Oliver Kahn: biography and personal life of a football player (photo)

Legendary, world-famous football goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was born in the small German town of Karlsruhe on June 15, 1969. Love for the ball Oliver instilled by his father, Rolf Kahn, who at one time played for the local club for a few years as a midfielder.

Carier start. A succession of failures

His first steps in football, Kahn did as a member of the club Karlsruhe. Up to 17 years, Oliver was in favor of the youth team, and with the coming of age was adopted as the third goalkeeper in the main team. Mistress fortune was supportive of the beginning football player, and he was almost instantly enlisted as the second goalkeeper after Alexander
Famulla.

Soon came the long-awaited moment, when Kahn had the opportunity to show his skills, but there it was. On the eve of the upcoming match with "Cologne" Famullah, receiving a red card, was disqualified for the next three games. In the absence of the main goalkeeper, the honor of defending the goal fell to Oliver Kahn, who, not justifying the coach's hopes, missed 4 goals, and the team lost in a dry.

The trouble for Oliver did not end there. In the game with "Bremen" he could not be rehabilitated in the eyes of others and gave the enemy the opportunity to hit his gate twice. In total, for 3 games, Kahn missed 9 goals. The only reason why Oliver Kahn remained on the team is the absence of another goalkeeper to replace Famulla. For a year Kan sat on the bench.

On the way to glory

The painstaking work on his football talent after a while fully justified itself, and when Oliver once again had a chance - he showed himself in all its glory, thanks to which firmly took the place at the gate.

After an unsuccessful game Famulla to replace the goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. None of the rival team was able to hit the guarded Oliver goal, as a result, "Karlsruhe" won. In the same year (1992), Kahn's team won the right to participate in the UEFA Cup. Since that moment Kahn's career began to go, as they say, up the hill.

Munich "Bavaria"

Successfully performing at the UEFA Cup, reaching the semi-final stage, "Karlsruhe" began to gain popularity, and Oliver himself was of interest to the coaches of various teams. A turning point in the career of a beginning football player came in the summer of 1994, after the transition from his native club to the strongest German team - the Munich "Bavaria". The amount of the transfer was at that time simply astronomical - 5 million marks. Oliver Kahn immediately ousted Raymond Aumann, the first goalkeeper of the Munich club, who was for many years.

Finally, in 1995, Kan's long-standing dream came true - he was to defend the gate of the national German team in matches against the national teams of Georgia and Switzerland. But the European Championships in 1996, Oliver still had to be held in the bench. Only after leaving the German national team Andi Köppke Oliver Kahn received the honorary place of the first goalkeeper.

First achievements

Season 1995-1996 It was marked by the victory of the Munich club in the UEFA Cup. And next year, for the first time in his career, Oliver becomes the gold medalist of the German Bundesliga, taking first place and proving his unsurpassed skill. By this time, the popularity of Kana in the "Bavaria" was growing rapidly, and very soon he became not only the goalkeeper number 1, but also the real leader of the team.

But with all this, the relations with the fans sometimes did not go very smoothly. Because of the rude nature and unusual appearance, especially active fans invented various offensive nicknames for him, for example, "Bulldog", "Monkey", "Gorilla". True, over time, the innocent and even affectionate "Ollie" settled down.

Career continues to develop successfully, and in 1999, winning a victory in the next German championship, football player Oliver Kahn was recognized as the best goalkeeper of the planet. To obtain the same club trophy of Europe Oliver failed, as in the final match against Manchester United, the Germans, winning 1: 0, were able to miss 2 goals in the added referees for 3 minutes. This alignment, however, did not knock out Kahn from the rut, on the contrary, the goalkeeper found strength in himself and continued to work hard.

Peak of popularity

Oliver Kahn performed at the UEFA Champions League in 2000-2001, becoming a true winner of the championship. However, despite the unbeatable results at the club level, Kanu could not register in the main part of the national team of Germany. And although he participated in the world championships in 1994 and 1998, at the European Championships in 1996, Oliver was regarded only as the second goalkeeper - the "Bundesmanshaft".

In 1998, Oliver Kahn, whose photo was decorated with the covers of numerous sports magazines, became the number one goalkeeper in the German football machine in the selection of the main squad for the Old World Championship.

The star hour for the "Ollie" was the Mundial in 2002, where the goalkeeper literally pulled his team to the finals, due to which he became the best figure in the "Bundesmanshaft". The defeat of the Brazilians in the battle for gold threw a shadow on the class and skill of Kahn. But nevertheless by the end of the year he again received the title of the best football goalkeeper on the planet.

At the 2004 European Championships, the role of Kahn, as the main defender of the goal, was untouchable. True, losing in the semifinals of the Italian national team, the Germans were able to win only bronze. At the solemn ceremony, he applauded the whole of Berlin, which was a kind of turning point for German football.

The final season

Season 2007/2008 was the final in Kahn's playing career. He conducted it in his native Munich for him, "Bavaria", which became a second home for the player. Moreover, Oliver was recognized as a true symbol of the famous club, forever included in its history.

In the final season for himself, goalkeeper Oliver Kahn wanted, of course, to flash and leave football in the rank of the winner. To some extent he managed to do it - Bayern Munich won the Cup and the championship of the country.

And things in the European arena were worse. The team by a lucky coincidence was able to bypass the modest Spanish "Getafe" and reach the semifinals, where it was defeated with great score by the St. Petersburg "Zenith".

Farewell match

September 2, 2008 ... At the Munich stadium "Allianz Arena" there is not a single free seat. Here farewell match of the legendary football player of "Bavaria" Oliver Kahn against the national German team took place. At the 33rd minute, "Ollie" missed his last goal.

In total for the national team of Germany, Kahn had 86 matches, in 49 of which he acted as captain. The famous goalkeeper recorded at his own expense 190 "dry" games, a series of 736 minutes without a single missed goal, as well as other wonders of football statistics.

Personal life

Currently, Oliver Kahn, whose biography is full of bright events, is officially divorced. He married "Ollie" on July 10, 1999 on Simon, whose hands he had been working for 14 years. The reason for the marriage was the pregnancy of the chosen one, because at the end of 1998 Oliver became the father, the daughter of Katarina appeared.

Simon's extant rumors about the novel of her husband and the waitress of the club Verena Kert led to numerous scandals. When the wife carried the second child of Kana under the heart, the football player began to openly show the public his relationship with Verona, which led to the disintegration of the family. A year later, Oliver decided to return to his wife, who had already raised two of his children by that time (David's son was born). However, the feelings cooled down, and re-reunited two once-loving hearts and failed.

Oliver Kahn is an outstanding, famous goalkeeper who made a huge contribution to the development of German football.