the future. That would be ridiculous. We live in the here and now,” thundered Kahn, who named his greatest wish as receiving the championship shield one last time. “I want us to be sure we find ourselves standing on the Town Hall balcony on the Marienplatz next spring with something in our hands.“

No firm plans

Kahn has yet to settle any details regarding his personal future, but the longest-serving player at the club will definitely take a break from the game in the first instance. “I think I’ll have nothing more to do with football over the medium term – and maybe for ever. I need a certain distance from it in order to wind down. There are so many other things in life, and so many opportunities. There are lots of questions which I’ll answer in my own time,” Kahn declared.

He will now gather his last reserves of energy in the quest for a happy end to his career. “I’ve had many triumphs, many disasters, and many emotional experiences. I’ll try and summon up everything I have left over the next few months, and that will be that.“ Kahn has no intention of seeking a role in Klinsmann’s support team, even as a goalkeeping coach. “I don’t think they’ll need me.“

Hitting the target, just once

Apart from a trophy or two, Kahn voiced one final wish: to add his name to the scoresheet just once, filling a gap in the “damned record books. Maybe on the last day against Hertha, making it 2-1 in the final minute and winning the championship,” Kahn mused, before immediately annulling the thought: “No, that would mean anything but a comfortable run-in.“

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Oliver Kahn hardly gives the impression of a man approaching the end of a 20-year professional career in the game, throwing himself into every training session with the energy of a far younger man and demanding as much commitment from himself and his team-mates as ever. Kahn has appeared appropriately determined in Bayern's two post-winter break matches so far.

The 38-year-old has lost none of his onfield vigour either, as demonstrated by Tuesday's Cup encounter with Wuppertal at the Schalke Arena. After the third division side fired a shock equaliser to make the score 2-2, the keeper angrily blasted a ball into the stands, and booted its replacement wildly upfield. Kahn naturally received a yellow card for his characteristic outburst.

Hitzfeld a believer

There was a similar scene in Rostock on Friday, as Enrico Kern initially saw his shot brilliantly blocked by Kahn, but netted at the second attempt. The keeper gesticulated furiously and launched a verbal volley at his statuesque defenders. "I was angry about conceding, especially as I'd just made a great save," the three-time World Goalkeeper of the Year explained: "Winning the first match was important.“

Kahn is determined to end his Bayern career with silverware. "I'll try and give it everything I have for a couple more months," the 38-year-old declared at the winter training camp in Marbella. Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is expecting great things of his captain in the remainder of the season. "I've rarely taken charge of a player like Olli Kahn. He never, ever goes easy on himself.“

Break from the game

"My body feels like it could go on for another four or five years," Kahn commented on Friday, "but let's not go there.“ The former Germany star will definitely hang up his gloves this summer, although he has no fixed plans for the future. "There are many options, but I don't think it would be right to commit myself yet.“

However, Kahn is determined to take a break from the game. "I need to work through a few things, take a new perspective, get out into the world. Keeping goal for 20 years has been hard work, and I need to answer one question in peace: do I need something as stressful as that again?“

Hoeneß sees FCB role for Kahn

Should Kahn opt for a return to the game in some capacity, he would be welcome to call on Uli Hoeneß. "I think we'd be well advised to consider bringing Oliver back to the club in some capacity," the FCB general manager commented in Rostock on Friday. Not so long ago, Hoeneß publicly contemplated training Kahn to be his successor. "Intelligent and clever chaps like him don't grow on trees," explained Hoeneß.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Eric can you translate this please ?

Bayern: Was Oliver Kahn nicht gefällt
Kahn versteht die Schiedsrichter nicht mehr


Die Erfolgsserie der Bayern hat Bestand. Auch nach dem 19. Spieltag der Saison ist der Rekordmeister Tabellenführer. Zufrieden ist Oliver Kahn dennoch nicht. "Wir spielen zwar gefällig und auf ein Tor, aber machen einfach zu wenig draus," sagt er. Es ist nicht seine einzige Kritik an der Mannschaft.

Kahn im Interview mit dpa: „Irgendwie beschleicht mich das Gefühl, dass das 1:1 schmeichelhaft für Bremen ist. Wir haben die Nackenschläge der ersten Halbzeit sehr gut verarbeitet. Das 0:1, die eine oder andere Abseits- Entscheidung, den verschossenen Elfmeter, da haben wir sehr gute Moral gezeigt und haben das 1:1 gemacht. In der zweiten Halbzeit habe ich von Bremen überhaupt nichts mehr gesehen, dafür am Ende eine sehr dominierende Bayern-Mannschaft. Das ist unser Problem, wir machen aus der Überlegenheit einfach zu wenig."

Den Ausfall von Franck Ribèry will Kahn nicht überbewerten, er sagt aber: „Wir haben genug Kreativ-Spieler, genug Spieler, die auch entscheidende Pässe, entscheidende Situationen machen können. Aber man hat nicht das Gefühl, dass wir aus einem Freistoß oder einem Eckball ein Tor erzielen können, damit man so ein Spiel umbiegt und gewinnen kann. Das ist das Problem, wir spielen zwar gefällig und auf ein Tor, aber machen einfach zu wenig draus."

Kritik äußert der Ex-Nationaltorwart auch über Entscheidungen der Schiedsrichters. Kahn, der selbst eine Gelbe Karte nach einer Diskussion mit dem Unpartiischen kassierte, vermisst Fingerspitzengefühl: „Darf man beim Jubeln nicht mehr das Tor verlassen, das ist doch ein Witz, Entschuldigung. Klar kann man da die Gelbe Karte geben, wenn man jubelt und emotional ist. Im Spiel sind viele Emotionen und dazu gehört eine Aggressivität. ."

Und weiter. "Das hat doch mit Fußball nichts zu tun, wenn man jeden Scheiß da unterbinden will. Der eine zieht sein Trikot aus und ist gesperrt, der andere läuft aus dem Tor und kriegt Gelb, was wollen wir denn? Wollen wir lauter Lämmchen auf dem Platz rumlaufen haben, die emotionslos ihren Job machen?"

Fußball - 1. Bundesliga - Bayern: Was Oliver Kahn nicht gefällt