Oliver "The Titan" Kahn

Oliver Rolf Kahn (born 15 June 1969) is a former German football goalkeeper. He started his career at Karlsruher SC and in 1994 was transferred to Bayern Munich, his last professional club. 

Oliver Kahn is one of the most successful German players in recent history, having won eight German championships, six German cups, the UEFA Cup (1996), the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup (both 2001). 

His individual contributions have earned him four consecutive UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards, three IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year awards, the Golden Ball at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and two German Footballer of the Year trophies. He played for the German national team (from 1994 to 2006), where he was starting goalkeeper of the 2002 World Cup squad which reached the Finals and won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball for his performance. Kahn is nicknamed "King Kahn" or "The Titan" due to his formidable presence and influence.

He made his last professional appearance for Bayern Munich on 27 May 2008 at the Salt Lake Stadium (Yuvabharati Krirangan), Kolkata in a friendly against Mohun Bagan of India during Bayern's Asian tour of 2008. Around 120,000 people turned up for the match. The match ended 0-3 in favour of Bayern and Michael Rensing substituted 'King Kahn' in the 55th minute. He is considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time and is the only goalkeeper in the history of football to win the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (in World Cup 2002). [source : Kahn]

Oliver Kahn Pictures and Wallpapers

Miroslav Klose

Miroslav Klose (born Mirosław Marian Kloze  on 9 June 1978 in Opole, Poland) is a German footballer who plays as a striker for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Since bursting onto the international stage at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he has become well-known for his knack of scoring headers and his front-flip goal celebration routine.

Klose plays internationally for the German national team. Although Polish by birth, Klose holds German nationality. He was the top scorer and thus the Golden Boot winner at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, with five goals. Klose also scored five goals in his debut World Cup, the 2002 World Cup hosted jointly by the Korea Republic and Japan. He scored in his first game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, opened the scoring against England in the first round of the knock out stages, and scored twice on his 100th cap against Argentina in the quarter-finals, giving him a total of 14 goals in World Cup finals. This puts him joint second along with Gerd Müller on the list of FIFA World Cup goalscorers.

He is the first German player since reunification to finish as the World Cup's top scorer, and the only player to have scored five or more goals in consecutive World Cups. A natural with his head, he was a mainstay in Bayern's starting XI before injuries took him out of the team for a while; during his convalescence, Ivica Olić filled in and replaced Klose as Louis van Gaal's first-choice striker. [source : Klose]

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Gerd Müller

Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (born 3 November 1945 in Nördlingen) is a former (West) German football player and one of the most prolific goalscorers of all time.

He began his football career at the TSV 1861 Nördlingen. Müller joined FC Bayern Munich in 1964 where he teamed up with future stars Franz Beckenbauer and Sepp Maier. The club, which would go on to become the most successful German club in history was then still in the Regionalliga Süd (Regional League South), which was one level below the Bundesliga at the time. After one season, Bayern Munich advanced to the Bundesliga and started a long string of successes. With his club, Müller amassed titles during the 60s and 70s: He won the German Championship four times, the German Cup four times, the European Champions' Cup three times, the Intercontinental Cup once, and the European Cup Winners’ Cup once. A supremely opportunistic goal-scorer, he also became German top scorer seven times and European top scorer twice. Müller scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga matches for Bayern Munich, almost 100 goals more than the second most successful Bundesliga scorer, Klaus Fischer. He holds the single-season Bundesliga record with 40 goals in season 1971–72. He scored 68 goals in 62 German Cup games. His 66 goals in his 74 appearances at European cups are still a record.

Müller scored 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany. His international career started in 1966 and ended on 7 July 1974 with the win of the World Cup at his home stadium in Munich. He scored the winning goal for the 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the final. His four goals in that tournament and his ten goals at the 1970 FIFA World Cup combined made him the all-time highest FIFA World Cup goalscorer overall at the time with 14 goals; his record stood until the 2006 tournament, coincidentally held in Germany, when it was broken by Brazilian forward Ronaldo on 27 June 2006 playing against Ghana and was equaled by his countryman Miroslav Klose in 2010; As of the end of the 2006 tournament, Ronaldo has scored 15 goals in four World Cups. Müller also participated in the 1972 European Championship, becoming top scorer with four goals (including two in the final) and winning the Championship with the German team. [source : Gerd Müller]

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Franz Beckenbauer : Der Kaiser

Franz Anton Beckenbauer (born 11 September 1945) is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" (reminiscent of the Austrian emperors), and his dominance on the football pitch. He is generally regarded as the greatest German footballer of all time and one of the greatest and most decorated footballers in the history of the game.

Beckenbauer was a versatile player who started out as a midfielder but made his name as a defender. He is often credited as having invented the role of the modern sweeper or libero.

Twice selected the European Footballer of the Year, he appeared 103 times for West Germany and played in three World Cups. He lifted the World Cup trophy as captain in 1974, and repeated the feat as a manager in 1990. With the club Bayern Munich, he won three consecutive European Cups from 1974 to 1976, and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1967. Beckenbauer is the only player to captain three European Cup winning sides. He went on to become coach and president of the institution. He is also a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

In 1999, he was voted second place, behind Johan Cruyff, in the European player of the Century election held by the IFFHS and he was voted third, behind Pelé and Cruyff, in the IFFHS' "World Player of the Century" election.

Today, Beckenbauer remains an influential figure in both German and international football. He led Germany's successful bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup and chaired the organizing committee. He also works as a pundit for German television network Sat.1 during their coverage of the UEFA Champions League and writes a football column for mass tabloid Bild.
[source : Franz Beckenbauer]

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