Oliver Kahn maintained his number one spot for the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, but Germany were once again eliminated in the group stage. Oliver Kahn gave up his captaincy to Michael Ballack after the tournament. Germany's new manager Jürgen Klinsmann, who replaced Rudi Völler, adopted the strategy of rotating the number one spot between Kahn and his longtime competitor, Jens Lehmann of Arsenal, to stimulate competition between the two. On 7 April 2006, after two years of dispute for the position Klinsmann announced Lehmann was his first-choice goalkeeper for the 2006 World Cup. Kahn decided to stay on as a backup
Lou Kahn did have a long career in the game after his catching career ended. After working as a Major League coach for the 1954–55 Cardinals and coaching for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, he joined the Philadelphia Phillies' organization as a scout and minor league manager in 1960, serving into the 1980s. Kahn settled in Albany, Georgia, where he played minor league baseball in 1937, and was a pecan-buyer during the off-season. He died in Albany at the age of 86. Lou Kahn Louis Kahn Jr. (December 4, 1915 – March 13, 2002)