KOLKATA: Legendary German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn took his final bow from competitive soccer before a capacity 1.20 lakh crowd at Yuva Bharati Krirangan as Bayern Munich decimated Mohun Bagan 3-0 in a friendly here on Tuesday.
Kahn, who turns 40 next month, handed over the gloves to youngster Michael Rensing in the 55th minute of the match and took a seat in the reserve bench as the entire stadium stood up to give a sentimental farewell to one of the best goalkeepers of contemporary soccer, thousands of miles away from his home.
"It is a very special moment for me. Thank you for the great night," the golden ball winner of the 2002 World Cup said during the half time break as he was showered with gifts by match organiser Bengal Peerless, Mohun Bagan and the Indian Football Association.
The match lacked the spark with the far too superior Bayern playing a percentage game, enough for them to end their post season Asian tour with emphatic scoreline.
Zanschlaudraff, shot a brace while Brazilian Ze Roberto netted one for the winners who led 2-0 at lemon time.
However, the spirit of the match, which had aroused keen interest worldwide, as it marked Kahn's swan song, was somewhat marred when Bayern's Breno and substitute Branco Cardozo of Bagan were red carded for unseemly behaviour by referee Subrata Sarkar eight minutes from the final whistle.
