Some 100,000 Indians came together to bid legendary German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn a fond farewell when he began his last match as a professional for Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Fans in this football-mad city packed the Salt Lake stadium to watch Kahn's Bundesliga champions side play the local Mohun Bagan club in a friendly match that began at 6.15 pm (1245 GMT).
It is the last leg of Bayern Munich's nine-day tour of Asia that also had stop-overs in Jakarta and Bali in Indonesia. The 38-year-old Kahn, a three-time world goalkeeper of the year, will retire to become a television expert after claiming a record eight Bundesliga titles and featuring in a league record 557 matches.
Kahn, who also played 86 matches for Germany during his sparkling 20-year career, was adjudged the best player of the 2002 World Cup held in Japan and South Korea when he led the team to the final. Tuesday's friendly also marks the last game for Bayern's coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, who is due to take over the Switzerland national team in July.
Former German captain Jurgen Klinsmann will replace Hitzfeld at Bayern. "The chance to play for the last time in front of so many people is certainly out of the ordinary," Kahn told local reporters ahead of his maiden appearance on Indian soil. "I want to say thanks for the enthusiastic welcome."
"Seeing players of Oliver Kahn's calibre is a rare privilege," said Indian Football Association official Utpal Ganguli. "I don't believe we will stage another such game in the foreseeable future." India, a nation better known for its mass following for cricket, is ranked 151st in football. But there is great interest in European football, which is beamed live to television screens across the country every week.
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