The Hindu : Sport / Football : Kahn, Figo and Pauleta call it quits

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Monday, Jul 10, 2006

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Kahn, Figo and Pauleta call it quits

Is all praise for Jens's show

STUTTGART : Oliver Kahn never got the World Cup winner's medal he had hoped for.

Kahn retired from international soccer after Germany's 3-1 win over Portugal in the third-place match on Saturday, ending one chapter of a stellar career in which he won just about everything else.

``I always said I absolutely wanted to be world champion. Unfortunately, I only made it to runner-up four years ago,'' Kahn said.

The 37-year-old said it would be ``utopian'' to think he could fill the gap in his career record in the 2010 tournament.

``I'm still young but no longer the youngest,'' he said, dismissing his chances of emulating Italy's Dino Zoff, who won the trophy aged 40. ``Times have changed and you have to be realistic and find a sensible moment'' to stop.

Kahn, now only backup in Germany's goal, got within two minutes of keeping a final clean sheet against Portugal.

After 15 minutes, he did well to stop a close-range effort by Pauleta and, in the second half, diverted a long-range drive by Deco. He also twice thwarted Christian Ronaldo before he was beaten in the 88th by Nuno Gomes' diving header.

After the final whistle, Kahn went to the stands and threw his gloves into the crowd, then led a slow procession around the stadium to greet the ecstatic fans.

``He was fantastic,'' Klinsmann said. ``I can only speak about Oliver with the highest respect.''

Kahn, who made his Germany debut back in 1995, won the European Championships with Germany in 1996. With Bayern Munich, he captured a haul of honours including the 2001 Champions League and seven Bundesliga titles.

Words of encouragement

Moments before the team's quarterfinal shootout against Argentina, Kahn left the bench to clasp Lehmann's hand and speak a few words of encouragement. After Lehmann helped the hosts to a 4-2 win in the shootout, the two briefly embraced.

A few days later, after Lehmann allowed two late goals in the semifinal with Italy, Kahn walked through the Italian celebrations and hugged Lehmann.

``It's a wonderful story of two rivals for the same position. Even though it hurt Oliver a great deal not to be between the posts,'' Klinsmann said. ``It shows they have commendable character and they are fantastic guys.''

Kahn said he had learned from coming off second best for once and would now focus on winning more honours with Bayern in the last two years of his contract.

``Jens has performed outstandingly during the World Cup, after he had to sit for many years on the bench. He knows how it feels,'' Kahn said. ``I think this World Cup went well for both of us.''

Portugal captain Luis Figo quit international football following his team's 3-1 defeat to Germany in third-place play-off in the World Cup.

Striker Pauleta also announced the end of his Portugal career.

Figo, 33, revealed his decision to Portuguese television following the game in which he made a brief substitute appearance late on and set up his side's consolation goal for Nuno Gomes. One of the few players to have represented both Spanish arch-rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, Figo had initially announced the end of his Portugal career after the 2004 European Championship, which his side hosted and finished as runner-up.

But he reconsidered his decision last year, to the delight of coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

`Very proud'

FIFA's 2001 World Player of the Year is Portugal's most capped player with 127 appearances in which he has scored 32 goals.

``It is hard for me to end my international career in this way. I did everything I could and the team gave it all,'' he told Portuguese TV reporters on Saturday night. ``I'm very proud to have been a part of this team,'' he said. ``It's very difficult to leave after 15 years, but the time had to come in the end.''

Leading scorer

Pauleta, 33, is Portugal's all-time leading scorer with 47 goals in 87 appearances. Despite his team's surprise progress to the semifinals, he had an unhappy tournament in Germany, scoring his only goal four minutes into Portugal's opening game against Angola. — Agencies

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