Oliver Kahn Won Golden Ball in Losing Effort in 2002
Published on August 12th, 2022 4:32 pm ESTWritten By: Dave Manuel

That goalkeeper was Oliver Kahn, who won the Golden Ball in a losing effort in 2002.
Germany is typically one of the favourites to win the World Cup every time that the tournament is played, but 2002 was a different story.
Germany had a fortunate Group stage draw, as they were playing with Ireland, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia.
Ireland was Germany's toughest test in the Group Stage, as they played the Germans to a 1-1 draw.
In the other two Group Stage games, Germany won 2-0 (Cameroon) and 8-0 (Saudi Arabia).
After the end of Group Stage play, Oliver Kahn and Germany had given up just one goal.
-
Germany would win their next three games - Paraguay, United States and South Korea - all by a score of 1-0.
Paraguay would be Germany's toughest test, as it would take until the 88th minute for Germany to break through and score a goal.
Their quarter-final game against United States would be a bit easier, as Germany would score in the first half and then hang on.
The semi-final game against South Korea, however, was a nail-biter for Germany, as they would have to play in front of a hostile crowd (the 2002 World Cup was hosted by South Korea). Once again, they would need a late goal in order to push them through.
-
The Cinderella ride for the German side would come to an end in the finals, as they would lose to Brazil 2-0.
Kahn would hold the German side in for most of the game, as Ronaldo would score in the 67th and 79th minutes for Brazil.
-
In total, Kahn posted five clean sheets in the 2002 World Cup en route to winning the "Golden Ball".
Kahn continues to be the only goalkeeper to have ever accomplished this task.