7 Outfield Players who put in heroic performances as Goalkeepers

#4 Jan Koller - Borussia Dortmund

Jan Koller standing in as goalkeeper against Bayern Munich

Date – November, 2002

Opposition – Bayern Munich

The Tale – Where most players like Tarnat look comically small in the big XXL jerseys favoured by the giants that pass for modern day goalkeepers, for big Jan Koller, it actually looked like quite a snug fit.

In a typically ill-tempered match between the two arch rivals, Koller had given Dortmund an early lead only to see Bayern claw back the advantage and then get a lead of their own by the 65th minute. Torsten Frings had been sent off and Matthias Sammer had already used his quota of substitutions when Jens Lehmann protested a decision rather too vociferously for the referee’s liking. He received a second yellow and off he went.

Down to 9 men, and with the giant Czech striker in goal, it looked like Dortmund were going to be on the recieving end of the mother of all hidings. Except, nobody accounted for the Czech giant’s superlative goalkeeping skills. Koller produced a virtuoso performance as he repelled wave after wave of Bayern attacks. Tragically, it would prove to be futile as Dortmund would lose the match, but Koller didn’t concede any more goals. And besides, the sight of him sprinting up the pitch to get into the mix for a corner in the dying minutes was sight to behold!

Koller would be named by the German magazine ‘Kicker’ in their team of the week – as goalkeeper.