Champions League hero forever: how a titan defied every shot | OneFootball

When we think of titans, we usually picture the same thing: unshakable toughness, pure resilience, and heroes who withstand any force, even one or several bullets. It’s no coincidence that Sia sings in her world-famous song Titanium that she is invulnerable and that every bullet bounces off her, precisely because she is made of titanium. 

Almost exactly 25 years ago, that is pretty much what happened to a man who, fittingly enough, had been given the nickname "Titan." In the 2001 Champions League final, FC Bayern, with Oliver Kahn in goal, faced Valencia CF in the battle for the famous trophy. 

After Gaizka Mendieta converted from the spot for Valencia and Stefan Effenberg did the same for FC Bayern in regular time, the score was 1-1 and the match went to extra time. There too, the ball refused to cross the line again, leaving the two teams in what is probably the most dramatic way to decide a match: a penalty shootout. 

📸 Martin Rose - Bongarts

After Paulo Sérgio missed Bayern’s very first penalty and Valencia’s first two takers both scored, it was clear that the Titan had to deliver now. And he did. First, Oliver Kahn saved Zlatko Zahovič’s penalty. After Andersson missed from the spot again for FC Bayern, the Titan was there once more, pulling off a spectacular save against Valencia’s Carboni. 

After that, all the takers scored for both sides for the time being, until Thomas Linke put the German record champions 5-4 up with their seventh attempt. If Kahn made the save now, FC Bayern would be Champions League winners. And once again, the song released ten years later by David Guetta and Sia seemed to come true. This ball, too, bounced off the seemingly unbeatable Titan - and FC Bayern had reached football heaven two years after the unbelievable final defeat against United.

The celebrations that followed knew no bounds. Kahn sprinted off screaming, his teammates ran toward their goalkeeper, and in the stands at San Siro as well as in front of TV screens everywhere, all restraint broke loose.

That night, Oliver Kahn was finally immortalized as a hero of FC Bayern Munich. And in the end, it was exactly the qualities we associate with a titan that made him unforgettable: unshakable toughness, pure resilience, and heroes who withstand any force, even one or several bullets!

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 Stu Forster