Closing a career

After a talk with  coach Joachim Löw and goalkeepers coach Andreas Köpke, Jens Lehmann has announced that he is retiring from international duty and will no longer be Germany’s goal keeper. The announcement came today after the trio had sat down and had a two hour discussion.

“I could not give Joachim Löw any guarantees that I would extend my career beyond this one year, for which I have signed a contract with the VfB Stuttgart. Therefore I offered Löw and Köpke my resignation. I had a great run in the national team. These last few years in England, the national team had been my contact home. More than any other event, I will always remember the 2006 World Cup.”

Löw said: “We had a very good discussion. Evaluating the situation, we were on the exact same wavelength. I thanked Jens for his great career in our team. Fans will always remember his fantastic saves in our win over Argentina at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He also played a pivotal role at the EURO this year. He has done so much for German football, and I chose to consult him in most important matters.”

Lehmann made his National Team debut on February 18, 1998, in a game against the Emirate of Oman. He has made 61 international appearances, 3 World Cup appearances and 3 European Championships. He is currently the keeper of Stuttgart and has not guaranteed that he will play beyond the one year contract he signed with them.