Jul 8, 2006, 23:17 GMT
Stuttgart - Veteran goalkeeper Oliver Kahn confirmed Saturday that the match against Portugal was the last he has played for Germany.
Oliver Kahn (L) and Franz Beckenbauer after the 3rd place match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup between Germany and Portugal in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday 08 July 2006. EPA/PATRICK SEEGER
'It was my last match for the country today,' the 37-year-old Bayern Munich keeper said. 'It couldn't have been on a greater occasion, and I can't imagine a nicer way to finish.'
Kahn, who played 86 times for Germany, was given the chance to stand between the posts for a last time after being second-choice during the tournament to Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann.
'It was overwhelming,' Kahn said as the celebrating went ahead, including cheers for him personally during a match in which he made several key saves.
'It's incredible what football can achieve. I'll certainly never forget this. People will carry this in their hearts for a long time.'
Coach Juergen Klinsmann was full of praise for the keeper, who had maintained a dignified silence during the World Cup campaign after intense rivalry with Lehmann - and then sportingly congratulated him on the pitch after his penalty shootout heroics against Argentina.
'I have to express the utmost respect for Oliver Kahn - what he's done over the time of the World Cup and what he's had to put up with - incredible,' Klinsmann said.
Kahn began his national team career on 23 June 1995 against Switzerland in Berne, and went on to be automatic choice for his country, winning the Golden Ball - for best player - in the 2002 World Cup, in which Germany were runners-up to Brazil.
After collecting his third-place medal in Stuttgart, Kahn said that the entire event of Saturday had been 'perhaps the most emotional moment' of his career.
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