Anger at Kahn?

That's not completely correct. Kahn is in general a respected person due to his good performances, but he is no well liked person as he often exaggerates and doesn't always have himself under control on the pitch.

Regarding this game a small kicker article:

KAHN: END OF HUMANITY

Otmar Hitzfeld thought Kahn was earlier at the ball. Klaus Augenthaler saw it right and Martin Driller earlier in contact with the ball. At the end it doesn't matter as both recovered from the air crash in the 75th. AFTER THIS SCENE Nürnberg's fans started calling Bayern's keeper an a**hole what Kahn couldn't understand. "Little questionable", he said on the calls against him, "but in soccer moral and humanity are lost already since some time". Also ONE banner of the club fans said "Only Vice-Champion - Olli Kahn is to blame". Hitzfeld and Augenthaler pretended to not have seen it, "but" said Augenthaler "I have seen the WC final".

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You see, the special chants against Kahn had a reason as the Nürnberg fans blamed him to have fouled one of their strikers. The banner of course is kind of psychological war of Bayern's opponent - they know that Kahn is a great keeper, but by reminding him of a dark moment of his career they want to make him insecure. That's basically the whole story. Kahn's 'moral remark' isn't wrong in general [there is - or at least was in the last season - a fan chant whenever the opponent's goalkeeper touched the ball saying "A**hole, Fu*ker, Son of a Bitch" --- this of course is insulting and the teams should use their influence to stop these chants], but not in this special case.

 

I think that the banners were meant to be ironical.
And me and my friends also say: "Just because of Kahn´s fault...blablabla" But that´s just a joke.

Not a joke is, that Kahn ist respected, but highly hated by a lot of fans of other clubs. Since the Bundesliga started we knew, we wouldn´t cheer for ughughugh Kahn anymore!

domingo

 

If there really are some idiots that blame Kahn for losing the final, conisder this: without Kahn, Germany doesn't make it past the first round. Lehmann is terrible and would've given up numerous goals to Cameroon and Ireland. There's a reason Kahn was voted the MVP of the World Cup- Germany rode his coattails to the finals.

Why not blame Ballack for getting carded vs. Korea; if he plays against Brazil, at least Germany has a shot. Without him, Germany was constantly on the defensive and had very little hope of winning.

 

My sense this summer was that Kahn was blamed for losing the final and accepted responsibility. I seem to recall Kahn admitting in the press that he made a mistake in the final.

The German press seems to be very critical and count all of the mistakes that were made in a match. In international football, every mistake can lead to a goal. It is just that much more intense than other football.

The Ballack card was described as being someone else's fault (Metzelder?). Basically the press I saw suggested that Ballack had to take the card as a professional foul. I remember articles about whether Ballack was mad at his team-mate for forcing him out of the final by making a mistake.

 

Kahn made the deciding mistake in the final, he knows it and it's fully okay. Nobody makes a real reproach. Indeed media praised him like Superkahn. Ballack was also praised for making the necessary foul though knowing it would cause the second yellow (mistake was made by Hamann, but, believe me, the media celebrated them all and did not seek a scape-goat).

Now we're coming to league action. World Cup doesn't count at all. Kahn time and again has aggressive moments, which outrage the opponents attendance. Consider that plus the fact that most opponents' fans hate Bayern, then you're coming to reality. In his everyday work Kahn is Bayern goalie and nobody cares that he was superb at the WC - if he's going to the national team, he'll be celebrated, that's how it is.

Bayernfan: it's hypothetical to think about Lehmann as we had Kahn, but if we're in theory: the goalie leading in all stats this season is Frank Rost.

 

Kahn is certainly not hated or disliked amongst people i know. I believe every german fan or neutral would agree if it wasn't for oli kahn we wouldnt have made it in the world cup

Ethel the frog, it was Thorsten Frings not Metzelder that caused the mistake

 

I know a few people who are disgusted by Kahn in light of his decision to lick a striker's face a few years ago.

Certainly one of the oddest moments in German Football since I started paying attention.

I thought it might be Frings who made the mistake, but Olaf says it was Hamann.

It was a very enjoyable world cup, whatever happened.

I will never forget it, except maybe these sorts of important details.

In my heart I have moved on to the Champion's League, where Olli is more loved than hated, but did not do so well this week.

 

There are four or five goalies that I would take over Lehmann, including Rost. Rudi made the right calls, so i'm not going to question his choices or get angry about wo he had at backup keeper. I would, however, like to see Enke get some action.

 

I wouldn't really say that the goals were Ollie's fault; Bayern had some bad giveaways that left him for dead- Ze Roberto and Ballack both made critical errors.

 

The Enke who plays for Barça? He has been shaky in goal for them, not National Team material IMO.

 

I just wanted to post that you better don't tell Spaniards about your plan with Enke . I'd just wish a closer view on the actual goalie performances. At the moment Lehmann is okay, but in the last two years he often wasn't more than average. And Butt surely was prefered to the better Rost, because he's easier to get along with - but now as Butt is moved to the backup position in Leverkusen (though it's quite probable that Juric won't stay there too long) Rudi will have to react either.

 

I still haven't forgiven Lehmann for all the stress he put us through late last year when he got suspended for four games. He almost took Dortmund out of the race. I have been hoping that Dortmund would replace him at some point.

 

Well I'm angry at Kahn for saving Donovan's shots in the QFs...

 

Completely Correct. I think we saw the result of this "psychological taktik" in the Bayer match last weekend.

 

Olli Kahn is a very interesting character. On the field he acts and to some extent even looks like an ape, prompting all the monkey noises from the stands. Off the field he’s arguably the most articulate and intelligent player in Germany. Olaf pretty much summed it up that he’s highly respected but not well liked.

Basti, if you don’t know anyone who dislikes Olli Kahn, then I can only assume that everyone you know is a Bayern fan. Among fans of other clubs he is very unpopular due to his attempted flying Karate kick on Chapuisat, his bizarre assault on Heiko Herrlich, etc. He does something aggressive and peculiar in just about every game. Maybe that’s what makes him such a great goalkeeper.

 

Saturday's Berliner Zeitung ran an article on Nürnbergs Kampa calling him the 'anti-Kahn.' Gist: Kampa's a nice guy, friendly, people like him, and he's a damn good keeper. Contrasted with Kahn, who is generally thought of by many outside of Munich as not a very nice guy, unfriendly, not well like, and a very very good keeper.

Here in Berlin, as well as in my previous German address in Bonn, Kahn was generally disliked, but very well respected. I personally find him to be arrogant (I suppose he can back it up, though) and rude to both opponents and team mates. He went through something of a public relations makeover during the World Cup, but his recent actions may bring back some ill will.

 

There are tons of letters to the editor in kicker demanding Kahn to retire at least as captain of the NT. Kahn himself seemed to be little thoughtful in the last week, also saying that it's possible to entirely retire before 2006.

 

Kahn should not be captain of the national team. Although he had great success with the team at the world cup, in general it is not a good idea to have a keeper be captain. The captain should be out on the field and in the thick of things.

I imagine Ballack or Kehl would be good national team captains. Kehl is young, but is apparently a natural leader. Ballack for some reason does not seem to get tipped for the captain spot. He was not captian at Leverkusen, and I do not think he has been captain at Bayern to date. Perhaps he has trouble with the pressure.

 

@ Ethel
Kehl is too young to be captain.
Ballack would be a good one, and I can´t recall in which scene you could say taht he can´t deal with pressure. Please tell me.

greetings,
domingo

 

If Ballack would be a good captain, why hasn't he been given the captaincy before this. Unless I am mistaken, he was not captain either at Leverkusen or at Bayern.

I am wondering why not.

I speculate that he has trouble with the pressure. I think he might have such troubles because, a lot was expected of him at EURO2000, and he did not come through. Also, there are a few trophies that Leverkusen missed out on at the last minute while he was on the team.

Now, at Bayern, a lot is expected of him, but he has not been on form. He is a great player, but he has been sluggish in the big games. Bayern is, as you know, in trouble in the Champion's league. Ballack had several chances in the AC Milan game that he missed by a hair's breadth.

In contrast, Kahn was given the captaincy and the german team did unexpectedly well at the WC. I do not think that Kahn had trouble with the pressure at the World Cup. I think he handled it well.

I agree that Kehl is too young, but he has the style and communication skills to be a good captain -- or so I hear.

Perhaps we should open a separate thread on who should be captain of the German national team. If not Kahn, Kehl or Ballack, then who? (Frings? Ziege? Schneider?)

 

Ballack never had the standing in his teams to be named captain. In Leverkusen it was Nowotny long before Ballack went there as mediocre Bundesliga player. And at Bayern there of course are some players who are longer in the team to do this job.

Kehl is no serious candidate. He isn't even seeded in the NT. Usually it's the player with most games who is taking the job. This basically is Ziege, but he is no team leader. Then Kahn is the next one and if he isn't doing the job then Hamann would be the next one - and Hamann also would be my favourite choice. Next to Ballack he is the determining field player in Germany's game

 

If you look at a team and can immediately point to one guy who is clearly the leader of the team, a guy who everyone looks to, and a guy that takes a lot of the public's attention on himself (both good and bad), that guy's your captain. Most teams are not fortunate enough to have such a player, Germany has Kahn, who clearly fits the mold. I don't like him, a lot of people don't like him, but no sane person can deny that he's the soul of the team. Kahn simply has to be the captain. I don't think he's serious about stepping down, and I don't think anyone who matters is serious about replacing him.

 

I think Hamann would be a better captain, but I don't think that Kahn should be replaced in the goal of the national team. I'm just afraid that Kahn gets a guarantee in the NT as long as he plays soccer, no matter how good or bad he is compared with others. At the moment he's still the best goalie, but who knows what'll be in 2006? Having a Kahn-Seaman who doesn't recognise that his time is over and a coach who doesn't dare to tell him would be the worst that can happen.

 

I can't believe I'm writing so many good things about Kahn, it's making me feel a bit sick. Kahn has a very long way to go before he is another Seaman. Yes, he's going through a rough patch, but as you say, he's still the best keeper in the country. Look at the shot that went off the post in the 83. minute for the Faeros. The 19 yo kid who missed that shot would have scored if it weren't for the reputation and intimidating presence of Kahn, in my opinion. He brings more to the field than just his ability, and that's way he's the captain.