Germany's Lehmann to retire at end of season

Mar 30, 2010, 13:45 GMT

Stuttgart - Former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is to retire from the game at the end of the season.

Lehmann, 40, told a news conference Tuesday he had decided against extending his career, possibly abroad, and after consulting his family had decided to end his playing career.

The VfB Stuttgart keeper had retired from the German national team after Euro 2008.

Lehmann earned 61 caps for Germany but for much of his career was understudy to Oliver Kahn.

He was a squad member without playing at the 2002 World Cup but was chosen by former Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann over Kahn for the 2006 tournament on home soil.

Lehmann began his Bundesliga career with Schalke 04 where he made 274 appearances over 10 years between 1988 and 1998 and was a UEFA Cup winner.

After a brief spell at AC Milan where he played just five games, he returned to Germany with Borussia Dortmund where he earned a Bundesliga title and made 129 appearances before a successful five years in England with Arsenal.

Lehmann won a Premier League title in his first season in London and his form in 2005/2006, when he went a record-breaking 853 minutes in the Champions League without conceding a goal, was instrumental in Arsenal reaching the 2006 final against eventual winners Barcelona.

The final at the Stade de France in Paris proved to be a short-lived one when the keeper was sent off in the 18th minute after bringing down Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o.

But he had by then done more than enough in a World Cup year to persuade Klinsmann to make him number one for the World Cup - a choice which was vindicated when Lehmann's heroics in a penalty shoot-out with Argentina put the Germans in the semi-finals.

Lehmann made 147 appearances for Arsenal before returning to the Bundesliga in June 2008 with Stuttgart, initially on a one-year contract which was later extended for a further season.

His last game will come on May 8 when Stuttgart visit Hoffenheim on the final day of the Bundesliga season.

Lehmann will be working as an analyst for German television during this summer's World Cup in South Africa.