Oliver Kahn Biography
– Introduction Oliver Kahn might not have the lightning
reflexes of Iker Cassilias or the flair of Peter Schmeichel, but his
bulky frame, strength, anticipation and presence in
goal, made him one of the top goalkeepers of our times and, as many
suggest, of all times.
I'm not sure if a comparison
between Oliver Kahn and say, Lev Yashin, Gordon Banks or Andoni
Zubizareta are in place, since they're different types of goalkeepers.
Oliver Kahn is the type of keeper you need to have in the team not only
because he is a great shot stopper, but also because of his impressive
presence in the team's defense.
He's a modern goalkeeper, that
coordinates his defenders very well and he also has the strength of
character to make himself heard and respected by his teammates, which
is an extraordinary feat considering he's playing together with world
class superstars at Bayern Munich and the German national team.
Since he's approaching the end
of his career, I decided to write up a short Oliver Kahn biography, to
get you accustomed with this great figure in modern
soccer.
Oliver Kahn Biography
– Karlsruher SC Oliver Kahn entered the world of professional
soccer in 1987, when he was just 18. Karlsruher SC took him on as a
reserve keeper and he had to wait 3 hard years to get a real chance at
the first team, since until then he only played sporadically and mostly
in unimportant matches. But in 1990, he was given the chance to play
match by match and he didn't kick that chance away as so many
goalkeepers do.
Actually, he helped Karlsruher
become one of the top teams in Germany and lead them through a great
UEFA Cup run in 1993-94, where the small Bundesliga side managed to get
to the semi-finals, smashing Valencia 8-3 on
aggregate on the way there.
His performance brought him in
the eyes of Bayern Munich and despite the fact that he had some great 6
years with the Karlsruher side, when giants Bayern put an offer on your
table it's hard to resist.
Oliver Kahn Biography
– Bayern Munich
Doing a retrospective through this Oliver Kahn
biography, you'll notice that he played for Bayern for 13
seasons already! And despite being 38 now, he shows no signs
that he wants to retire yet. With over 400 games played for Bayern,
it's not far fetched to say that he's already considered a legend
there, next to other huge names such as Beckenbauer.
With Bayern, Oliver Kahn lived
the best time of his career but also his worst nightmare.
Winning the Bundesliga 7 times in his time with Bayern, the German Cup
5 times, the UEFA Cup once and finally, the UEFA Champions League in
2001, you could say he had a very successful time with Bayern.
But like I said, he also
participated in one of Bayern and German football's worst nightmares,
namely the 1999 Champions League final. Oliver Kahn & Bayern
Munich played against Manchester United and had a 1-0 advantage.
With Kahn in goal, it seemed
like enough to get them through the final. But amazingly, Manchester
United scored two goals in injury time and left some nasty
marks in Kahn's morale. After all, it's not every day you
lose the most important club competition in 2 minutes, after you lead
1-0.
Oliver Kahn Biography
– Conclusion At 38 years of age, most players, even
goalkeepers, decide to hang up their soccer boots, but not Oliver Kahn.
He said he wants to finish his contract with Bayern Munich, a contract
that spans for another season (2007/08) but he did not say that he will
retire afterwards or not. For all we know, we might as
well see Oliver Kahn play for Germany in yet another World Cup in 2010.
