Stole a penguin, jailed in Singapore, now Aberdeen sporting director

[Gutted]

Stole a penguin, jailed in Singapore, now Aberdeen sporting director​

Image source,Getty Images
Image caption,
Lutz Pfannenstiel has had a colourful, sometimes controversial career

• • Published
    3 hours ago

Lutz Pfannenstiel once stole a penguin, spent 101 days in a Singapore jail accused of match-fixing, modelled for Armani and has now been appointed sporting director by Aberdeen.

The 52-year-old German was known as the 'global goalie' after a playing career that spanned 25 clubs in 13 countries, becoming the first professional to play in all six of Fifa's confederations after turning down a contract with Bayern Munich aged 19 to travel the world.

In August, he left Major League Soccer (MLS) club St Louis City following a short and unsuccessful stint by head coach Olof Mellberg.

Now he joins Aberdeen at a time when manager Jimmy Thelin is under pressure after just three wins in 15 games this season.

Chairman Dave Cormack hopes to tap into Pfannenstiel's "extensive coaching, scouting, young player development and leadership expertise gained across different roles and cultures".

"In particular, his technical knowledge, academy development experience and global recruitment network were key factors in the board selecting him for this critical role," he told Aberdeen's website.

Pfannenstiel, who will be responsible for all football and performance areas, is looking forward to joining a club with "rich tradition, a storied history and a true football soul", starting on 10 November.

"Having spent time getting to know the club over the past two years, I'm inheriting a very strong infrastructure and team of staff," he said.

Pfannenstiel will have presented a colourful CV to the Scottish Premiership club.

• Among his clubs as a player, Pfannenstiel was on the books of Nottingham Forest, Wimbledon, Huddersfield Town and Vancouver Whitecaps.
• While playing for Geyland United in Singapore in 2001, he was jailed after being accused of match-fixing for what he claims was "playing too well" and released because of a lack of evidence.
• On loan to Bradford Park Avenue, he was declared dead three times on the pitch after his lungs collapsed following a collision.
• During his time in New Zealand, he kidnapped a penguin and kept it in his bath, only to send it back when the president of Otago United warned him he could face deportation if caught.
• After retiring from playing in 2011 Pfannenstiel went into TV punditry, running coaching courses and raising awareness of climate change through Global United, the non-profit organisation he founded in 2010 and enlisting the help of legends like Zico, Zinedine Zidane, Lothar Matthaus and Carlos Valderrama.
• He published a biography in 2014, released in the UK as The Unstoppable Keeper, and was described by FourFourTwo magazine as the "craziest man in football".
• Pfannenstiel spent nine years at 1899 Hoffenheim as head of international relations and scouting.
• He had two seasons as Fortuna Dusseldorf sporting director during which they finished 10th in the Bundesliga, their highest position in three decades.
• Pfannenstiel was sporting director with St Louis City for five years, creating their youth academy and training facility, as they won the Western Conference in 2023.

 

[Gutted]

The extraordinary life of German goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel​

Image caption,
Pfannenstiel (right) is the only footballer to play professional football in six continents
ByJohn Bennett
BBC World Service Sport
www.bbc.com

He was locked up in a Singapore prison, he was declared dead on the pitch, he was signed by 25 clubs in 13 countries and he is still the only professional to have played in all six of Fifa's confederations.

Lutz Pfannenstiel's football career is like no other.

Along the way the German keeper, now 38, went from the youth team at Bayern Munich to Brazil, New Zealand, Malaysia, Finland, South Africa, Canada, Albania, Namibia, Armenia and Malta, via Nottingham Forest and the "crazy gang" at Wimbledon.

And he is now travelling the world again as an international scout for Bundesliga club Hoffenheim.

"I had a normal career at the start and I played for the German junior national team but I was always a little impatient," Pfannenstiel told the BBC's World Football programme.

"So when it didn't work my way I decided to go overseas and I left aged 19 to go to Malaysia, which is kind of a strange thing to do when you have a good offer from Bayern and you end up playing for the Penang football association in South East Asia.

"I didn't really plan to play for that many clubs, circumstances went like that. The coach got fired, the club went bankrupt, a thousand things happened in my career which were not so nice."

The worst moment came during a spell in Singapore when he was accused of match fixing and spent 101 days in jail.

"I don't think there are very many tougher prisons in the world. I was living it large in Singapore, I was modelling for Armani, I had my own TV show and football was good but then suddenly I woke up in a tiny concrete cell and everything was in shambles for me. So the shock was the biggest.

"The area where I played - South East Asia - is basically the capital of match fixing. In my case it was strange because I was actually accused of playing too well. Two games we won and one game was a draw where I was man of the match. If a judge in court tells you you've played better than you normally do it's not really logical.

"In the end I got out of it, the evidence was basically cleared as no money changed hands.

"I came out of that after 101 days and became a better person. It was the toughest time in my life but also the time when I learnt the most."

Not long after fighting to clear his name, Pfannenstiel was battling for his life after his heart stopped beating during a match in England.

"I was on loan from a club in New Zealand to Bradford Park Avenue, it was a normal Boxing Day and I had a collision after 30 minutes.

"Basically my lungs collapsed, I had no pulse anymore, then I was declared three-times dead on the football field.

"But I woke up in hospital three hours later."

And his first spell in English football was equally eventful. Back in 1994 he was signed by Wimbledon and experienced the full force of Vinnie Jones and the "crazy gang".

"Two or three days after I arrived we went for a run in a park and suddenly someone gave some command, they grabbed me and got me undressed so I was completely naked in November in the freezing cold," he said. "They took all my clothes and my shoes and just left.

"I was lying in a ditch and wasn't sure what to do, then I had to run for three miles back with nothing on in front of loads of ladies walking their dogs.

"It's funny now but it wasn't funny at the time."

 

[True Believer]

In spite of his past blemishes, Lutz Pfannenstiel doesn't seem to have trouble finding work.

 

[True Believer]

"While playing for Geyland United in Singapore in 2001, he was jailed after being accused of match-fixing for what he claims was "playing too well" and released because of a lack of evidence."

I didn't know that there is a S-League club called Geyland United.