On 1 July 1994, Oliver Kahn signed for FC Bayern from Karlsruher SC. What followed was titles and records galore as the goalkeeper wrote his name into the history books of the Bundesliga and the record champions. Over his 14 years in Munich, Kahn became one of the best goalkeepers in the world and one of the most successful German players of all time.
Der Titan doesn’t concede
Thanks to his uncompromising approach and iron will, the 2001 Champions League winner quickly earned himself the nickname “Der Titan”. It saw the Karlsruhe native break the Bundesliga record for the longest run without conceding a goal exactly 21 years ago today. Oliver Reck had set the best mark of 641 minutes in 1987/88, but Kahn exceeded that on 20 March 1999.
The record-breaking match
The goalkeeper remained unbeaten in the first nine minutes of the game at home to Werder Bremen, meaning he’d surpassed the all-time record. And the eight-time Bundesliga champion went on to extend the run as he kept the ball out of his net for the remaining 81 minutes as Bayern won 1-0 in front of 46,000 at the Olympiastadion.
It was Heiko Herrlich who finally beat Der Titan in the 13th minute of the game at Dortmund the following matchday, meaning Kahn picked the ball out of his net for the first time in 736 minutes of action. It was a record that stood for three years before the 2002 World Cup runner-up extended his own best mark to 801 minutes in 2002/03. Timo Hildebrand claimed the record himself not long after with a run of 892 minutes. Manuel Neuer’s longest streak stands at 770 minutes.
We take a look back at when Kahn and Bayern reached Europe’s peak in 2001:
The real Bayern gene
Kahn won everything there is to win with Bayern between 1999 and 2002, lifting the Bundesliga title, the DFB Cup and the Champions League. “This team had a desire to win, the real Bayern gene,” the now 50-year-old FC Bayern board member said shortly before his retirement from playing. It’s no wonder that he broke his own record with that team.
Kahn has been a board member for FC Bayern München AG since January, when he spoke about his time with the record champions and his career as a businessman 👇
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