Oliver Kahn - Retired, legendary Bayern goalkeeper

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The game against Hertha BSC on matchday 34 of the 2007-2008 season was Oliver Kahn's 557th and final Bundesliga appearance. After 21 seasons, the Kahn era is over.

Reason enough to run an eye over some of "Titan's" most memorable soundbites.

"Keep going, just keep going."

"There the thing is." (a standard at trophy hand-overs)

"Balls, we need balls." (asked what was lacking for Bayern following a 2-0 defeat at Schalke 04)

"I can only take limited responsibilty for interviews given right after a game."

"Whenever Oliver Kahn lets off a fart, it's blown up forever and a day."

"I remember nothing of his fond embrace." (On being given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by teammate Samuel Kuffour after briefly losing consciousness on the pitch)

"First off you have to check if everything is still in place." (After taking a shot in the nether regions from former Stuttgarter Viorel Ganea)

"I thought the keeper was allowed to use his hands inside the box." (After "scoring" against Hansa Rostock with a double-fisted punch)

"We both shout so loud, we can hold a conversation from opposite ends of the park." (On fellow keeper Peter Schmeichel)

"I could have stuck my gear bag between the sticks today and we would have conceded two goals less." (In the wake of a 5-1 home loss to England in a 2001 World Cup qualifier)

"The only animal we have in the house is me."

"I've no problem with being the asshole."

"The coach said we should get our teeth into the opposition. I tried to take the message to heart." (On having bitten Heiko Herrlich on the cheek in a game against Dortmund.)

"The only time I rotate is when I'm a victim of the rotation principle."

"I was captain for the first time, it's an occasion that really should be marked with a goal." (Having scored an own goal against Israel in his first game as captain of Germany)

"The fans have to understand that I'm not a clown."

"You'll find a crisis in the intensive ward of a hospital or in the Middle East, but not in football." (After FC Bayern had lost three in a row)

"The Dutch are superbly endowed up front" (On the attributes of the Dutch national side)

"The whole stadium will be against us. The whole of Germany will be against us. It doesn't get any better than this." (Ahead of the 2000-2001 league finale at Hamburg)

"It's crazy alright, what football does to me."

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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

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Oliver Kahn was born in Karlsruhe on 15 June 1969. He made his Bundesliga debut in November 1987. It was only three years later that he made his real professional breakthrough however.

bundesliga.de has put together the key moments in the remarkable career of one of the league's outstanding personalities.

27 November 1987: Bundesliga debut - a 4-0 defeat at 1. FC Köln.

10 November 1990: Karlsruher SC coach Winfried Schäfer brings Kahn on at half-time for Alexander Famulla. KSC turn round a 2-1 deficit to beat VfL Bochum 3-2. From then on, Kahn is the new number one.

11 September 1993: In a cup game against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Kahn is struck on the head with a chestnut near the end of the first half and eventually has to leave the pitch in the 85th minute. The result - 5-3 for Gladbach a.e.t. - is overturned following a protest but Karlsruhe also lose the rematch, 1-0.

3 November 1993: UEFA Cup, 2nd round. After losing the first leg 3-1, Karlsruhe thrash FC Valencia 7-0, and go on to reach the semi-finals.

1 July 1994: Kahn moves to Bayern München, as successor to Raimond Aumann. The 4.6 million D-mark transfer fee is a new record for a goalkeeper.

23 June 1995: German national team debut, in a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in Bern.

13 April 1996: During a game at VfB Stuttgart (1-0), Kahn collars teammate Andreas Herzog and gives him a shaking - the first incident of this kind to land him in the spotlight.

3 April 1999: During a 2-2 draw at Borussia Dortmund, Kahn jumps into Stephane Chapuisat's face kung-fu style, before "nibbling" Heiko Herrlich on the cheek.

26 May 1999: Nightmare in Barcelona. Two goals in the last two minutes by Manchester United snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the Champions League final.

12 April 2000: "Gorilla" Kahn has been subjected to numerous soft-fruit assaults down the years, but in the course of this evening's 2-1 win at SC Freiburg, he's hit with a golf ball on the temple. Kahn plays on with a cut head.

19 May 2001: Last match of the season, at Hamburg. A 90th-minute goal for the hosts has just handed Schalke the title. Kahn urges the team forward ("Four minutes added time, come on!"). Patrik Andersson scores, to make it 1-1. Bayen are champions after all. Kahn tears the corner flag out of the ground.

23 May 2001: Champions League final against FC Valencia. A penalty shootout. "Titan" Kahn stops efforts from Carboni and Pellegrino. FC Bayern are champions of Europe.

30 June 2002: Kahn is voted best goalkeeper, and best player, of the 2002 World Cup finals - before the final itself. His blunder leads to Brazil's opener, the South Americans run out 2-0 winners. Kahn sits motionless against a goalpost for minutes at the end of the match.

10 April 2006: Despite being dropped in favour of Jens Lehmann, Kahn announces he still wants to be part of the squad. On 30 June Germany face Argentina in a penalty shootout for a place in the last four. Kahn offers Lehmann words of encouragement and a handshake - a gesture which makes him more popular in Germany than all his success ever did.

8 July 2006: Retires from national side following 3-1 victory over Portugal in 3rd-place play-off. Kahn made 86 appearances for Germany, 49 as captain.

5 December 2006: 100th Champions League appearance, against Inter Milan (1-1).

2 September 2007: 535th Bundesliga appearance, in a 1-1 draw at Hamburger SV - a record for a goalkeeper.

19 April 2008: Kahn wins his sixth DFB Cup - a record.

17 May 2008: Kahn gets his hand on the Bundesliga championship for the eight time - a record.

2 September 2008: date for a proposed testimonial against the German national side.

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Good Slideshow of King Kahn.

Bundesliga.de

[Mighty T.A.L.]

The last look of Kahn in Bayern Munich shirt.

[Trim]

A poll of 268 league players has been published in Kicker magazine on Monday, naming Frank Ribery the Bundesliga player of the year.

Shot-stopper Rene Adler of Bayer Leverkusen ganied 40.7 percent of the vote for top goalkeeper, with Hanover 96's Robert Enke second with 21.1 percent and Bayern Munich's Oliver Kahn in third with 11.6 percent.

Goal.com

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Just wanted to bring back some memories

TalkSoccer Media Player

And Part 2

TalkSoccer Media Player

[Oliver_Kahn]

Best. Videos. Ever.

Downloaded those to my computer the other day.
Legend

[BlackNess]

The best goalkeeper EVER .

Legend ~ ~

I will never stop admiring you Oli never, till I die .

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Oliver Kahn's testimonial match: FC Bayern München v German National Team

Kick-off is on Tuesday, 2 September 2008.

All 69.000 tickets have already been sold. ZDF (free-TV) will televise the match live.

Should be a great spectacle and a great football night. A football legend such as Oliver Kahn certainly deserves it.

[vampyrian]

Looking forward to it.

[RunX]

Oliver Kahn One Of The Greatest Goal Keepers In The World .. He Deserve Alot Of Things ...
Oli Kahn RuLeZ !!

[Tomori]

I thought his final game would be against Inter (Beckenbauer Cup, like last year with Scholl), but oh well.

Interested to see if Lahm, Schweini, Podolski will play with Germany or Bayern.

[BlackNess]

^ they will play for Bayern.

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Hehe this should be good, I think Kahn will score in this 1.