00:06The World Cup Golden Ball.
00:09It goes to the best player on football's greatest stage.
00:13The Academy Award for Excellence.
00:16The domain of strikers and attacking midfielders.
00:19It's only ever been won once by a goalkeeper.
00:23Oliver Kahn.
00:26Nicknamed Der Tijten.
00:27His formidable presence provided the nucleus for his teams.
00:33Kahn inspired and orchestrated many marvellous performances.
00:38He followed in the footsteps of his father Rolf,
00:41joining Karlsruhe at the age of six
00:43and set about creating his own legacy.
00:51Debuting for the senior side in the Bundesliga in 1987,
00:54he was poached by Bayern Munich in 1994.
00:58Winning eight league titles, a Champions League, UEFA Cup and numerous other honours.
01:08It was the 2001 Champions League final victory over Valencia,
01:13where he saved three penalties in the deciding shootout
01:16that will go down as one of his finest performances.
01:21and his consoling of opposing keeper Santiago Canizares,
01:26a signature moment on an epic night in Milan.
01:30Kahn himself would need consoling at the end of the 2002 World Cup.
01:35Though he would win the tournament's highest individual honour,
01:39his team would leave Japan without the cup.
01:43Der Tijten was monstrous, keeping five clean sheets,
01:47conceding just one goal in the lead-up to the decider against Brazil.
01:53But his enduring moment, unfair given the majesty of his performances,
01:58was an error which allowed Brazil's Ronaldo to score the first goal
02:02and ultimately lead Brazil to victory.
02:07There is no consolation, he said.
02:09It was the only mistake I made in seven matches and it was brutally punished.
02:15Despite his blunder, Kahn won the Golden Ball for Player of the Tournament,
02:19as well as the Lev Yashin Award for Best Keeper.
02:23He made the World Cup All-Star Team
02:25and also finished third in the Ballon d'Or for the second straight year.
02:30The last of his 86 caps for Germany was on football's greatest stage in 2006,
02:36the Germans finishing third on home soil.
02:39A bittersweet farewell to a true Titan of the game.
02:43And thank you.
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