Jens Lehmann: biography of the German goalkeeper

Jens Lehmann is a German footballer who finished his career. Performed at the position of the goalkeeper. During his career he managed to participate in three world championships in football.

Biography

Jens Lehmann was born on November 10, 1969. The birthplace was the town of Essen, Germany. His career started at the German youth club Heisingen, where he spent three years. Then the player moved to another youth team "Schwartz-Weib-Essen", which was in his hometown. The player had to defend the gates of the club for a long nine years. The final youth team was "Schalke 04", in which the player moved in 1987. However, for the youth team he had to play for only a year.

Schalke 04

In 1989, Jens Lehmann signed a contract with the main team "Schalke 04". In the club, the player will stay long eleven years, masterfully protecting the gate. For four consecutive years, the German was the club's main goalkeeper. With him he was able to reach the final of the UEFA Cup (1996/97) and take the coveted trophy. This season was especially successful for the goalkeeper, and in his ending he helped his club to take the Cup, drawing a penalty in the match against Inter.

After successful performances Jens Lehmann began to be considered one of the best goalkeepers in Germany. Played the first match in the team he managed already in February 1998. However, for a long period he was only the third goalkeeper in the team. For a long time, Lehmann could not win the competition from the famous Oliver Kahn. So, at Euro 2000 and at the World Championships, held in 2002, Jens was only the second goalkeeper of the team.

"Milan"

Jens Lehmann, whose biography is filled with interesting transfers, in 1998 received an offer to join the famous Italian "Milan". Invited him to the notorious Fabio Capello. Nevertheless, the coach was forced to leave the team at the end of the season. However Lehmann still went to Italy.

In the new team, the German goalkeeper could not gain a foothold and sat firmly on the bench. For the Milan club he played five games, in which he missed 4 goals. In the first transfer window Lehmann Jens, a footballer whose career inspires many young players, left the ranks of AC Milan.

"Borussia Dortmund"

In 1999, Lehmann returned to his homeland, but not in the "Schalke 04", and in Dortmund "Borussia". The new goalkeeper did not immediately receive the respect of the fans of the team, who just broke up with their favorite goalkeeper. Nevertheless, Jens Lehmann, whose photo that season could be found in many sports publications, helped the team to take gold medals in the Bundesliga, as well as make it to the UEFA Cup final, which was a good indicator for the team.

A bad year for both the team and the player was the season 2002/03, which brought "Borussia" only third place in the championship, as well as the second group stage in the Champions League. Jens Lehmann, whose private life is rarely seen by journalists, because of injuries, he spent only twenty-four games.

"Arsenal"

In the summer of 2003, the coaching staff of the London "Arsenal" began to search for a new goalkeeper. In July, Jens Lehmann joined the ranks of the Gunners. The following season, the German goalkeeper held on a positive note, but still remembered a couple of blunders. That championship of England, "Arsenal" won, not suffered a single defeat than remembered by many fans (since 1899, no team could not finish the season in the Premier League without losing). Also Lehmann helped the "Gunners" to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

However, the brightest season for Jens was 2005/06. This period brought Arsenal the first-ever final in the Champions League, and Lehmann broke the record for dry matches of Edwin van der Sar, who stayed for ten years. The beginning of the next season was marked by a new record set by the German goalkeeper (853 dry minutes), which so far no one has been able to surpass.

Spring of the same season gave finally Lehmann the first number in the gates of the German team. At the 2006 World Cup, which was held in his homeland, Jens was on the field as the main goalkeeper. Especially vividly held the match in the quarter finals against Argentina. The semi-final was decided in a series of penalty shoot-outs, and Lehmann dragged two penalties, which helped the team to reach the next stage of mundialya.

"Stuttgart"

In 2008, Lehmann left the ranks of the "Gunners" and returned to Germany, where he joined the "Stuttgart". He immediately became the main goalkeeper of the team, which the year before was able to win the Bundesliga gold, and the previous season finished seventh.

The new goalkeeper helped the team to get into the UEFA Cup, although it was far from going to Stuttgart. In the German championship the team managed to take the third line. This result allowed the team in the next season to participate in the Champions League.

The new season was marked by the game of "Stuttgart" in the prestigious European tournament. The team showed an excellent game and passed without problems in 1/8. However, at this stage the German club collided with Barcelona and flew out. Nevertheless, even this result was an excellent indicator for "Stuttgart".

On the completion of his football career, the German goalkeeper announced in 2010.

However, in 2011 he returned to football and joined the London "Arsenal", which experienced problems as a result of injuries of two goalkeepers. In April 2011, took a place in the gate. Thus, Lehmann became the oldest foreigner in the English league. By the way, the German again broke the record of Edwin van der Sar.

In the summer of the same year the goalkeeper held negotiations with "Schalke 04", in which he began his professional career. The club has just parted with Noyer, but the contract was not signed, and Lehmann re-announced the end of his sports career.

Interesting Facts

Speaking for the German "Schalke", Lehmann was able to score two goals. One of them, by the way, helped the team not to lose.