"Ich hatte nie die Gelegenheit."

Translation: I never had the opportunity.

[CaioFranca2]

What about "ich habe die Gelegenheit nie gehabt"?

[MortiBiRD]

You might hear that, but you should not write that. So if you translate a simple past sentence just use Präteritum. Yet in spoken german many people use the perfekt as a "replacement" for the präteritum. So Präteritum is always OK, and if you just speak with a friend, then you might use Perfekt instead.

[michi819458]

That would mean in my opinion: "I've never had the opportunity"

[HenrySurfs]

To the English speaking people: What is the difference in use of "occasion" and "opportunity" ? (They both are translated to "Gelegenheit")

[borQhuester]

This reply on usingenglish.com seems to put it well:

"An opportunity is a circumstance that is favorable for you to achieve a goal or get something you want:

Her retirement party gave her colleagues an opportunity to wish her well.

Looking downfield, the player saw an opportunity to score a goal.

An occasion is a particular event or time:

On the occasion of his birthday, we ate a special meal.

The funeral was a mournful occasion."

https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/83954-opportunity-occasion

[marcarpon]

How about "I had never the opportunity?"

[CapnDoug]

No, that isn't English. That is just translating word for word.