30/10/2006
Jens Lehmann
1.90 m, 87 kg
10 November 1969 - Essen, Germany
Clubs
Schalke 04 (1988-98), AC Milan (1998-99), Borussia Dortmund (1999-2003), Arsenal (2003- )
Season 2005-2006
Premier League: 38 matches, 0 goals
Champions League: 8 matches, 0 goals
2006 World Cup: 7 matches, 0 goals
Jens Lehmann began his career at Schalke 04, where he played in goal for no less than 10 years. His biggest success with Schalke 04 was winning the UEFA Cup in 1997, after Inter were beaten in the final on penalties. Lehmann showed for the first time in this match in front of a large crowd to be a real penalty killer, by saving an important penalty from Ivan Zamorano. Following a failed adventure at AC Milan Lehmann returned to Germany in 1999 to play for Borussia Dortmund. He won the national championship with them in the 2001/2002 season. Since 2003 Lehmann has played for Arsenal, where he became the unbeaten national champion of England during the 2003/2004 season.
Last season was an excellent one for Lehmann at Arsenal. He was of course a key factor for Arsenal in the Premier League, where the club secured a hard won fourth place, which ensured entry to the preliminary round of the Champions League in the 2006/2007 season. But Lehmann turned in his best performance last season in the Champions League. He did not let in a single goal during the 648 minutes he stood between the posts. The German goalkeeper even stopped the penalty in the last minute of the semi-final against Villarreal. However, in the Champions League final against Barcelona Lehmann was the unlucky man. He was sent off after 18 minutes after he had brought down Samuel Eto’o. Arsenal finally lost the match 2-1.
The 2006 World Cup is probably the highlight of Jens Lehmann's football career. After he was finally preferred above Oliver Kahn he was the steadying influence during the tournament on the young German defence. His finest hour was the quarter-final against Argentina. In the deciding penalty shoot-out Lehmann managed to save the penalties of both Roberto Ayala and Esteban Cambiasso. Not until the semi-final did Germany's fairytale come to an end when Italy struck twice in the final minutes of extra time.