The Handshake Before the Penalties

Germany played Argentina in the World Cup quarterfinal on 30 June 2006 in Berlin. The match went to penalties. Jens Lehmann was in goal. Oliver Kahn, Germany’s number one for years, had been moved to the bench by the national coach Jürgen Klinsmann just before the tournament. The two goalkeepers were rivals. Before the shootout, Kahn went over to Lehmann, crouched beside him and shook his hand. In a ZDF documentary Kahn later described the rivalry: Es wird hart gekämpft, es wird mit allen Bandagen gekämpft. The fight is hard, and every means is used. About the moment he said: Du siehst ihn – und hast eigentlich nur ein Bedürfnis: ihm jetzt dafür nur das Beste zu wünschen. You see him, and you really have only one wish: to wish him only the best for this.

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