BEIJING, Nov. 20 -- Amid reports China may bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the visit of the world's greatest goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn, is bound to raise hopes. Kahn tells Bivash Mukherjee he's "keen on discovering, developing and training goalkeepers here."

    Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn is already working on his post-retirement plans and favors a surprising Look East policy as a goalkeeping scout and coach that may well shore up China's fortunes on the pitch.

    The German, now 38, took advantage of a brief break in the Bundesliga season for the 2008 European qualifiers to make a quick study trip to Shanghai over the weekend and get a first-hand look at the keeping talents in China.

    At a soccer clinic at Tongji University, "King Kahn" was taken aback - but not surprised - by the roaring crowd that turned up to see him train on a wet day with 10 selected hopefuls. It is this enthusiasm that he says is forcing him to look at Asia after he hangs up his glove at the end of another hectic 2007-08 season next year.

    "I have a lot of fans in Asia, especially in China, and it is my way of giving them back something for their support," Kahn says in a tete-a-tete with Shanghai Daily. "And it is not just because of the fans that I want to be here but I am interested in China as well. I had a brief training session with some of them the other day and was surprised by their willingness to learn things. I am keen on discovering, developing and training goalkeepers here."

    Kahn's Asian tryst began during the hugely successful 2002 World Cup that was hosted in Japan and South Korea, when he single-handedly guided his national team to the final where it was beaten by eventual champion Brazil. But the German shot-stopper walked away with top honors - winning the Lev Yashin Award for the tournament's best goalkeeper and the first keeper in history to win the Golden Ball for the best individual performance in a World Cup tournament.

    It was the kind of experience that impressed him to look to Asia, which may well work out to China's advantage today. If things work out as planned he will be bringing his formidable experience and enviable talent as the world's greatest stopper to budding goalkeepers here. With reports that China may bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, it may be the sort of start that the Chinese Football Association can only dream of.

    An astute tactician, Kahn has chalked up most of the details for his Asian programs as well. What emerges though is a tech-savvy player, keen to use the modern media to the advancement of his cause.

    He has already launched a Chinese Website (www.kingkahn.cn) where he interacts with his fans and has loads of video footage of his games, Internet coverage of his training session, chat lines and soccer tips - perfect for early learners.

    Youngsters send demonstration videos of their skills, which is analyzed in faraway Munich and reverted back with comments from the veteran keeper himself. The German already has a column on the Chinese portal Sohu.com (http://goalkeeperkahn.blog.sohu.com) that connects him to local fans.

    Kahn though admits that there is "a lot of work to be done" here after his Tongji turnout.

    "The enthusiasm is there but to become a world-class keeper involves a lot of discipline and hard work," says Kahn, adding that if he could groom just a few of them to world standards it would be a fulfilling experience for him.

    He should know what it takes to reach there. Germany traditionally has had some great world-class keepers and he understandably prides himself as one of them.

    "Germany always had solid goalkeepers who have given us three World Cups. Goalkeepers need to be fit all the time - respect discipline, hard work, and education ... everything. Every generation in Germany has produced some great stoppers like Sepp Maier, Tony Schumacher, Andreas Kopke ..."

    Not surprisingly, there was a name missing from the list.

    "You did not mention current German No. 1 keeper Jens Lehmann? You don't consider ..."

    "No," came the curt reply.

    And this despite the fact that Bayern Munich general manager and one of Kahn's most vocal supporters Uli Hoeness has voiced his support for Lehmann in the long-running feud between the two great German rivals.

    Kahn corrects me.

    "The question that was asked was on who should be the German goalkeeper at the 2008 European Championships. Mr. Hoeness thinks it should be Lehman on his current status as the Germany No. 1 keeper. I don't agree with him. He (Lehmann) is spending a lot of time on the bench with Arsenal. A German keeper needs more games ..."

    The great Kahn meanwhile is already focused on the future and he insists that it is unlikely that he would extend his playing days.

    But what if Japan, China, or even the United States come up with an interesting, and lucrative, offer?

    "Still unlikely. When I stop, I want to stop playing for ever. I want to go out on a high. And there is no better place than Bayern Munich. I have had offers before from Barcelona and Manchester United, but I don't really like to move much. I have spent almost 14 years at Munich and that is where I want to say goodbye to my playing days. We have a busy schedule ahead of us now. We are fighting in all the domestic Cups, Bundesliga title and UEFA Cup. It would be perfect to win some, if not all, of them and say goodbye."

    King Kahn, however, does not rule out a management level job with his current employers in the same vein as his predecessors - Franz Beckenbauer, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Hoeness - all former Munich greats - and all of whom he obviously admires a lot.

    "I have served them for 14 years ... if such an offer is made I will surely give it a thought and repay them in the same manner as Beckenbauer did," he says.

    But after a long, sometimes controversial, but cherished career wherein he has collected possibly all the medals and titles one can hope for, Kahn says he would first want a break from the game he has served so well.

    In an amazing career, where he has witnessed the highs and lows that goes with soccer, he has an enviable record to his name. He has kept more clean sheets than anyone in the Bundesliga history - it's 185 and still going strong - and played more games, which is well over 500, than any other keeper.

    All that is about to come to an end next year. What will surely be a loss to soccer, may well work out to China's gain - hopefully.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)