Lehmann Retires from German National Team

[Adi]

Germany's veteran goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is handing in his international gloves after 10 years' service, the German football federation (DFB) said on Friday.

Lehmann explained he wanted to give a chance for another keeper to prove himself in time for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

'I was not able to guarantee to the national coach that I would still be playing football at the end of the coming season during which I am under contract to Stuttgart,' he said in the statement.

'In these conditions I proposed to him and to Andreas Kopke that they should no longer include me in the national squad. It has been a good period for me in the German team.'

Farewell to the craziest goalkeeper of all time. I hope you continue with your crazy times at Stuttgart this season.

[TheGodEmperor]

Its a shame hes retiring. That vid was jokes  :lol:

[Sander]

who's gonna be the new goalie of 'die manschäft' now? i don't know any goalies besides kahn (already quit) and lehman

[Adi]

I think Enke and Adler will battle it out for the starting spot. I'm not sure about the #3 choice. I think that's open for Hildebrand and Neuer.

[moby]

sad to see him go. does he still play for arsenal?

[a;sdlfkjas;df]

no.

@adi:  he's hardly the craziest goalkeeper ever.   :lol:

[Adi]

Haha, who do you think is crazier. I know there are quite a few... actually just about every goalkeeper is insane in some way.

I would put Barthez, Lehmann, and Kahn in the top 3. I know there were some other crazy ones like the one with the scorpion kick save and the South American keeper who took the freekicks and penalties, but still... Lehmann is rather insane.

[a;sdlfkjas;df]

http://goalkeepersetc.com/The_News/Latest_News/Number_ONE_on_our_list_of_Craziest_Goalkeepers%3A_Rene_Higuita/
http://goalkeepersetc.com/The_News/Latest_News/Number_2_on_our_list_of_Craziest_Goalkeepers%3A_Fabien_Barthez/
http://goalkeepersetc.com/The_News/Latest_News/Number_3_on_our_list_of_Craziest_Goalkeepers%3A_Jose_Luis_Chalavert/
http://goalkeepersetc.com/The_News/Latest_News/Number_4_on_our_list_of_craziest_Goalkeepers%3A_Jens_Lehmann/

these people have jens lehmann at fourth.  he has always just come across as really, really angry to me  :dontknow:

chilavert, higuita, and barthez are the ones that have come across as batshit fucking insane (to me)

then there are others:

Stiles knows a little about the nature of goalkeepers. As a youngster at Old Trafford he played with Harry Gregg, the gifted but highly flammable Irishman. "Harry," recalls Stiles, "had the heart of a lion, not least when he rescued some of the lads at the Munich air crash, but when he blew everyone had to take cover. Mind you, he was never as barmy as Dave Gaskell."

Gaskell, a giant of a lad from Wigan, played in United's 1963 FA Cup winning team. He once earned a stern rebuke from Sir Matt Busby for dropping his shorts during a game. Stiles, however, remembers some less spectacular quirks. "Often," he says, "Dave would watch a high shot coming into his goal and make no attempt to save. He would just shout 'bar'. True enough, on some occasions it hit the crossbar and bounced out. Unfortunately, there were other times when it sailed straight into the net.

"He also had the irritating habit of throwing the ball out to you and shouting 'It's a wrong 'un' or 'It's a googly' – cricket terms describing a delivery loaded with spin. You'd go to play the ball and it would bounce entirely in the wrong direction and the crowd would jeer and Dave would stand there as happy as Larry," Stiles says.

 :lol:

[Sander]

sad to see him go. does he still play for arsenal?

stuttgard

chilavert is awesome, he scored over 100 goals in his carreer   

[Adi]

Haha, nice info Conner. Yes, Lehmann is quite angry especially with his own teammates which is why I find him so weird and insane. He also makes terrible decisions on the field. I was watching one game in which he received the ball outside of the box. The camera went up the field thinking he'll just kick it. As soon as I saw the camera move away from him, I started yelling at the TV because I knew he'd do something stupid. And guess what, as soon as the camera goes away from him, you heard fans screaming. Of course, Lehmann held on to the ball and tried to dribble around the striker that was putting him under the pressure. He somehow found his way around the guy and passed it off. It's stuff like this that makes him crazy to me. You are probably right about others being worse than him, but Lehmann is still my favorite. The only times I hated him was when he did stupid things for the German team. It's fun seeing him mess up for the other side, but when he's on your side, it's just upsetting.

[Adi]

http://goalkeepersetc.com/The_News/Latest_News/Number_ONE_on_our_list_of_Craziest_Goalkeepers%3A_Rene_Higuita/

Hahahaha, what a funny guy. His look matches his craziness. This guy makes Beckenbauer look second-best at the sweeper position. :lol:

[zizou871]

This thread is hilarious.  great post a;sdlfkjas;df.  Karma!