Johannesburg, June 25 (DPA) Former Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn said Friday that Sunday’s World Cup Round of 16 match between arch-rivals Germany and England was too close to call.
‘This time around you have a very experienced English team against a young German team that is playing good combination football, which is not the typical German game, Kahn told a press conference.
‘It is very open and anybody can win. It is too close to call,’ said Kahn, who who won both the Golden Glove and Golden Ball at the 2002 World Cup as best goalkeeper and player.
The keeper, who is in South Africa as a football analyst for Germany’s ZDF television, said that it was too early to make predictions about which goalkeeper would win the Golden Glove award.
‘The goalkeepers, especially those who are favourites for the Golden Glove, have not really been tested. It is still early days and goalkeepers have not been given too many opportunities to shine.’
He said Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar had impressed him. ‘He showed already that he was world class in the Champions League. Buffon was knocked out too early and Cassilas has not been in a situation where he had to do a lot.
‘Manuel Neuer (Germany) is a very young goalkeeper, but he was impressive against Ghana. I also liked the Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima. He is very ambitious and an extroverted player.
‘I think the Round of 16 will show how good the goalkeepers are,’ he said.
Kahn dismissed criticism of the Jabulani ball, which has been blamed for many of the goalkeeping mistakes at the tournament. ‘It is causing a lot of discussion. Balls have changed over the past years, they have become very fast.
‘Goalkeepers have it more difficult. But that can’t be an excuse for goalkeeper mistakes. It is a question of the quality. You can’t say everything is due to the ball.
‘My former goalkeeper coach Sepp Maier once told me that if the ball is becoming more difficult, I will simply have to train harder until I can work with those balls.’
Former Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea said he did not believe a penalty shoot-out was a lottery or a game of choice. ‘It is the quality of goalkeeper and penalty-takers that counts.’
He said that he was not surprised that Argentina was playing so much better at the finals than they had in the qualifiers, when they finished fourth in their group behind Brazil, Chile and Paraguay.
‘Maradona has been with the team for a whole month now and he is in a position to bring out the best in the players,’ Goycochea said.
