Kahn wins Golden Ball Award

Tokyo:

German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn has been named the winner of the Golden Ball Award for his performance in the FIFA World Cup 2002. Kahn garnered a total of 147 media votes, while Brazilian striker Ronaldo netted 126. South Korean captain Hong Myung-bo finished third with 108 votes. The award, sponsored by German sportswear manufacturer Adidas, is meant to recognize the outstanding individual player during the World Cup tournament. Oliver Kahn isn't just a star for Germany, he's also one of the star performers for his club Bayern Munich. His invaluable contribution was saving a penalty in the Champions League final in 2001 when Bayern beat Valencia. Kahn is one of the most acrobatic keepers. The 33-year-old celebrated his 33rd birthday during the World Cup with a win against Paraguay and by outshining Jose Luis Chilavert. Michael Ballack scored the only goal as Germany beat USA in the quarterfinals but he was quick to acknowledged that it was Kahn who was the man of the match. The German captain made some crucial saves especially against Landon Donovan. Kahn began playing at the age of six. He transferred from Karlsruhe SC to Bayern in 1994 for a record fee of £1.6m -- to this day that's the highest sum paid for a Bundesliga keeper. And apart from football, the other two loves of his life are the stock markets and golf. However, the Brazilians finally managed to shatter this Berlin wall and emerged victorious for the fifth time after beating the Germans 2-0. Oliver Kahn sat helpless and shocked.