Oliver Kahn is a legendary goalkeeper of German football. The Great and Powerful Oliver Kahn Goalkeeper of Cannes

One of the best goalkeepers in the world, Oliver Kahn, has long since retired. However, personalities of such magnitude are not forgotten and my story today is about this great goalkeeper.

Oliver Kahn

• Country: Germany.
• Position: goalkeeper.
• Born: 06/15/1969.
• Height: 188 cm.
• Weight: 91 kg.

Biography and career of Oliver Kahn

Kahn was born in Karlstruhe and his father was a professional football player. True, Rolf Kahn has only a few matches in the Bundesliga, as his career took place in lower division clubs.

But still, Oliver got into football thanks to his father - it was he who brought him to football school“Karlstruhe”, where he himself then worked as a coach of the children’s team.

"Karlstruhe"

1997-1994

The beginning of Kahn’s career cannot be called cloudless, although he was included in the club’s roster at the age of 19. But at the same time, Kahn spent three seasons on the bench, and his debut turned out to be simply terrible.

In three Bundesliga matches (the club's main goalkeeper, Alexander Famulla, was disqualified), Kahn conceded 9 goals, and in addition had an argument with the fans. The only thing that saved Kahn from expulsion was the fact that the club’s application included three goalkeepers, and playing a season with two goalkeepers is a rather risky activity, or rather adventurous.

Regarding the quarrel with the fans, it should immediately be said about the difficult character of the goalkeeper. “Gorilla”, “bulldog”, “Neanderthal”, “beast” - these are not all the nicknames that fans and journalists awarded Kahn. And this was due not only to his menacing appearance.

But, apparently, Oliver’s difficult character was formed in childhood. He had a physical defect - his jaw was pushed forward, which gave rise to slurred speech, and this, in turn, led to ridicule from other children.

But let's go back to the footballer's career. Kanu's next chance came in the 1990-1991 season, when his competitor made several mistakes. This time, Kahn did not miss his chance, defended the goal in the remaining 22 championship matches, and secured his position as No. 1 for subsequent seasons.

In those years, I closely followed Karlstruhe, since our Sergei Kiryakov played for the team and Kahn played, albeit occasionally (well, there was no Internet and TV like now!), but I still got to see it.

It was a fun team - they didn’t fight for the championship, there wasn’t enough stability, but in one specific match they could take out anyone. I remember well the meeting with Valencia in the UEFA Cup in November 1993.

The Spaniards won the first match at home 3:1, and away they started great, had several chances, but Kahn saved Karlstruhe, and from the 29th to the 37th minute German club scored three times, and it all ended in a devastating 7:0. Kiryakov also played then, but it seems he didn’t score.

At Kalrstruhe, Kahn grew into a great goalkeeper, and in the 1993-1994 season he was recognized as the best goalkeeper in the Bundesliga.

"Bavaria"

1994-2008

Immediately after this season, Kahn moved to Bayern - a completely logical and predictable step for a German football player. The best German club gets an excellent goalkeeper, Karlstruhe gets money, and Kahn himself gets the opportunity to win titles, because with Karlstruhe he never won any trophy.

Well, in some ways, Kahn now had no shortage of club trophies. Everything a player can win at club level, he has won. At Bayern, Kahn became one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and his role in all the club's victories cannot be overestimated.

14 full seasons, 780 official matches for the club - these are Kahn’s statistics in Bayern. And it's not just the statistics, but his reliable performance in goal. True, the team’s defenders constantly had to listen to reproaches from Kahn, and in not the most parliamentary terms, but he knew his job well.

But there were also blows of fate, such as in the final against Manchester United, when Kahn flawlessly defended 90 minutes of the match and, in stoppage time, missed two missed goals.

And it was Oliver Kahn who won the post-match series in the 2000-2001 Champions League final for Bayern, managing to save three penalty kicks at once. By the way, the opponent then was... Valencia. Apparently "client" for Kahn, although this expression is used more for attackers.

And after the victory, Kahn himself reassured his colleague in the role - the goalkeeper of the losing team, Santiago Canizares.

Kahn did not wait to be written off due to his age, and ended his career as the main goalkeeper of Bayern. On September 2, 2008, the Allianz Arena hosted farewell match Oliver Kahn, in which, of course, Bayern and the German national team played.

Team Germany

1994-2006

Although Kahn made his debut in the German national team in 1994 and took part in four World Cups and three continental championships, he was the main goalkeeper of the team only at Euro 2000 and 2004, as well as at the 2002 World Cup.

The time, frankly speaking, is not the best for the Bundesteam - at these continental championships, the German team failed to leave the group both times, and at the World Championships in Japan and South Korea its chances were not rated very high.

But the Germans then managed to jump over their heads, reaching the final and conceding only one goal. The truth and the list of their rivals - Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Cameroon, Paraguay, USA, South Korea, is not very impressive, but this does not detract from Kahn's merits.

All three playoff matches ended with the same German victory 1:0, and in each match Kahn helped out his team. And no matter what they say about the peculiarities of that championship, the weakness of the opponents of the German national team, without Kahn the Germans would not have seen that final as their own ears.

And in the final top scorer That tournament, Ronaldo found the keys to the impregnable defense of the German team and hit the Caen goal twice. Moreover, the first goal was the result of a mistake by the goalkeeper, who failed to hold the ball after Rivaldo’s shot. However, even this mistake did not prevent Kan from receiving the Golden Ball. best player that tournament.

To be honest, in that final I was rooting for the Brazilian team, since that Germany did not deserve the title of world champion. And yet, after the game I felt sorry for two players of the German national team - Oliver Kahn and. They, in their skill, the scale of personality, if you like, were worthy championship title, unlike other teammates on the national team.

Kahn sat behind Jens Lehmann in his last tournament with the national team, the 2006 World Cup at Germany's home. But still, Jurgen Klinsmann made a nice gesture by putting Kahn in the starting lineup in the match for third place.

The farewell to the national team was successful - having defeated Portugal, the Germans became third prize-winners of the championship, and it was then that the foundation was laid for the team that won the world championship in 2014.

Oliver Kahn's titles

Team

1. Eight-time German champion.
2. Six-time winner of the German Cup.
3. Five-time winner of the German League Cup.
4. Champions League winner.
5. Winner of the UEFA Cup.
6. Winner of the Intercontinental Cup.
7. European Champion.
8. Vice-champion and bronze medalist of the World Championship.

Individual

1. Best goalkeeper in the world 1999, 2001, 2002.
2. Best goalkeeper in Europe 2000-2002.
3. The best football player in Germany 2000-2001.
4. Best goalkeeper of the Bundesliga seasons 1993-1994, 1996-1997, 1997-1998, 1998-1999, 2000-2001.
5. Best player and best goalkeeper World Championship 2002.

Family and personal life of Oliver Kahn

Kahn is not one of those who puts his personal life on public display. It is only known that Kahn lived with his first wife Simone for more than 20 years. The couple divorced in 2009 and Oliver has a son and daughter from his first marriage.

Kan's second wife, Svenya, is 13 years younger than him, and the couple had a son, Julian, in 2009.

• During his career, Kahn did not score a single goal, although he tried very hard to do so. In March 2001, in a match against Hansa with the score 2:3, Kahn came into the opponent's penalty area and scored a goal... with his hands, for which he was sent off the field. A year later, in a match against Energa, with the score 6:0 in favor of Bayern, he went to take a penalty, but could not beat his colleague in the role.
• In the Bundesliga, Oliver Kahn played 557 matches, which is the third most in history.
• Oliver's dry streak in the Bundesliga is 803 minutes, the second result in history. By the way, third place belongs to him - 736 minutes.
• Kahn has 188 clean sheets in the Bundesliga, and here he is already the absolute record holder.
• Kahn is also known for his antics. And if the incident with the banana that the fans threw at Kahn seems quite harmless (Kahn defiantly ate this banana), then his fight with Tomas Brdaric or grabbing Miroslav Klose by the nose are far from harmless jokes.
• Kahn is the author of the book “I. Success comes from within,” published in 2008.
• In 2002, Kahn sued EA Sports for a million euros as moral compensation for the use of his name and appearance in the famous computer simulator FIFA.

Concluding my story about the great goalkeeper, I will say that, in my opinion, modern football really lacks such not only bright, but let’s say, monolithic personalities who are able to go ahead and devote themselves to the game entirely.

After all, Oliver Kahn did not play football - Oliver Kahn lived on the football field and the concepts of “football” and “life” were indivisible for him.

Oliver Kahn. Gorilla, bulldog, pithecanthropus

The headline contains only a small part of the nicknames that the public and press awarded Oliver Kahn.

There are no fans in Germany who are indifferent to this colorful character. Kan is loved, Kan is hated, he is cursed and he is empathized with. For almost ten years now, Olli has been one of the ten most popular Germans.

And there is nothing to be surprised about. A strong goalkeeper is doomed to popularity, both positive and negative. A strong goalkeeper for a super club like Bayern is doubly popular by default. Well, if he has such a striking appearance as our hero, then his popularity can be limitless.

By the way, about his appearance, which left its mark on Oliver’s character and became the reason for numerous nicknames. Since birth, Kahn has had a malocclusion - his lower jaw protrudes forward. This is noticeable visually, and problems with diction are inevitable. Can you imagine how little Ollie got it from his peers? They called him a bulldog, and they called him a monkey, and they imitated his speech. And to get rid of ridicule, you had to have strong muscles and powerful fists. Well, work with speech therapists. Now Oliver speaks quite clearly, without any signs of speech impediments. True, it is unknown how clearly those who had to experience the strength of Kahn’s fists pronounce the words.

MAYER'S GLOVES

Quite early on, Ollie answered the traditional question for children, “What will you be when you grow up?” Of course, a football player, like dad. Oliver couldn't say he was better than dad. Out of respect for his father, because Rolf Kahn was not an important player. He played as a midfielder for Karlsruhe. But from a mediocre football player he turned into an excellent children's coach. Many of Rolf Kahn's students became famous players. The most successful was Oliver Kahn, the son of a children's coach.

It was his father who identified Ollie as a goalkeeper, although the boy tried himself in almost all roles. “There are many football players, but only one goalkeeper. Goalkeepers are always appreciated and loved. So go to the gate,” the father said to 7-year-old Oliver and gave him a fateful gift – gloves from the famous Sepp Maier. How can you not become a goalkeeper?

18 years will pass, and the legendary Sepp Maier will recommend Oliver to Bayern, and then long and hard to make his ward the best goalkeeper in the world. In the meantime, the blond boy had to work hard in training and dream of a place in the goal of the modest Karlsruhe.

FORMULAS AND FAMULLA

“I have never been called up to various youth and junior teams in Germany. It’s just that none of the coaches of these teams knew about my existence. And it didn’t bother me or bother me at all. I was thinking more about how to quickly start playing in the first team,” recalls Oliver. Kahn waited in the wings and worked until he worked up a sweat in training. Moreover, he developed his own formulas for the flight of the ball, which allowed him to take the correct position and make interceptions in time. In training everything worked out great - apparently the formulas turned out to be useful.

But it took a long time to break into the main roster. The place in the Karlsruhe goal was taken by Alexander Famulla, a goalkeeper who may not be the strongest, but quite experienced. Coach Winfried Schäfer had complete confidence in his goalkeeper, and Kahn had to wait quite a long time for his turn on the bench. Once he waited - Famulla received a red card. And, apparently, Kahn burned out. In his debut match, Ollie simply failed - he conceded four goals against Cologne. In the next game - against Werder - Kahn missed half as many, but did not play much better. And there Famulla’s disqualification ended and he returned to the goal again. Kahn had to serve as a substitute for two more years. He did not take advantage of the rare chances that were presented to him.

And Kan would have perished in the unpromising leagues or would have played somewhere in the lower leagues, if not for Famulla. The Karlsruhe goalkeeper completely deteriorated in the absence of competition, he made mistakes in every match, and as a result, Schaefer’s patience ran out. In the match with Bochum, Famulla scored two goals and was replaced. And his backup played very well. And in the next match he looked decent. And in the next one too. That's how 22-year-old Oliver Kahn became Karlsruhe's main goalkeeper. Whether it’s a coincidence or not, as soon as Ollie gained a foothold in the first team, the club began to progress sharply.

AND AGAIN MAYER

After Jean-Marie Pfaff ended his illustrious career, the most titled club in Germany, Bayern, had serious problems with the number one post. Richard Aumann, of course, was a good goalkeeper, he was invited to the national team, but in Munich they were used to having a goalkeeper of the level of Mayer or Pfaff defend the goal. So Sepp Maier, who was responsible for training keepers at Bayern, was tasked with finding a worthy successor. I didn't have to search for long. “Of course, Kahn is from Karlsruhe,” Mayer told the club management, and very soon the strong, broad-shouldered blond moved to Munich. The Bavarians did not skimp, paying two and a half million dollars for Olli - a record goalkeeper transfer at that time. As we can see, we made the right decision. Kahn very quickly got used to the Bavarian goal and very soon became a cult figure, a symbol of the Munich club.

Sepp Mayer was greatly surprised when the newcomer showed him the most expensive relic - those same Mayer gloves with which the biography of Kahn the goalkeeper began. Mayer, the greatest of German goalkeepers, had a very high regard for Oliver's talent. But with my experienced eye I couldn’t help but notice that Oliver’s training was very weak and he needed to be worked long and hard. After each training session, Mayer and Kahn stayed for another hour and a half or two. “Sepp hit me from three meters and came up with all sorts of exercises. After his lessons, any game seemed like fun to me." The lessons of the great master could not help but have an impact; during the year at Bayern, Kahn noticeably improved and soon made his debut in the national team.

KAHN AND LEHMANN

Germany has always been rich in goalkeeping talents, and therefore there was fierce competition for a place in the national team, which sometimes turned into war. And before becoming the first number of Bundesteam, you had to wait a very long time for your chance and at the same time face various intrigues. Oliver was first called to main team country even when he was the goalkeeper of Karlsruhe, he even went to the 1994 World Cup in the role of third after Bodo Illgner and Andreas Köpke. But his debut came on June 23, 1995 - Olli defended the Bundestim goal in a friendly game with the Swiss national team. Illgner had left the national team by that time, but he had to compete seriously with Andreas Köpke. Köpke, whose club career was extremely unsuccessful, was very successful in goal for the national team. Largely thanks to him, the Germans won the 1996 European Championship, and Andreas became the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Of course, Oliver was happy for his colleague, but his relationship with Andreas was very difficult. The suspicious Köpke always believed that Kahn wanted to trick him. Before the 1998 World Cup, the relationship between the two “Ks” completely deteriorated - Andreas and Oliver didn’t even say hello. The Germans failed the world championship, Köpke left the national team, and the number one jersey went to Kahn. But Oliver had a strong, ambitious, sharp-tongued rival - Jens Lehmann. The same age as Kahn believed that he was in no way inferior to the Bavarian, and by hook or by crook he tried to oust Ollie from the frame.

Jens did not skimp on his philippics towards his opponent. “I hate standing in traffic jams, sitting on a bench and Oliver Kahn.” Or: “Someday I will go to Bayern, and Kahn will serve me balls, at least he will be of some use.” And one more thing: “Oliver has no time for football now, he is having an affair with a waitress. Maybe it would be better for him to become a bartender or head waiter? I would visit his establishments and leave a tip.” Kahn was not so verbose and usually answered questions about Lehmann with another question - “Lehmann? And who is it?"

No matter how much Jens puffed himself up, no matter how much he called himself the best goalkeeper in the country, he had to be a backup in the national team at the 98 World Cup, and at Euro 2000, and at the 2002 World Championship, which was silver for the Germans, and at the 2004 European Championship. But Jens still waited in the wings. Kahn was forced to give up the first number to his longtime enemy. Why? It is hardly worth seeing the reason only in Lehmann’s intrigues and the difficult relationship with Jurgen Klinsmann, which developed back in Bayern. The 2004/05 season was clearly not a success for Oliver, and the next one was not the most successful. And Jens was shining at Arsenal at that time. Don’t forget who was responsible for training goalkeepers under Klinsmann – the already mentioned Andreas Köpke. It is clear that in such conditions Ollie felt uncomfortable in the Bundesteam.

To take the edge off the rivalry, Klinsmann announced in advance that Lehmann would be the main goalkeeper at the World Championships. Not everyone liked this news, but Oliver himself took it stoically. The second is the second. True, he himself announced that he would leave national team after the World Cup.

It was at the World Championship that the reconciliation of two outstanding goalkeepers took place. After the quarter-final match with the Argentines, in which Lehmann won a penalty shootout, Kahn came up and congratulated Jens. The two enemies shook hands and ceased to be enemies. The whole world saw this scene. “Jens had a great World Cup. He deserves to be the main goalkeeper,” said Olli, played in the match for third place with the Portuguese and left the Bundesteam. It is unlikely that this decision was simple, because Kahn defended the goal of the German national team 86 times and led the team with the captain's armband in 49 matches.

BLOODTHIRST AND RELENTLESS

“I love playing at Bayern. And not only because it is the strongest and most titled club in the country. Not only do they not love us, they envy us and hate us. And I like it when they hate us. It turns you on, it motivates you to be the best to spite them all.”

Fans dedicated a lot of chants to Kan – censored and not so censored. Perhaps not a single German football player has so many nicknames (mostly offensive) - Bulldog, Monster, Gorilla and Godzilla. And at away matches, fan stands chant poems of their own composition throughout the game. Ollie never misses a moment to applaud his ill-wishers, and sometimes even to direct them. Since the chants fail to get under the skin of thick-skinned Kahn, fans resort to more drastic measures. “Since the Bayern goalkeeper is a gorilla, then he must love bananas,” was the logic of the one who threw the tropical fruit at Oliver. Kan calmly picked up the banana, peeled it, ate it, and threw the skin onto the podium where his offender was sitting. Bananas are nothing compared to what happened in Freiburg. There, one idiot (it’s hard to find another word) threw a golf ball at Kahn and hit him in the head. Have you ever held such a ball in your hands? Quite weighty. Now imagine what it was like for Oliver when such an object hit his head. It turned out quite easily, the ball went tangentially and only scratched the goalkeeper's head until it bled. And then the police held back the enraged Kahn, who was trying to break into the podium and catch the offender. If he had succeeded, the ball thrower could only have envied Eric Cantona's sacrifice; Oliver would not have limited himself to just one kick.

The police identified an 18-year-old attacker. He was sentenced to pay a heavy fine and was permanently banned from visiting football matches. But most of all, the bully was afraid of a confrontation with Oliver. For Kan is terrible in anger.

His former teammate Andreas Herzog can confirm this. At one of Bayern's training sessions, Kahn caught the midfielder in a dishonest attitude towards his duties and gave him a serious beating. When he grabbed his throat with his iron hands, Herzog immediately lost his breath. The German comedian Harald Schmidt learned about this incident and portrayed the “feat” of the Bavarian goalkeeper. Since then, Ollie’s reputation as “bloodthirsty and merciless” has been established.

Borussia midfielder Andreas Möller also got it from Kahn. In the fight for the high ball, Andi stuck out his knee, for which he was... bitten by Kan. “Now I know how bulldogs bite,” Möller later said, hinting at his abuser’s malocclusion. Another Borussia player, Heiko Herrlich, had to feel for himself what the ball felt like when it was kicked into the field by the Bayern goalkeeper - Kahn's kick was very painful. There were many similar episodes in Oliver's biography. But after the 2002 World Cup the name of the famous goalkeeper Germany has disappeared from football conduits.

Ollie's excellent play on the fields of Korea and Japan reconciled him with the rest of non-Bavarian Germany. After all, everyone understood to whom the Germans owed their passage to the finals. The bullying of Kahn stopped. And Oliver himself settled down and stopped taking all sorts of liberties.

Kahn earned one of his red cards (and there were very few of them in Ollie’s career) for... being like Diego Maradona, namely, scoring the ball with his hand. Bayern lost to Hansa 0:1. At the last minute, Oliver went into someone else's penalty area to the rescue. And he hit Martin Pickenhagen's goal, playing along with his hand. The referee saw and presented it to the goalkeeper yellow card, the second of the match.

Oliver dreamed of scoring a goal for a very long time. As we can see, the game didn’t work out. I tried from the penalty spot. Bayern beat Energa 6:0, so we can experiment. The Bavarians were entitled to a penalty kick, and their captain went to shoot. But Oliver shot so artlessly that his counterpart Tomislav Piplica caught the ball and then laughed for a long time, forgetting about the six goals he conceded. After which Kahn abandoned the idea of ​​scoring goals. Let those who are entitled by status do this.

WAITRESS WAITRESS

Oliver met his wife Simone when he was the second goalkeeper of Karlsruhe. Ollie spent a very long time, almost ten years, seeking his lover’s hand in marriage, until Simone finally said “yes.” At that moment, Kan felt like the happiest person in the world. Soon a daughter, Katarina-Maria, appeared in the family. The pages of newspapers were full of articles about the family of the goalkeeper of the German national team, about what a stern-looking Oliver was a loving husband and father. Their family was called almost exemplary.

And this idyll collapsed in an instant. In the fall of 2002, Bayern in full force went to Oktoberfest - a traditional autumn festival beer. And at this holiday, Kan took a fancy to the young waitress Verena Kert. The romance broke out and began to develop rapidly. Soon all of Germany knew about Oliver's hobby. Meanwhile, Simone was expecting her second child. Oliver left the family a month before the birth of his son David. Of course, such actions do not make a man look good, but let’s not judge Oliver harshly. After all, we know about the details of this case only from newspaper publications. Since then, Oliver and Verena, who is 13 years younger, have been together, but they are in no hurry to register their relationship.

Simone had a very hard time with her husband's betrayal. For two years she did not appear in public, did not give any interviews and did not allow Oliver to see the children. But now she seems to be doing well. Life got better, and the anger towards my ex-husband subsided. Oliver was able to visit his children and finally saw his son David.

Oliver Kahn is already 37 years old, a critical age even for a goalkeeper. But he is in no hurry to hang up his gloves. “I haven’t played enough yet. Many goalkeepers played until they were forty, why am I worse? Moreover, I feel younger, about thirty years, no more. So I’ll play some more.” At one time, Kahn was invited to many famous clubs - Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid, Manchester United, Milan. But Kahn remained faithful to Bayern. And he wants to serve her even after finishing his career, especially since they will certainly find him a position in the club. The Bavarians don't throw away their stars. But it is possible that before the end of his career, Ollie will also play in another club. Old acquaintances - Giovanni Trapattoni and Lothar Matthäus, who coach the Austrian Red Bull - are calling us. And there are rumors that Kahn is considering their proposal.

Biography, life story of Oliver KAHN

Oliver KAHN as a symbol of the modern German national football team.
Born June 15, 1969. Oliver was brought into football by his father, Rolf Kahn played for Karlsruhe as a midfielder for about 11 matches. The son's popularity exceeded that of his father many times over; his father gained popularity as the coach of the Karlsruhe children's team. There the little boy took his first steps towards football Oliver.

Even at the age of six, the unfriendly Oliver was distinguished by his great hard work and perseverance. However, Oliver had problems with his bite and tried his best to correct this noticeable defect. Which caused mocking smiles from those around. But thanks to his efforts, Oliver’s speech soon became clear to others.
He played his first games under 17 for youth team. When he was already 18 years old, he was taken as the third goalkeeper in the main team. However, they were immediately assigned as the second goalkeeper after the main one, Alexander Famulla.

However, the moment came when Oliver was given the opportunity to show his talent, but it was not to be. Before upcoming match with Cologne, Famulla received a red card and was suspended for three games. Against Cologne, Oliver came out to defend the goal and ended the game with a crushing defeat of 0:4. But troubles continued for Oliver Kahn before the start of the match with Werder Bremen and it seemed Oliver would be able to show his talent again, but the team lost with a score of 0:2. In addition, thanks to disagreements with the fans who bullied him, Oliver missed nine goals in three matches! The only thing that saved him from being forced to leave was that there was no other goalkeeper to replace Famulla. After a year spent on the bench, Oliver was given a chance, and he did not miss it; after Famulla's unsuccessful game, Oliver came on as a substitute and no one was able to hit the goal that Oliver Kahn was defending. Which led his team to victory.

From these days, Kahn became the main goalkeeper in the team. In addition, around 1992, Sergei Kiryakov played in the same club with him.
According to the stories of Oliver Kahn, the brightest moments in his career were when he was still playing for Karlsruher, which happened during the 93/94 season in the UEFA Cup. They managed to beat not just anyone, but Valencia itself, but that’s in the future. First, the German team lost 1:3 in a foreign land in favor of Valencia. But after this game the team had a big appetite and they managed to avoid all the mistakes of “Valencia” and beat them with a huge score of 7:0.

CONTINUED BELOW

But Oliver was not left without an answer, one day the fans, out of habit calling him “Gorilla,” began to throw bananas at him, and all Oliver did was he simply caught one banana and ate it, which made him famous to some extent.
In the old days, Oli was not loved by Bayern fans. To achieve such dislike from the fans is that his teammates can hear a considerable amount of German obscenity, a tough and rude type of play from Oliver in their direction. Married to the beautiful Simone, he has a daughter, Katarina - Maria. Having married and become a father, Oliver has become much more balanced.

He has played for the German national team since 1994. During the 1994 World Cup he was the number three goalkeeper, at the 1998 World Cup he became the number two goalkeeper and, finally, the main goalkeeper at the 2002 World Cup, reaching the final where Germany played Brazil, but after conceding two goals from Ronaldo and losing to Brazil, Kanu never managed to become world champion. For the 2006 World Cup, the last coach of the German national football team, the legendary Jurgen Klinsmann, decided to leave Kahn as a substitute and make Jens Lehmann the main goalkeeper, but Kahn was able to play for the national team at the 2006 World Cup in the match for 3rd place in the match with Portugal, where he scored two for the German national team goals by Bastian Schweinsteiger and an own goal scored by the Portuguese Petit. After a tense game for 3rd place, the Germans, led by Jurgen Klinsmann, beat Portugal 3:1. And here are the trophies won by Oliver Kahn - UEFA Cup 96; German Champion 97.99-2000; German League Cup 97-99; German Cup 98, 2000; Champions League 2001, Intercontinental Cup 2001 (Kahn earned these trophies while playing for Bayern). And finally, the rest of the trophies - 2nd place at the 2002 World Cup; 3rd place at the 2006 World Championships; Participation in the World Championships 98,2002,2006; Participation in the European Championships 96,2000,2004; Silver Ball 2001; Ballon d'Or 2002; Prize for the best goalkeeper of the Yashin final tournaments. And finally, Oliver Cann is the best goalkeeper of his wonderful homeland, Germany, of the current decade.

Date of birth: 06/15/69
Favorite number:1
Home club: Bayern
Height:188cm
Weight:87 kg.
Position: goalkeeper
Approximate cost: 5,000,000?

I got into football thanks to my father. Rolf Kahn was not a great player, he played only 11 matches in the Bundesliga, but he became famous as the coach of the Karlsruhe children's team. Little Oliver took his first steps in it.

The unsociable six-year-old child was distinguished by gigantic hard work and perseverance. However, Olya spent the greatest effort on correcting the main defect - malocclusion; due to his jaw being pushed forward, his speech was incomprehensible to others, which caused a lot of ridicule, but gradually he managed to correct his diction.

Until the age of 17, Oliver played for the youth team. From the age of 18, he was enrolled as the third goalkeeper in the main team, but immediately became number 2 and sat in reserve for the main goalkeeper, Alexander Famulla.

The terrible debut took place a year later - Famulla received a red card and was disqualified for 3 games. Kahn became the rightful owner of the “frame” and in 3 games he set his “record” by conceding 9 goals and quarreling with the fans.

He was practically expelled, but he was saved by the lack of candidates for Famulla’s backup.

Three years of sitting on the bench - the consequences of that three-game series. The next chance came after Famulla's mediocre game in 1990 against Bochum, when he missed 2 stupid goals and was replaced by Kahn, who did not miss his chance, not missing more than one goal, and his team won.

Since then, Kahn has become the team's main goalkeeper. Since 1992, his teammate was Sergei Kiryakov.

According to his recollections, Oli played his best match for Karlsruhe in the 93/94 season in the UEFA Cup against Valencia, losing the first game away 1:3, at home, thanks to the courage caught by Kahn, the Spaniards did not have the slightest chance and Karlsruhe won 7:0. The consequence of this was Kahn's invitation to the national team and recognition as goalkeeper of the year in Germany.

Best of the day

Also in 1994, Kahn was invited to Bayern and signed a contract on July 1, 1994. The team with which his name is now associated. Thanks to his violent temper, Kan quickly spoiled relations with the fans, earning nicknames: “Gorilla”, “Vampire”, “Bulldog” and others, and these nicknames are given by fans and journalists, but in the team they call him Oli (with emphasis on the first syllable).

Olya weaned fans off nicknames in a very original way: when he was called “Gorilla,” the fans threw bananas at him, Kan calmly caught one of the bananas, peeled it and ate it.

It’s paradoxical, but until recently Kahn was the most unloved player by Bayern fans. This was facilitated by his peculiar manner of behavior on the field: in 90 minutes of play, teammates can hear the entire stock of German profanity, he plays very harshly on exits (which only cost a straight leg kick Herrlich), failures also drive Bulldog crazy - Timo Lange and Andreas Möller were bitten.

Olya became much calmer after his wedding with Simone, whom they had been dating for 14 years, and the birth of their daughter Katarina-Maria.

The collection of trophies collected by Kahn as part of Bayern deserves respect:

German champion 1997, 1999-2000.

Winner of the German Cup 1998, 2000.

Winner of the German League Cup 1997-99.

Winner of the Champions League 2001.

Winner of the 1996 UEFA Cup.

Winner of the Intercontinental Cup 2001.

In the German national team since 1994. He was number three at the 94 World Cup, second at the 98 World Cup. May Kahn’s admirers forgive me, but he became the first in the national team after the voluntary departure of Klos, who announced that he was concentrating on club career and the conclusion of Andreas Köpke's speeches. Since then, Kahn has been synonymous with goalkeeping reliability, coming within one step of winning the 2001 Ballon d'Or. Let's see what happens in 2002.

Other titles:

Vice world champion 2002.

Participant of the 1996 European Championship, 1998 World Cup, 2000 European Championship.

Winner of the Silver Ball 2001.

The best goalkeeper in Germany of the last decade.