"We owe him that gesture and no one in the world is going to begrudge him
that,' Klinsmann said ahead of the game. "He played a vital role, almost as a
back-room staff member, and had a great influence on the development and
maturing process of the younger players.
"Jens has zero problem with that and was full of compliments for Oliver
Kahn."
The two goalkeepers walked side by side and chatted when they went to pick up
their bronze medals from a stage in the midfield. 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.
It was Kahn's first World Cup game since the 2002 final, when his fumble
opened the way for Brazil to win 2-0 on a pair of goals from Ronaldo. While
Brazil celebrated on its side of the field, a disconsolate Kahn leaned back
against one of his posts and stayed motionless for minutes.
In the tunnel coming up to the field for Saturday's game, Kahn got a friendly
pat on the head from Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was Brazil's coach
four years ago.
Despite his blunder in the final, Kahn won the Golden Ball award as FIFA's
player of the 2002 tournament and the nickname of "Titan" back in Germany.
The Bayern Munich goalkeeper's demise began when Klinsmann became Germany's
coach two years ago.
One of his first moves was to take away the captaincy from Kahn and give it
to Ballack.
Klinsmann then sacked Sepp Maier, the goalkeepers' coach from Bayern who was
doing the same job in the national team. He was one of Kahn's strongest
supporters.
Klinsmann decided to give Kahn and Lehmann equal playing time and alternated
his goalkeepers from game to game. This only increased tensions between Lehmann
and Kahn, who were never friends and who often feuded publicly.
Finally, in April, Klinsmann picked Lehmann to be his No. 1 against a strong
lobby in Kahn's favor.
Lehmann had a standout year for Arsenal, helping the club reach the Champions
League final with 10 straight shutouts along the way.
Kahn, usually seen as egoistical and highly ambitious, surprised the nation a
few days later when he accepted to be Lehmann's understudy at the World Cup,
saying he felt the team needed him.
Once the World Cup started, Kahn admitted he was having a hard time sitting
on the bench but stoically accepted his role.
The 36-year-old Lehmann was Kahn's understudy at the World Cup in 1998 and
2002, and the European Championship in 2000 and 2004, but never entered a game.
The pair appear to have improved their relationship during the World Cup.
Moments before the team's quarterfinal shootout against Argentina, Kahn left the
bench to clasp Lehmann's hand, spoke a few words of encouragement and patted him
on the back. After Lehmann helped the hosts to a 4-2 win in the shootout, the
two goalkeepers 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."
