Crisis Area Germany

Well Kahn may well be going through a midlife crisis.

From ABC Sports:

I would have won World Cup for Germany: Kahn

Former German international goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, relegated to the bench during the 2006 World Cup, insists Germany would have been world champions if he had been in goal.

With Jens Lehmann in goal hosts Germany finished third in the competition after being knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual champions Italy.

But 37-year-old Kahn believes that logically he should have been first choice keeper.

"I'm not criticising what Jens Lehmann did, but with me Germany would have been world champions," Kahn, 37, told weekly magazine Stern.

"I'm convinced of it because the way my career has evolved points in that direction," said Kahn, who retired from the national side after sealing the bronze medal with a 3-1 win over Portugal.

"In 1994 with Karlsruhe I reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup - two years later I won this trophy with Bayern Munich," he explained.

"In 1999, I lost the Champions League final in the harshest circumstances (losing 2-1 to Manchester United in stoppage time) before winning this competition two years later.

"Finally I lost the 2002 World Cup final (against Brazil).

"This logic, and I really believe in the law of series, should have continued at the 2006 World Cup," said Kahn.

Kahn, who is under contract with Bayern Munich until 2008, said that he had tried to explain his theory to World Cup coach Jurgen Klinsmann before the competition but "he didn't understand or didn't want to understand".

No Kahn, I dont understand that either. That would surely mean that the results of football are merely based around your own existence and i think the local betting store would have sussed that by now. Perhaps this isnt a midlife crisis and that he is actually missing an important stage of child development, meaning that he thinks that life actually does revolve around himself? But to skip the philosophy for a second, lets see (as if i need an excuse) those two great goals again and judge whether Kahn had a hope in hell of stopping either:



No he didnt.

But football is of course in crisis here as there is a winter break again. Boo. Over the winter break the TV is naturally going to try to sell us those great World Cup moments again while they still can. Here our TV tip of the day:

And the Winner is ... Deutschland

Die Fußball-WM hat alle Erwartungen übertroffen

Die WM zeigt Wirkung. Seit dem Sommermärchen gibt es fast ausnahmslos glückliche Gesichter in Deutschland. Deutsche Städte und die Tourismus-Industrie, Bierbrauer und Sportartikelhersteller - alle profitieren von der Fußball-WM im eigenen Land. Die Liste der Gewinner ist lang.

Tonight ZDF at 6:15 PM and the title shows clearly how Germany is also in a bit of a mental crisis too. The winner was not actually Germany but ITALY!

Some stats from the article:

12% more people used the trains - Wow!
Millions of people bought football shirts - Wow!
Television sales up 30% - Wow!
"Fan Mile" was proclaimed word of the year - Wow!
20 million were in the stadiums or at public showings - Wow!
2 million tourists came to Germany - Wow!
Football brought a healthy patriotism to Germany - errrrr???

All very exciting and obviously a very critical and objective documentary it will be- Jim cant make the TV tip tonight but is desperately looking for someone to video it for him on Lila Kanal - Warning: This link may be sarcasm!

But for those, like Jim, who will miss the show, here a lovely Youtube memory of the best bits: