Gareth Messenger - @G_Messenger

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Oliver Kahn is one of the most successful German players in recent history, having won eight Bundesliga titles, six DFB-Pokals, the UEFA Cup in 1996, and most notably the UEFA Champions League in 2001.

Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, his individual contributions have earned him a record four consecutive UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards, as well as three International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) World's Best Goalkeeper awards, and two German Footballer of the Year trophies.

At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Kahn, who had 86 caps for Germany, became the only goalkeeper in the tournament's history to win the Golden Ball. He placed fifth in both the ‘IFFHS Best Goalkeeper of the 21st Century’ and ‘Best Goalkeeper of the Past 25 Years’.

From 1994 to 2006, Kahn was a member of the German national team, in which he played as a starter after the retirement of Andreas Kopke.

In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, although Germany was not among the tournament favourites, Kahn's prowess in goal was key to the team reaching the final, where Germany lost 0–2 to Brazil, featuring Kahn's only mistake of the tournament. Still, Kahn's performances were strong enough for the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament.

While international trophies were limited (Kahn was a member of the squad that won Euro 1996, but not a starter), at club level, it was a completely different story. 
Kahn played 632 games for Bayern Munich in all competitions between 1994 and 2008, winning a total of 21 trophies. The most-high profile of those: the UEFA Champions League in 2001, where Kahn played a pivotal role in bringing the Bavarian Bundesliga outfit their first European Cup in 25 years.

There was a poetic irony about the stage set for the 2001 final. The match at the San Siro saw two previous seasons' losing finalists clash, Bayern Munich lost to Manchester United in the 1999 final and Valencia lost to Real Madrid in the 2000 final. 

And this match was synonymous for its penalties. In fact, all the goals scored in this match were penalties. So, who are the most important players on a football pitch when penalties are involved? The goalkeepers. Enter Oliver Kahn.

When Gaizka Mendieta and Stefan Effenberg scored a spot-kick each in 90 minutes, an additional 30 minutes of extra-time was unable to separate Bayern and Valencia. The game was forced to penalties to decide the new reigning champions. 

Valencia took the lead early in the shootout as Paulo Sergio put the first kick over the bar before Mendieta sent Kahn the wrong way. Hasan Salihamidzic, John Carew and Alexander Zickler then traded penalty goals before Kahn saved Zlatko Zahovic 's kick to tie the scores at 2–2 after three kicks each. The next kick from Patrik Andersson was also saved by Santiago Canizares, and then Kahn stretched out a hand to tip Amedeo Carboni's shot onto the crossbar.

Both Ruben Baraja and Effenberg then scored to take the shoot-out to sudden death. Bixente Lizarazu and Kily Gonzalez scored their clubs' sixth kicks of the penalty shoot-out, and then Thomas Linke scored for Bayern. It meant Mauricio Pellegrino had to score to keep the game alive. 

However, the man nicknamed ‘Der Titan’ rose to the occasion and stood tall. Kahn guessed the right direction and saved Pellegrino's kick, winning the cup for Bayern Munich.

Kahn also won the UEFA Fair Play Award for consoling his heartbroken rival, Valencia's Canizares, after a slugfest of a penalty shoot-out.

Bayern’s support in the stadium and at home erupted after waiting a quarter of a century to be crowned the kings of Europe again. Kahn was called many names during his career. Perhaps the aptest one was Vol-Kahn-o – the name given to him by the club’s fans, when their great defender exploded into life to deliver what they craved the most.