At the age of 41, Jens Lehmann could be about to return to Arsenal. Let's look at some of his most memorable moments.
1. Homeward bound (1993)
Conceding three goals in the space of seven first-half minutes, the supporters vented their frustration at their 23-year-old goalkeeper. Coach Jorg Berger decided a half-time substitution would be required. "Jens, I'm taking you off now," Berger is reported to have said, adding that he would speak to him in the morning. Lehmann apparently misunderstood his remarks and simply went home. He was left out of the side for the next ten games.
2. Settling in (1999)
Lehmann had, within months of his arrival at Dortmund, moved in with Dortmund legend Knut Reinhardt's girlfriend of five years, Conny, after the midfielder had been sold Nurnberg. "She was alone and I was alone," Lehmann explained. "It just happened."
Reinhardt was understandably upset by the whole affair. "When she told me, it was like someone had hit me with a bat," he said. "I have already considered giving up football."
3. Seeing red (1999-2003)
In February 2003, Lehmann was sent off again ten minutes before the end of a 2-2 draw in the Revierderby with Schalke after he was shown a second yellow card when he stormed out of his goal to confront team-mate Marcio Amoroso. "There is no rule that the goalkeeper must not run out of the penalty area," Lehmann said. "They must have invented that today."
His team-mates, though, directed their anger towards Lehmann rather than the referee, Herbert Fandel, who said the goalkeeper's behaviour had been "unsportsmanlike". He added: "It doesn't matter if it's a rival player or a team-mate."
4. King Kahn's character assassination (2004)
Having spent seven years as Oliver Kahn's understudy for the German national team, Lehmann took the opportunity to try to depose him ahead of Euro 2004 as the Bayern Munich legend's private life became a regular fixture in the press.
"I don't have a 24-year-old girlfriend," Lehmann said, referring to the fact Kahn had begun dating a girl he met at a disco having separated from his wife. "I have a different life." He added: "Rudi Voller once said, 'Good players attract attention through good performances over a long time and not through scandals off the pitch or talk'."
Lehmann, in his 2010 autobiography, also claimed he was better at dealing with pressure than Kahn and criticised his rival's ability to read the game.
5. Pushy (2004)
Lehmann left Dortmund for Arsenal in 2003 as he again sought a challenge abroad and, though there were issues with his inconsistency and eccentricity, he was ever-present throughout the 'Invincibles' campaign. Three weeks before the end of the season, with Arsenal 2-1 ahead at Tottenham and moments from clinching the league title, Lehmann decided to shove Robbie Keane as a corner came in.
Referee Mark Halsey awarded a penalty and held a conversation with his assistant over whether to issue a red card. Lehmann escaped with a yellow, and Arsenal escaped with a 2-2 draw that proved enough to take the title.
6. Little squirt (2005)
As the Arsenal players walked from the field following their Champions League exit against Bayern Munich, Lehmann squeezed his water bottle in frustration and managed to squirt it over referee Massimo di Santis.Lehmann instantly raced over, claiming it was accidental, and even went to visit the referee in his room after the game. Di Santis, though, seemed to feel it was deliberate and submitted it in his report to UEFA. The goalkeeper was given a two-match ban for misconduct and Arsene Wenger showed no sympathy."I cannot guarantee that he will be my first choice at the start of the season because he is suspended in Europe," Wenger said. "It is something I must think about."
7. Pantomime villains (2006)
"Some of Dgrogba's team-mates insulted me terribly," Lehmann went on. "Lampard is a specialist in insulting people very badly."
Lampard, claiming the moral high ground, waited several months before talking to the media about Lehmann. "For me, it's all in the heat of battle and nonsense to start talking to the media about it afterwards, but the other week myself and my cousin Jamie Redknapp were out to dinner in a London restaurant and Lehmann was sitting just feet from us on another table," he said.
"We acknowledged him and he completely blanked both of us. In fact, when he left, we walked right past our table and he didn't even have the decency to say anything - whether nice or rude! Perhaps Lehmann's more just sensitive than the rest of us."
8. Second fiddle (2007)
While Lehmann's taste for the irrational had prompted Arsene Wenger to consider his options in the past, it was not until the 2007-08 season that Manuel Almunia was confirmed as the club's first-choice goalkeeper. "It's very frustrating," Lehmann said in December. "When I see the performances on the field, I get angry and I have to clench my fist in my pocket." He added: "To be sitting on the bench behind somebody who only started to play when he was 30 is not funny."
9. Jens Lehmann deprives Khalid Boulahrouz of his headwear;
Lehmann left Arsenal to join Stuttgart in 2008 and, during his debut season there, his behaviour became increasingly erratic. It reached a head during the space of two games in February 2009. In a 2-1 defeat at Zenit on February 18, Lehmann took out his frustration with his
defence by ripping off team-mate Khalid Boulahrouz's headband and throwing it in the direction of the ball boys.
10. On February 21, in a 3-3 draw at home to Hoffenheim, Lehmann found a boot belonging to opposing midfielder Sejad Salihovic, who had just picked up a booking after injuring Arthur Boka. The goalkeeper collected the boot and threw it onto the top of his goal.
11. Making friends (2009)
In October, in the 81st minute of a 1-0 defeat to Hannover, Lehmann was mocked by a ball boy who taunted him by refusing to hand him the ball and then throwing it up in the air. "This is typical of our culture - cheating," Lehmann said.
In December, Lehmann publicly criticised the Stuttgart supporters and board after fan demonstrations led to the dismissal of head coach Markus Babbel. "There was a group of lads, most of whom are going through puberty, and that has had the impact of forcing the club to make decisions," Lehmann said. "If you have the strength and the quality to make decisions which contradict public opinion then things work out better." He was fined 40,000 for his comments, and refused to pay.
12. Relief (2009)
Jens Lehmann stands on Aristide Bance's footShortly after insulting the fans and board, Lehmann decided to empty his bladder during a Champions League win over against Unirea Urziceni while Stuttgart were on the attack. A counter-attack forced him to abort, but he was back on the field before the Romanians could take advantage, and he attracted the praise of Stuttgart sporting director Horst Heldt. "I thought he handled it very expertly," he said. "It was a tricky situation."
13. Leaving the Bruchwegstadion after his stamp, a fan asked him why he could not be normal. Lehmann responded by stealing his glasses and walking away.
Sepp Maier, the West Germany legend and a former coach of both Kahn and Lehmann, said: "Lehmann is fitting into one year the rubbish it took Kahn 20 years to get up to."
Nime-copy from ESPN SoccerNet.