German soccer star Lutz Pfannenstiel has died for the game. During a 2002 Boxing Day match, the former goalie, the only person to have played professionally in all six FIFA confederations, collided with an opponent. Pfannenstiel took a blow to the chest and collapsed, and the team’s doctor couldn’t find a pulse. It took three attempts at mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to revive him. Now Pfannenstiel arrives in St. Louis as the new sporting director for our MLS team, St. Louis City SC. In his 2014 book, The Unstoppable Keeper, he narrates that brush with death and other stories—his adventures with Wimbledon’s “Crazy Gang”; the 101 days he spent in a Singapore jail after being accused of match-fixing (he was cleared of the charges); and the time he “adopted” a blue penguin (he admits it was a mistake)—that have us all but guaranteeing he’s one of the most interesting transplants our city has seen. Outsized personality or no, building a team from scratch by 2023, in the middle of a pandemic...it’s a big job.
On his first objective, scouting for talented young local players to build City’s academy program, intended to feed the MLS team: The question is always What do you actually see in a talented youngster? Is it the current level of his play, or is it the potential level of his play? [There are] players who have had the opportunity because of finances and their backgrounds—they’re able to afford to play in an organized club or academy. [There are also talented players] who never had an opportunity, who play football very socially, who play football in the park, who play football in the neighborhood with their friends. They are the unpolished gems out there. We need to create a completely different filtering system so we have access to everybody. We [need to] open the doors for everybody and say, “Come show yourself,” and also try our best to find you. That is exactly where the inclusion part comes in: We will go to places where maybe not many people try to find players. We are a people’s club. Our door is open to everybody from all communities, regardless of background.
On soccer’s history of inclusivity: Soccer is the most diverse sport in the world. You go back into the history of soccer, and it connects people. You go into a stadium...you find old, you find young, you find local players, you find foreigners, you find people from all different backgrounds and religions, high income, low income. They’re in there watching soccer together. That’s really what it is all about. Soccer is the easiest game to play because you just need a ball, players, and a couple of sticks to make goals. It’s much easier than all the other sports, especially the ones you have over here. That is why we just have to make it accessible to everybody, and that is why it’s much easier to make it accessible to everybody, because you don’t really need much to play soccer.
On building a club’s playing style from nothing: We will not play 10 different styles because we have 10 different coaches. We will play the same way and with the same values, from youth up to the professional team. The way you want to play football is attacking-minded, high-pressing, aggressive—a very modern approach to football, which will be very fast and exciting. If you follow how [the German club TSG 1899] Hoffenheim has played in recent years...it’s that kind of style, where you see a clear handwriting, how a club wants to perform and how a club wants to play. City’s game will not be based in playing long balls, which is more of a traditional English way of playing, or tiki-taka, like the Spanish style. I want it very fast-paced, direct, and attractive, because we want to create hype, an enthusiastic feeling going into the stadium. It shouldn’t be 11 guys playing some boring football.
On how he intends to create a sense of identity: For me, coming here, starting completely from scratch, it’s not just all about thinking, When do we win the first MLS Cup? When do we win the first title? These are all things that are important—to win, that must be everybody’s ambition, but most important is that we create a special football club that everybody feels close to, that the whole city supports. And this is my big goal: getting a few players from our first academy age group into the big squad of the MLS, kicking off in 2023. And it’s not just creating good footballers… We want to create character. We definitely want to train them to become better athletes and players, but not everybody will become a pro. It’s our responsibility to create good personalities with the right values in life.
On what soccer has taught him: The main thing about my career is that I used to fall flat on my face, get my teeth kicked in, but I always managed to stand up and become stronger in order to become a better person. That moment when I got killed on the field and I woke up... I was fortunate enough to be without any damage; the chances were quite small that I would survive. I think that put into perspective what’s important in life for me. I was really focused on football. I didn’t know anything else. ... I realized how family and friends are so much more important than anything else. Being focused on shoes, cars, nice suits, and women was totally the wrong approach. For me, it’s family first, helping people, looking out for people. I also founded my charity Global United FC [a nonprofit that raises awareness of climate change] directly after because I was fortunate enough to survive, so I wanted to give a little bit back. I really wanted to focus on that and helping people, trying to do the right thing to help and be supportive to people who need it more than I do.
TEAMS AND TRAVELS
BEFORE STINTS AS HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND SCOUTING FOR TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM AND SPORTING DIRECTOR FOR FORTUNA DÜSSELDORF, PFANNENSTIEL PLAYED ALL OVER THE WORLD. HERE, HIS SOCCER CV.
1991–93 Bad Kötzting (Germany)
1993–94 Penang FA (Malaysia)
1994–95 Wimbledon (England)
1995–96 Nottingham Forest (England)
1996–97 Orlando Pirates (South Africa)
1997 Sembawang Rangers (Singapore)
1997 Tampereen Pallo-Veikot (Finland)
1998 FC Haka (Finland)
1998–99 SV Wacker Burghausen (Germany)
1999–2000 Geylang United (Singapore)
2001 Dunedin Technical (New Zealand)
2001–02 Bradford Park Avenue (England)
2001–02 Huddersfield Town (England)
2002 ASV Cham (Germany)
2002–03 Bradford Park Avenue (England)
2002 Dunedin Technical (New Zealand)
2003 Bærum SK (Norway)
2003 Dunedin Technical (New Zealand)
2004 Calgary Mustangs (Canada)
2004–06 Southern United FC (New Zealand)
2006–07 KS Vllaznia Shkodër (Albania) ]
2007 Bentonit Ijevan (Armenia)
2007 Bærum SK (Norway)
2007 Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada)
2008 America FC (Brazil)
2008 Hermann Aichinger (Brazil)
2008–09 Flekkerøy Idrettslag (Norway)
2009 Manglerud Star (Norway)
2009–10 Ramblers FC (Namibia)
