I caught part of a radio interview the other day with an eccentric sounding foreign keeper who had some great stories to tell. I missed his name but later googled some of his former clubs to identify him as Lutz Pfannenstiel. Can't say I can recall ever hearing of him before, but what an interesting career he had, which including "dying" on the pitch after a collision.
His aim was always to play as much as possible, never setling for a place on the bench, and that led him all over the world to rack up a remarkable 25 clubs before he retired at 36. He would often play all year round by moving continents when one season ended, and became the first footballer to play in all 6 FIFA confederations.
He spent over 3 months in a hellish Asian jail fighting for food and fending off rape attempts, after charges of match-fixing. The odd thing is he was accused of conspiring to win games!
After asking to be released from a contract in Albania, he claims the chairman pulled out a gun and said "Let's negotiate!" The fans there were apparently crazy: one week, after a win they gave him an eagle, then soon afterwards after a defeat they put bricks through his window.
I caught part of a radio interview the other day with an eccentric sounding foreign keeper who had some great stories to tell. I missed his name but later googled some of his former clubs to identify him as Lutz Pfannenstiel. Can't say I can recall ever hearing of him before, but what an interesting career he had, which including "dying" on the pitch after a collision.
His aim was always to play as much as possible, never setling for a place on the bench, and that led him all over the world to rack up a remarkable 25 clubs before he retired at 36. He would often play all year round by moving continents when one season ended, and became the first footballer to play in all 6 FIFA confederations.
He spent over 3 months in a hellish Asian jail fighting for food and fending off rape attempts, after charges of match-fixing. The odd thing is he was accused of conspiring to win games!
After asking to be released from a contract in Albania, he claims the chairman pulled out a gun and said "Let's negotiate!" The fans there were apparently crazy: one week, after a win they gave him an eagle, then soon afterwards after a defeat they put bricks through his window.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17593237
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutz_Pfannenstiel
If I was a footballer I'm sure I'd find that sort of career to be more rewarding than going to Kilmarnock and Motherwell every few weeks!
Edited by Yngwie