Who Is Lutz Pfannenstiel: The Craziest Man In Football
“”Ghana’s Nii Lamptey played for 10 different clubs (Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven, Aston Villa, Coventry City, Venezia, Union de Santa Fe, Ankaragucu, Uniao Leiria, Greuther Furth, Shandong Luneng, Al Nassr and Asante Kotoko) on four different continents, but has there been anyone who played on all six?”
– Graham Clayton
When you think of journeymen in football, there are surely a few names that spring to mind. Freddy Adu, who played for 15 different clubs; Samuel Eto’o, who played for 13 different clubs in his time; and, of course, Rivaldo, the Brazilian legend who played for 14 clubs across 4 continents, but even these players pale in comparison to one man, who played across six different continents in his career, one of the craziest stories in football history.
101 days in prison, death, a monkey, a battle with Sepp Blatter and playing for 25 clubs across six different continents. Some describe Luis Pfannenstiel as the “craziest man in football.”
Humble Beginnings: Bavarian Dreaming
“If I don’t make it in the Bundesliga, then I’ll just go to a different country and become a professional there. After all, Svilar’s from Serbia and now he’s playing in Belgium.”
– Luis Pfannenstiel
Ratko Sviliar is probably not a name that springs to mind when you think of famous goalkeepers. However, the Serb was actually something of a cult hero in Belgium, making 243 appearances for Antwerp during his career. Sviliar played with the club for over 16 years and an additional five after his career as part of the team’s coaching staff.
Growing up in Zwiesel, a small town in the Black Forest of Bavaria, Pfannenstiel credited Svilliar for being “the inspiration for an unbelievable football journey that would take him to all four corners of the globe.” The German goalkeeper came from humble beginnings, with his father working in a glass factory every day from six in the morning to two in the afternoon, but still holding the same love for football that Luis did, even at the age of 30.
“But after 2 p.m., his life was ruled by football—every day, every week. He obviously had the same genetic disorder as me. Every day he spent two hours running around the ground, more often than not on his own.”
While Pfannenstiel inherited his father’s work ethic, also being regarded as technically the best goalkeeper of his age in all of Bavaria, one thing the German goalkeeper did not have on his side was height. At the age of 13, Luis was a mere 5’3, when most goalkeepers who got scouted around his age were 5’11, but by the age of 15, he had grown an astounding 20 cm. After that, he was quickly scouted by the Bavarian selection coach, being called up to the squad of the national youth team. It was only a matter of time before a professional team scouted him.
The Professional Life: Pfannenstiel’s Early Career
“What followed was a two-hour sermon, but by the end it was clear to me. She would never let me out of the house if I didn’t agree to finish my secondary school education. One call to Munich and my dream of living at the residential football academy was over.”
Following his success at the Bavaria national youth team, Lutz would be scouted by 1860 Munich, which at the time was one of the biggest academies in football, especially for youngsters from Bavaria. However, Pfannenstiel would never actually make it to Munich due to interference from his mother, who demanded he finish his education; instead, he would sign for FC Vilshofen. While Vilshofen did play at the highest level of youth football, they were not regarded as highly as 1860 Munich.
After he finished his secondary school education, the former youth international would sign his first professional contract in football, signing for a successful semi-professional fourth-division team named 1. FC Bad Kötzting. By the end of his first season, Pfannenstiel had already claimed the No. 1 shirt and his football career was off to an excellent start.
Following a successful stint at Kötzting, Lutz would be offered trials at two different teams, the first of which was VfL Bochum, who had just been promoted back to the Bundesliga. However, he would later learn that the only goalkeeper the Bundesliga side was looking for was an amateur one.
While amateur players are paid well in Germany and are more often than not treated as an academy side for the professional team, the only thing Pfannenstiel wanted was to be a professional, declining the offer. After he left Bochum’s training ground, he would find a man outside waiting for him wearing a designer suit, a man who would change his life.
An Alternate Path: Pfannenstiel in Malaysia
“If you really want to be a professional, come to Malaysia. I’ve seen you; you’re good. Call me, and in two weeks you’ll be living in your dream home by the sea with 5,000 dollars a month in your pocket.”
This man was a consultant from the Football Management agency, and he had just offered Pfannenstiel his entryway into professional life, however. The Vilshofen keeper would have one other option: FC Bayern Munich, the biggest club in all of Germany, had offered him a trial.
That week, Luis would train with the great Oliver Kahn and ultimately would be offered an amateur contract at Bayern Munich. At the time, even an amateur contract at Munich was still the greatest stepping stone into the Bundesliga, and Pfannenstiel’s agent pleaded with him to sign, but the craziest man in football had his sights set on only one thing: playing professionally, and he left that room without a contract.
“That Pfannenstiel’s a lunatic, the people said; I didn’t take it as a huge insult. Most of the people who were saying it were not and would never be professional footballers; I, on the other hand, would have fulfilled my dreams in less than a week. A professional. Just like Ratko.”
More often than not, you hear stories about young players being screwed out of careers by greedy agents who lure them in with false problems, and this looked to be the case for Pfannenstiel. Two different teams contacted the German keeper, the biggest club in the country, Senglar FA, and another top team, but in Malaysia, clubs only have 4 spots for foreign players, and neither wanted to waste them on a goalkeeper.
The next morning, hungover and in no fit state to play football, the German would be greeted by a call from the Dato’ Zain, one of the highest government officials in the country, who wanted Pfannenstiel to come play in a friendly between First Division side Penang FA and the top team from Hong Kong, Happy Valley. He would travel 100 km from his hotel to the airport, all while hungover, arriving at the match with only minutes until kick-off.
It was revealed that Pfannenstiel’s agent had lied to all of his client’s clubs, claiming that the German was a former Bundesliga star who had played for Bayern Munich. The crowd of 12,000, the largest he had ever played in front of, greeted him as such.
He went on to sign his first-ever professional contract following the game: 6,000 dollars a month, bonuses for every win, a beachside apartment, and a set of jet skis—a crazy beginning worthy of his crazy career.
The Next Step: Pfannenstiel in England.
“I can get you into Wimbeldon FC; they’re desperate for a goalkeeper.”
In the earliest days of his professional career, Pfannenstiel did what most young football players who were given large sums of money did, spending his nights and his pay cheque in the exotic city of Kuala Lumpur, even serving a stint as a DJ in one of the city’s trendiest venues, but with only 4 games left in the season, the Penang goalkeeper’s career in Malaysia would not last for long.
During one of Penang’s training sessions, a scout from England was on the hunt for Asian players to discover an unfound gem to bring over to England, and it just so happened he was looking for a goalkeeper in particular. This was because FC Wimbledon, who were in the Premier League at the time, had just lost their starting goalkeeper, Hans Segers, to a matchfixing scandal.
And just days later, Pfannenstiel signed a non-contract, meaning he would be paid as a professional but could be released at any time. But he did not care; he had just fulfilled his lifelong dream of playing football in England.
“And so it was that my opponents included Liverpool and Chelsea, and a couple of weeks later I even played against none other than David Beckham, who was recovering from a thigh strain.”
The German goalkeeper’s first experience at the club was far from flattering, as it involved him becoming part of a welcome ritual that every new player suffered at Wimbledon, being forced to run stark naked through the Wimbledon commons in front of multiple members of the public, but after it was done, he was officially a part of the team.
After a couple of months at Wimbledon, while enjoying the high life and grandeur of English football, which was the world’s highest-paid league. Lutz came to the realisation that, on the football side of things, he was struggling. While he was paid highly to play in these reserve matches, it became increasingly clear to him that he would never break into the first team, with the case against Hans Segers continuing to drag on for months on end.
“It might be that we’ve got a new club for you.”
One of the less flattering parts of Pfannenstiel’s job as a reserve back in the 1990’s was how quick teams were to trade their reserves or release them from contract. He even had teammates who were on weekly contracts that were renewed after every game. And on Christmas Day, he got a call from Wimbeldon’s manager, who at the time was Joe Kinnear.
“Lutz, there is an opportunity for you to join Nottingham Forest; they’ve got an injured keeper and we want to send you there right away. Pack your things; you’ll need to get going immediately.”
While the German keeper was forced to relocate, he was also offered three times more than what he was being paid at Wimbledon and would also get his first chance to play first-team football in England, even if it was as the backup to the backup. During his first training session with the club, he was quick to earn the manager’s approval for being aggressive and assertive with his teammates, some of whom were internationals, as every goalkeeper should.
However, that would quickly fall apart during his first game with the reserves. Lutz had a disaster of a performance, letting in an own goal in a 4-1 loss, with the manager barely being able to look him in the eye afterwards. His time at Nottingham Forest would be dull at best; having not made a single appearance for the club’s senior team, he languished in the reserves, being sent out to both Watford and VV Truiden, a team in Belgium, both on short-term loans.
His football career looked like it was about to come to a boring, staggering halt, but Lutz Pfannenstiel couldn’t do anything boring if he tried.
Continent Number Three: Pfannenstiel In Africa.
“Back in 1996, South Africa was one of the youngest democracies in the world. And football was recovering fast from its international exile. During the racial segregation of the apartheid regime, the country had been banned from almost every international competition.”
With his time in England turning into a complete disaster, Pfannenstiel chose to take his talents abroad once more, signing for Orlando Pirates, the biggest club in South Africa. Lutz was signed to play first-team football due to William Okbara, the club’s starting goalkeeper, tearing a ligament. But one thing he quickly learnt was that the Orlando Pirates were more than just a football club.
During his first day in South Africa, the German learnt all about the club’s roots, the historical ties to South Africa’s largest ethnic group, the Zulus, and how the club’s fans had an almost religious devotion to its players.
“He seemed to be pretty high up in the fan’s hierarchy; after a few minutes, he scribbled a number down on a scrap of paper. “The people in Hillbrow know who you are not, I promise you. For as long as you play for the Orlando Pirates, nothing will happen to you if you go out during the day.”
Pfannenstiel would fall in love with his country in the few weeks he spent there, playing in front of the Orlando Pirate’s crowds that often went above 20,000. He even considered moving there permanently, but after the South African club’s starting goalkeeper, Okbara, returned to action, the German made the decision to return to England.
Pfan-tastic: Pfannenstiel’s Breakout Season.
“Pfan-tastic” punned the Straits Times newspapers after one match in which I had made more than 30 saves.”
Following his brief stint for the Orlando Pirates, the German would be quick to break free of the mediocrity of his career in England, and the perfect opportunity would present itself with the formation of the Singapore League in 1996. Pfannenstiel was invited over to the Asian country to try out for a team named Sembawang, with players from all over Europe also participating. The German would secure himself a contract.
The former Wimbledon and Nottingham Forest keeper would also spend two weeks in China, who even back then were still offering absurd amounts of money, up to 200,000 dollars at the time. But he would soon realise that he could simply not meet the conditions of playing in China, being forced to wake up at 6am every day, and being forced to train through injury by coaches, making the decision to return to Sembawang after a fortnight.
In Singapore, Pfannenstiel would enjoy the best season of his footballing career to date. Due to his team’s poor defence, he was the standout performer on his team, being dubbed the goalkeeper of the year by Singaporean journalists, all while enjoying some of the finer things the country had to offer, including casinos, nightclubs and even the strange purchase of two monkeys for his apartment, all because he could.
The Sembawang goalkeeper’s performances also put him back on the map for scouts from Europe, reigniting the potential for him to play at the top level once more, and by the end of the season, he had several offers from both Finland and Norway waiting for him.
“At the end of the day, numerous professionals have made it into the English Premier League by coming over from Finland and Norway; back then, they were the most important countries for players hopeful of breaking into the multi-million-pound league.”
Ultimately, Pfannenstiel would choose to sign a contract with FC Haka, a team in Western Finland. And he was quick to learn that while Singapore was fast-paced, exciting and filled with noise, Finland was quiet, monotonous and, above all else, cold. The perfect place to take the German out of the crazy mindset he had gotten into back in Singapore in order to focus on his football career.
“People who love a slow-paced life should go to Finland. The contrast to Singapore, with its glittering, superficial exterior, could hardly have been greater.”
Not much is known of how well Lutz performed in Finland, however. The German noted that the almost freezing temperatures would make the perfect spot for any manager looking to fix a player’s attitude in pre-season, which is potentially why it was the perfect spot for the keeper to get his career back on track. After a few months in the country, Pfannenstiel was greeted with a big decision: a lucrative offer to continue the insanity of his time in Asia or a return to humble beginnings.
The Crossroads: Return to Germany
“I was fairly certain that my Odyssey was destined to end at Burghausen, in a nice apartment with a family life.”
After a couple of months in the sub-zero conditions of Finland, Pfannenstiel was faced with a decision that would shape the direction he wanted to take his career. One of the two offers was from Indonesia, directly from the national association themselves, offering him not only a contract for a professional club in Jakarta but also an opportunity to play for their national team due to his marriage to his Indonesian wife. The Indonesian national team at the time was extremely weak, and Lutz ultimately laughed at the offer and declined.
The second offer was one he took much more seriously. An opportunity to return home. Over the years, SV Wacker Burghausen had offered Pfannenstiel contracts on multiple occasions; however, he politely declined each every time. But on this occasion, something was different. Recently, Burghausen had been taken over by a chemical conglomerate known as Wacker Chemie AG and now had the financial security order to make a bid for promotion to Germany’s second division.
All of a sudden, Lutz found himself returning to a normal, traditional German life, dutifully carrying out his work on the football pitch, buying four pretzels each morning and going hiking in the mountains on his days off. A period of stability after years of chaos travelling across the continents, but it would not last for long.
Return to Reality: Pfannenstiel’s Continued Exodus
After a brief period of stability, trading his dream of a glistening international career in favour of the quiet life, Pfannenstiel returned home one day to find something that would continue his career back down on the path of insanity. When the German opened the door, he found his wife holding a letter, with a look of shock on her face he had never seen before—four words that would change his career forever.
“YOU DON’T BELONG HERE.”
Lutz tried to convince both himself and his wife that these letters were nothing but a practical joke from a group of children. However, it was immediately clear that this was not the case. Pfannenstiel’s wife would get four more bloodied letters during the week and a call from an anonymous man, threatening the lives of her children if she did not leave immediately. After another week of threats, bloodied letters, and even dead animals in the post. The German knew he had to leave Burghausen.
Despite the club’s best efforts to stem the tide of letters and threats, even going so far as to try and locate the mysterious caller who had threatened his family.
Wacker Burghausen ultimately, in good faith, released Pfannenstiel from his contract upon his request, despite having over a year left on his deal.
“Indonesian national goalkeeper, one day you’ll become pope as well.”
– Kurt Gaugler, Wacker Burghausen Manager.
And just a few weeks later, the German would find himself in the blistering heat of Jakarta, surrounded by three dozen Indonesians in a training session for the country’s national team. And it didn’t take Pfannenstiel long to settle in, being welcomed as a part of the team as if he had been a part of it for years.
Not only was the German meant to play for the Indonesian national team, but he was also signed to a contract with the country’s top team, Persija Jakatara, with half of his salary being paid for by the association.
All of a sudden, his dream of playing international football was close to being realised, with the 2002 World Cup on the horizon in Japan and South Korea. However, he began to get cold feet. One thing he hadn’t considered amidst all the chaos was the fact he would have to renounce his German citizenship.
All of a sudden, Pfannenstiel was starting to have doubts, and a phone call from a former coach wouldn’t help. On his way to signing a lucrative contract worth over 6,000 dollars per month. The German would receive a call from another head coach. Due to the fact that Lutz had a reputation as one of the best keepers in the country in Singapore following his time at Sembawang Rangers, he would receive an offer from another team from the country, Geylang United, who had even been granted money from the club President’s own pockets to bring him back to Singapore.
And just like that, instead of being on his way to signing a lucrative contract in Indonesia, the German would instead find himself on his way to Singapore. One person who wasn’t impressed by this ordeal was his Indonesian wife, leaving them as good as separated following a screaming match between the two. But Pfannenstiel continued with the decision anyway.
Jail Time: Pfannenstiel’s Return to Singapore.
“In the not-too-distant future, uttering that sentence would land me in jail.”
Pfannenstiel’s return to Singapore went just about as well as his first stint in the country, following a man-of-the-match performance in his first game, with the Singaporean media claiming that “Pfanntastic was back.” Geylang would finish the season in fourth, with Lutz only joining with a few games left in the season. And after that, Pfannenstiel began right where he left off.
Nightclubs, gambling, the German could be seen at them all whenever he wasn’t training, returning to the Singaporean nightlife as he had never even left, Dressed in designer clothes, the German partied almost every night, until something changed that. One night, Pfannenstiel met a woman named Anita, an Eurasian woman who would go on to become his second and last wife.
Anita’s mother worked as an administrator for a local football club, and she herself was known for turning away men before they could utter a sentence. Yet Lutz somehow managed to land himself a first date, two months later. The partying and the single life would come to an end.
On the football side of things, the German’s life would only continue to get better. Following a series of investments in pre-season, Geylang would be the favourites for the league title going into that season, also participating in the Asian Championship that year. While they lost each game very heavily, Pfannenstiel would get the dream opportunity to play in front of a crowd of almost 140,000.
However, after a defeat in the first league game of the season, Geylang’s inconsistency would land them four points off the top of the table halfway into the season, and this was where things would really start to go downhill for the German keeper.
On his way home from a league match one day, Pfannenstiel would be forced to pull over at a petrol station, where he would meet a huge Indian man with a vast belly who chatted with him about football for a brief time, nothing out of the ordinary. However, as Lutz would pull over at his home that night, he would come face to face with the same man once more, who claimed he lived “nearby.” The German would later learn that this was not true.
“Can you beat them?” Asked Sivakumar. “Of course.” I replied, “we are in good form.”
Following their meeting at the Petrol station, the Indian man, who he learnt was named Sivakumar, would pop up in various nearby areas, appearing harmless. He would offer Lutz lavish gifts, such as a round at one of the country’s most exclusive golf clubs, all in return for a little chat about Geylang’s current form. While Pfannenstiel assumed the Indian was only asking him these questions as a fan of the sport, he would soon learn Sivakumar was actually using this information in order to place bets.
Lutz would begin to notice something suspicious was happening after one conversation with the Indian, where he claimed they would beat a team named Woodlands once again, assuming it to be harmless. Pfannenstiel always backed his team to win. Following their conversation, two of Woodland’s players would be attacked with hockey sticks and injured, meaning they could not play.
“In recent months, the headlines in Singapore had once again been dominated by rumours of match fixing. It was considered one of the most vulnerable leagues on the planet. On average, just 5,000 spectators attended the matches, and local players rarely earned more than 3,000 dollars per month. It was easy to triple their income by accepting bonuses from bookmakers.”
Following the assault of the two Woodland’s players, stranger occurrences would begin to take place across the country; mediocre clubs would beat top teams, only to be thrashed by teams on the bottom end of the table.
One such incident would involve Lutz’s team, Geylang FC, before one of their games; they would receive a fax to their head office that simply read. “Geylang will win the match 1-0; the club’s captain Billy Bone and striker Brian Bothwell have given someone a considerable amount of money to place on a win.”
It later came out that this fax had been sent by none other than Sivakumar, the large Indian man who had been asking Pfannenstiel for his predictions on match results. A few hours later, he was behind bars and facing a potential seven years in prison. He would offer the investigators a deal, the players he had received information from over the last few months.
One such player, of course, was none other than the German, Lutz Pfannenstiel, who had been giving Sivakumar information without his knowledge for the last few months; he would have his house raided, and after a series of lie detector tests, Pfannenstiel should have been cleared of guilt instead; however, he was further questioned.
This “questioning.” was simply another word for torture; however, over the next two days, Lutz would be assaulted, stripped naked in 10-degree temperatures, and have his fingers threatened to be broken and much worse. He would spend 28 hours in that room before any sort of evidence was produced—a statement from Sivakumar that claimed he had befriended the German, who had been trying to “manipulate matches.” in order to settle his extreme debts.
Finally, after signing a statement denying Sivakumar’s story, Pfannenstiel was released 48 hours later, with only the shirt on his back and no passport, which the criminal investigations board had withheld from him, meaning he could not leave the country.
Following his release, Lutz would be watched closely for any further controversies, constantly shadowed by no more than ten policemen. Despite this, Pfannenstiel went on the run of his career, with six clean sheets in seven games. And by the end of the season, he suspected all of the drama had gone away. He would be wrong.
The Investigation: Pfannenstiel’s Court Case.
“Mr. Pfannenstiel, you are officially charged by the state of Singapore.”
Following his miraculous return to form at the end of the season. Pfannenstiel received a call from his manager, telling him to contact the CPIB immediately. Suspecting this would be in order to return his passport, Lutz rushed down to the station and was quickly apprehended and thrown against the wall, as it was announced he had been charged by the state for matchfixing.
This was because the German’s friend, Mickey, had been tricked into signing a document indicating that both he and Lutz were part of the attacks on Woodland’s players. Both were quickly thrown into jail and Pfannenstiel, all of a sudden, would earn himself the biggest transfer fee of his life—100,000 dollars in bail for his freedom if he was found guilty.
Pfannenstiel, of course, pleaded not guilty, but in the time between his conviction and the trial, the German was sent to a Singaporean prison, which to him felt like “hell.” Being forced to sleep on the floor on a hard bed of straw in 40-degree conditions for five days until his bail could be paid.
“I couldn’t stop thinking that if I were to lose the case, I should just go off the top of a skyscraper and jump.”
After his release from prison, Pfannenstiel would work as quickly as possible, gathering hundreds of statements from witnesses who claimed his conduct had been flawless during his time at the club. There was just one person standing against him in the case, Sivakumar.
Despite an offer from the Indian man telling him that he could get Lutz out of the country and across the border, Pfannenstiel declined the clear attempt at Sivakumar trying to clear his name. The German wanted his innocence to be proved for all to see.
However, the Singaporean Football Association had to make an example out of somebody; match-fixing had been a problem across the country for a number of months now, and they would have their example, even if they had to sentence an innocent man. Pfannenstiel would be found guilty on all accounts and sentenced to six months in prison.
The Restart: Pfannenstiel’s Career After Prison
“My daughter is a big Geylang fan; would you give me her autograph?”
To understand the true horror of Lutz’s time in prison and the nature of his relationship with his current wife, Anita. You’ll have to question the German goalkeeper’s book, “The Incredible Adventures of the Wonder Keeper.” However, Pfannenstiel claimed his time in prison was like experiencing what hell must feel like: constant threats to his life, having to fight to survive, a diet not at all suitable for a football player, and worse.
Following his release from prison, which was an early one for good behaviour, Lutz would be quick to get out of the country, with the final minutes he spent in Singapore being a reminder of not only the bad but also the good times, as he was being constantly accosted for autographs from Geylang fans who remembered his time at the club. But it was not enough to keep him in the country where he had experienced the most traumatic months of his life, returning to Germany.
“I felt almost paralysed; my muscles no longer used to stress. But I was determined to return to professional football as soon as possible.”
In the months following his release, Lutz would spend all of his time in his hometown of Zwiesel, running the same routine he had since he was a child, chasing the dream of becoming a professional footballer. Of course, Pfannenstiel had already achieved this dream, but he would have to chase it again if he wanted it to continue.
During a visit to England, to see his wife’s mother, who had divorced her father years earlier. Pfannenstiel would begin to train with Bradford Park Avenue, a team in the seventh tier of English football; Lutz would be offered a contract with both them and Huddersfield, but he had to turn them down, as they wouldn’t have been enough for him to make a living out of.
Alongside his hunt for a new club, there was the small issue of an ongoing investigation from FIFA. Following a request from the Singaporean FA for his ban to be upheld internationally, the case would ultimately be thrown out, despite a fightback from former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who ironically would be found guilty himself for corruption almost a decade later. Pfannenstiel was free to play football, and he could leave Singapore in the past and look to the future.
The Man Who Cheated Death: Pfannenstiel’s Final Years.
“Today in the stands, we welcome a man who gave his life three times for Bradford Park Avenue.”
After a brief stint in New Zealand, Pfannestiel returned to the club, which granted him an opportunity to get his career back on track, Bradford Park Avenue FC. With the English club languishing in the seventh tier of English football, it was easy for Lutz, a keeper who had formerly trained at both a Premier League and international level, to slot right in, but his time at Bradford was headlined by one specific incident.
During a match against Harrogate Town, after being struck by a rogue tackle by one of the Town’s players, Pfannenstiel noticed he was struggling to breathe; what happened next was a blur. Reports indicated that Lutz simply collapsed on the spot, and not only did he pass out, but his heart stopped completely. Lutz Pfannestiel was dead.
“As melodramatic as it may sound, I live for football, and I would have even died for it. It’s an idea I certaintly prefer over the thought of drawing my last breath in a hospital.”
As if it were some Christmas miracle, Lutz actually woke up on Boxing Day, having missed Christmas after being in the hospital unconscious for days. It was revealed that he had suffered severe organ failure in several areas during the match, and not only did his heart stop once but also three times following the match, which was abandoned.
It would take more than death to lure Pfannenstiel away from football. Despite being told that he should remain in hospital under observation for 10 days, the German returned to training only 5 days later, to the shock of everyone at the Bradford Parks training ground, and it didn’t end there; the German also played 3 days before he should have been released from the hospital.
“As a child, my powers of imagination could reach no further into the future in my mind than playing professional football into my late thirties, even in my early twenties. I could never imagine what might come afterwards.”
Lutz Pfannenstiel may not have achieved his dream of making it to the Bundesliga and playing for the German national team, but he still went on to have one of the most remarkable careers in football history between the slums of Wycombe, travelling the globe, prison, and even death itself. The German’s career to this day stands as a monumental one, having played on all five continents.
Pfannenstiel went on to play in both Brazil and Canada after his death at Horsfall Stadium, completing the set. Brazil, Canada, South Africa, England, Singapore, Indonesia and New Zealand. South America, North America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania—every continent on this earth where there was football to be played.
And if they start playing football in Antarctica soon, you can be confident that he’ll be the first name on the teamsheet; after all, nothing can or will stop Lutz Pfannenstiel. The craziest man in football from playing the game he loves.
About The Author
