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The footballing world has seen goalkeepers. Pretty lame of a line because every team has at least one goalkeeper. Who hasn't seen one huh? But not all goalkeepers reach the pinnacle of success. And not all get regarded as top dog legends and get compared with outfield players. But there are some. Germany has been blessed with outstanding goalkeepers over the generations. Today we talk about who had the baton of the German goalkeeper legacy in the 90s. Oliver Kahn.
Kahn was always very interested in the game. And his parents saw that well enough. Seeing their child's interest, his parents got him into the local youth academy. There he rose through the ranks and broke into the first team eventually. It was 1990 by then. Kahn would soon become a first team regular and eventually the captain of his boyhood club. His performance at the top level of German football was sensational. And you know what happens when you perform well in the German league. Yep, Bayern farming the league clubs was a thing from long ago. Kahn was no different. After being convinced by his performance Bayern Munich bought for 6.4 million euros. He was a first choice keeper from the start. And he was performing accordingly. In his first season for the club he didn't win the league but he did win the best goalkeeper of the year award. The following year he defended that title of his and also brought home the German league title. The DFB Pokal, the German super cup, Kahn had won everything at Germany with Bayern Munich. But moving on to the continental success, well he wasn't the most successful there untill very long. In 1999 there was a chance for Oliver Kahn to win the champions league with Bayern Munich. But you all remember what happened in 1999. The famous Manchester United champions league victory after trailing by a goal for the full game and then win the whole damn thing in the legendary "Fergie Time" by goals from Teddy Sherringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. This was a heartbreak for Oliver and Bayern alike. But they did not back down. Two years later Bayern did win the champions league. Oliver Kahn had a very big role to play in it as he saved three penalties in the final. Three penalties in the final is no joke.
In the national level he spent two world cups on the bench being 1994 and 1998. Then in 2002 he was promoted to the first team and was captain. Germany's best finish of the given 3 occasions was the 2002 one, where Kahn played. This is to say because Kahn almost single handedly carried the German Armada to the finals. Conceding just once along the way. This team was relatively weaker than the previous two but still. Kahn led it. In the end they fell short to well, Ronaldo Lima. Then in 2006 he willingly gave away the first team spot because of his age. And later after the world cup he retired from international football. Two years later in 2008 he hung up his gloves entirely.
Kahn wasn't the tallest of keepers to start with. But his aggression and mental strength made him what he is today. A German legend. "Der Titan"