Khan we do it? Yes we Khan! - Storming the Bundesliga

"If those fans want to boycott our games, then so be it. Quite frankly I would rather have our true fans in this ground, those who will watch us through thick and thin, rather than anybody like them. I know the vast majority of our fans are wonderful, they are the best fans in the league, it is just a few idiots like that who ruin things for everybody."

Spoken like a boss.

OK so first of all you may notice there is no banner at the top of this post. Also you may notice I am not in character as Oliver Kahn. No, I'm not just incredibly lazy, this happened....

Yeah, I got sacked. I lost against Bayern and Leverkusen away and at home to Frankfurt, and then I got sacked. Seemed harsh to me. But don't worry, this story WILL CONTINUE. I will stay as Oliver Kahn and wait till a good job comes along. This will probably be at the end of the season so I can load up a bunch of new leagues. All I ask is that you don't give up on this story just yet. Anyway, yeah, back into character.



Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 have sacked their manager Oliver Kahn after just 5 months in charge, a source in Germany can confirm. The Bayern Munich legend, 43, was under pressure following a poor run of results that saw his team slip to 8th. And following an away loss against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, the Schalke board finally lost patience.
Schalke are now in the hunt for their third manager in just over a year, following the sackings of Kahn's predecessors Jens Kellor and Huub Stevens. A club statement has thanked Kahn for his short time at the club and wished him all the best for the future.

HOWEDES: Kahn was a Great Guy

Schalke club captain Benedikt Howedes has told the press that former manager Oliver Kahn was not given enough time to prove himself and the media's treatment of him was "unacceptable"

"Ollie was a great guy. If anyone had anything on their mind, anything at all, he made it clear we could speak to him. If we won he would take us all out for a meal and if we lost he would buy us all a beer. He was the nicest manager we've had in years.

"The media however, well they were simply unacceptable. They treated him like a piece of dirt, even if we won, because a few fans did not like his style of football. You could tell he was clearly stressed by it, he wanted this club to do well and he especially wanted to see the youngsters develop. He was clearly saddened by the news of his sacking. Everyone here at the club liked him, he was such a good guy, and we are all sad to see him go. I hope he does well wherever his future lies."

As he left Schalke's training ground for the last time today, a clearly devastated Oliver Kahn took several questions from the media, through the window of his black Honda Civic. One journalist asked him what he was going to do now.

"Well for now I will take a break. I will return to my family, maybe treat them to a holiday. But if the right job comes along, I will be ready and waiting."

Asked about the possibility of accepting the vacant managerial position at Greuther Furth, Kahn said,

"Yes. There is interest, but will I take it if they approach me? Probably not. They are a great club who are pushing above their weight but I don't think I am right for them. I will certainly be back in management within a year though, maybe earlier, mark my words. Will it be in Germany? I don't know. I will go wherever the wind takes me." Kahn then proceeded to leave the ground for the last time.

I did receive a job offer from Furth, but I declined it. I did also apply for the Nigeria job, which went badly :P. However Jupp Heynckes is retiring, so I may just apply for that one, although I doubt I will get it.
As I said before hopefully you still have faith in me, I was gutted at the sacking as it had never happened to me on FM before, but hey, we move on. Oh, and for anyone who wanted to know, in the Champions League I beat Chelsea away, beat Celtic twice and drew at home to Chelsea at Montpellier before I was sacked, the away leg at Montpellier was due to be my next game We topped the group by the way xD Anyway, peace out!

Unlucky with the sack! Seems a bit harsh because they were very tough games and probably just a low-morale-defeat afterward but wishing you luck in future endeavours!

Woah I did not expect the sacking :p if you win some trophies in your next job a top team will come calling for sure

Bundesliga club Hannover 96 have appointed former Schalke manager Oliver Kahn as their new manager, the club announced today. Die Roten have been on a hunt for a new manager for over 3 weeks now, following the sacking of Mirko Slomka on 20th May. The club, who finished 9th in the Bundesliga last season, have confirmed that Kahn immediately expressed his interest in the position by submitting a job application. Hannover board members say they were shocked and amazed by Kahn's application and knew he was the right man for the job, hinting that they thought he would join someone with a bit more reputation. However Kahn, who has been out of work since his sacking by Schalke in December, just 5 months into the role, asked them to delay the deal for a few weeks while he thought it over.

A Step Down?

Speaking at his first press conference at Hannover, Kahn answered several questions from the media. A journalist from local newspaper Hannoversche Allgemeine asked Kahn if he thought this was the right time to return to management after he turned down the vacant manager's job at Furth.
"When I saw the job at Hannover was available I knew the time was right. They are a great club and have some exceptional players. I turned down the job at Furth and also dismissed speculation linking me with Mainz and Hoffenheim because I wanted to leave it until the end of the season. Unless I can evaluate my team through pre season and shape my team from there, I doubt I will be interested."
Another journalist, from Bundesliga.de asked Kahn if he thought this was a step down from his previous role, with many linking him with the vacant Bayern Munich job, before the appointment of Pep Guardiola.
"Step down? I think you are being incredibly disrespectful to this club. We are a great club, have great players and did great in the league last season, finishing just 1 place below my former employers"(coincidentally Schalke finished 8th, the same position as when Kahn was fired).
Finally, a journalist from Goal.com asked Kahn how he felt about his sacking from Schalke now, and whether he had any regrets about his style of football.
"Regrets? No. Disappointment? A bit. I loved the club and thought I deserved more of chance to prove myself, we simply had some tough fixtures and I thought we played exceptionally well in each, but that's just the way football goes. People criticised the way I played but look at how they did once I left. No better, some could say even worse, so clearly my tactics, although not the most entertaining, worked just fine. However, I think the firing may have been an omen, a lead to a new chapter in my life. I really can't wait to get started here," after which he left the room with a cheeky grin on his face.
Many have said Kahn will do well to keep hold of some of his players, such as top scorer Mame Biram Diouf and young talent Artur Sobiech, and he has been linked with several players he worked with at Schalke, such as Jermaine Jones.
It was also reported in the media that Kahn incredibly turned down a 17k per week offer in favour of just 3k per week to help the club's finances, however we cannot yet confirm this.

Good luck at Hannover! Perform well and a bigger club will be just around the corner waiting to pick you up! some fantastic updates btw!

Good luck! Very selfless from Kahn there

Good luck at Hannover, I know you can do a good job there

Good luck at Hannover mate, show them Schalke bastards what they're missing

Unlucky with the sacking, but fantastic to see you're not giving up on this story. I look forward to seeing what Kahn can achieve with Hannover!

Go on OLI! Show Schalke they made a mistake

Good Luck at Hannover

It was clear that, from the moment he had finished his first press conference, Oliver Kahn was ready to get to work. He knew he had made a mistake at Schalke by not signing or selling enough players, and with many quality players now out of contract, this was a chance for Kahn to pounce. But first of all, there was the decision on who's contract to renew.
Kahn was quick to renew striker Mame Biram Diouf's contract, with the former Manchester United player, top scorer for Hannover the season previously, being given a ludicrous new 4 year deal worth 42.5k per week. However, many other players were not as fortunate, with no less than 15 players allowed to leave on a free.

Transfers Out

Then, it was time to decide who to sell. First was central defender Mario Eggimann, who left on a deal worth 250k, to 1860 Munchen. The 32 year old had featured 22 times for Hannover last season but was not in Kahn's plans. Secondly attacking midfielder Deniz Aycicek was allowed to leave on a free transfer to Jena. Then, in a deal worth 1.2 million, right winger Adrian Nikci left for fellow Bundesliga club Augsburg. Meanwhile, Tobias Folster and Tim Wohlfahrt were loaned to 3.Liga clubs Saarbrucken and Offenbach, respectively.

The next deal would prove to be a controversial one. Kahn had taken a look at his team to find 5 top quality strikers: Mame Biram Diouf, Mohammed Abdellaoue, Jan Schlaudraff, Didier Ya Konan and Artur Sobiech. He knew someone had to go. Unfortunately for him, that would prove to be 29 year old Didier Ya Konan.
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After a transfer to Bayer Leverkusen had fallen through due to a mix up over wages, the only club left with interest were Kahn's former employers, Schalke. A transfer fee of 2.5 million was agreed and the player packed his bags and was on his way out. The media couldn't get enough of this, many had suggested Kahn would simply reject the bid from Schalke, who controversially sacked him the previous season. But Kahn needed the player gone, and the club needed the money, and with Schalke the only other club interested, he had no other choice. After the player had left, Kahn sat with his head in his hands, praying this deal would not come back to haunt him later.

After that it was back to business. Sebastien Pocognoli left for Greek club PAOK for 800k, while fellow left back Christian Pander moved to Kaiserslautern in a cut-price deal of just 250k. Kahn had been given no choice, the club did not need 4 first-team left backs, and the extra wage was needed. Meanwhile, Sergio Pinto left for Eintracht Frankfurt in an 850k deal and defender Felipe was sold to Serie A club Torino for 750k. Finally, Sofian Chahed and Markus Miller were sold to 2.Bundesliga clubs Cottbus and Union Berlin in deals worth 300k and 60k.

With plenty of funds now in the bank, and a major rebuilding required, Kahn straight away headed to the free agents list. There he found 5 players:
Kahn's Opinion: A quality player who will be first choice Centre Mid over the coming season
Kahn's Opinion: Great player, will compete with Huszti for the Left Midfielder place this season, also very versatile.
Kahn's Opinion: Amazingly talented young goalkeeper who will provide back-up to Zieler for now but hopefully will be first-choice in the future.
Kahn's Opinion: Couldn't quite believe I got this one, a true legend of the game and even at his age can still provide quality cover to several positions.
Kahn's Opinion: Quality signing, another player to provide cover for the midfield four.

But that was not it for Kahn, he still had his millions to spend, and there was only one are he thought he really needed to improve; Central defence. So, he splashed the cash on two promising defenders:
Kahn's Opinion: A quality signing for a very good price. Will hopefully hold our defence together and put in some quality performances.
Kahn's Opinion: Another great find for a very nice price. Will hopefully be another rock in our defence this season.

So for now, that was it. But, with over a week remaining in the transfer window, would we be seeing any more players on their way to Hannover? I guess only time will tell.....

Shrewd business.

Excellent signings mate, the lot of em look top class! And Becks, too