Manic keeper caught living it up hours after defeat

The German festival of Oktoberfest (which actually happens mostly in September) is great. It takes place in Munich and provides a good excuse for everyone to get bladdered on quality beers for two and a half weeks, while dressed up in comedy blonde pigtail wigs.

However, it’s not the best place to be spotted if you’re a professional footballer whose team has just lost a bottom-of-the-table clash, and you were at fault for one of the goals.

That’s the pickle legendary ex-Arsenal keeper ‘Mad’ Jens Lehmann finds himself in today, having been dropped by Stuttgart after being snapped (pics here) gallivanting round the beer halls hours after a 2-0 defeat to FC Koln on Saturday.

Wiley Jens, never without a trick up his sleeve, was ready with an excuse:

‘The visit to the Wiesn [Oktoberfest] was part of a charity event and it had been planned for a long time.

‘However, it was not agreed with the club. Of course I accept the measures taken by the sporting management.

Unsurprisingly, club officials haven’t bought the ‘charity event’ angle (unless he was off to make donations to the ‘Get Jens Shitfaced’ fund) and now the madcap goalie is facing shouty sit-down talks with his manager, ex-Liverpool defender Markus Babbel, and Stuttgart director Horst Heldt.