Meet the craziest man in football: he died on the pitch, stole a penguin, and is now Aberdeen’s sporting director
Lutz Pfannenstiel has been appointed Aberdeen’s sporting director, a move the club hopes will help them turn around a season that has brought only two wins and left them 11th in the Scottish Premiership. In this newly created role, Pfannenstiel will oversee all football and performance areas of the club, drawing on decades of coaching, scouting, and leadership across multiple countries to drive the team forward.
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Aberdeen bets on a global veteran to steer a club in peril
Aberdeen announced the appointment of Lutz Pfannenstiel as sporting director as the club seeks to reverse a troubling run, with two league wins all season and 11th place in the Scottish Premiership. Chairman Dave Cormack said Pfannenstiel brings extensive coaching, scouting, young-player development and leadership experience from across different roles and cultures, which could act as a catalyst for the club’s football ambitions over the next few years. Pfannenstiel will oversee and be responsible for all football and performance areas at Pittodrie and Cormack Park to deliver on the club’s ambitious objectives in a highly competitive league.
A career that spans 25 clubs and continents
The former Germany youth international goalkeeper played for 25 clubs during a two-decade professional career, including stints at Wimbledon, Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield Town. His journey took him from the Bayern Munich youth system to Brazil, New Zealand, Malaysia, Finland, South Africa, Canada, Albania, Namibia, Armenia and Malta—a global odyssey that Aberdeen hopes will inform his approach. Pfannenstiel’s time at Wimbledon in 1994 coincided with the club’s notorious ‘Crazy Gang’ era, and he recalls a famously wild welcome: a park run turned into a naked scramble after teammates stripped him in November cold weather.
On-pitch miracle and mischief: the turning points in his life
Pfannenstiel’s life has been marked by extraordinary episodes. During a match for Bradford Park Avenue against Harrogate in 2002/03, he was clinically dead on the pitch after his heart stopped, waking up in hospital three hours later. The German later recounted a surreal penguin episode in New Zealand, keeping the animal in his bath tub and joking about the experience when asked about the deportation risk. A darker chapter followed in Singapore, where he spent 101 days in jail after being accused of match fixing. He described the experience as the toughest of his life, saying, “There are tougher prisons in the world, and I woke up in a tiny concrete cell.” Asked about the period later, he told The Guardian that football wasn’t everything and that the ordeal forced him to re-evaluate his life and priorities.
A new chapter with a purpose: Aberdeen’s future from a man who has seen it all
Pfannenstiel has spoken of Aberdeen as a club with rich tradition, storied history and a true football soul. He said he looks forward to bringing his depth of experience in football to a Scottish city that lives for the game. Having spent time getting to know the club over the past two years, he inherits a very strong infrastructure and team at Pittodrie and Cormack Park. He describes his mission as building from a solid base with one goal in mind: to elevate Aberdeen at all levels and make the fans proud of the club. This appointment is a gamble, but it aligns with Aberdeen’s broader aim to compete in a highly competitive Scottish league and to deliver sustained on-field and off-field improvement.
