Aberdeen appoint Lutz Pfannenstiel as sporting director

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 for lack of evidence.

On loan to Bradford Park Avenue, he was declared dead three times on the field after his lungs collapsed following a collision.

During his time in New Zealand, he kidnapped a penguin and kept it in his bathtub, only to send it back when the president of Otago United warned him he could face deportation if caught.

Having retired 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 Four Four Two magazine as the “craziest man in football”.

Nine years at 1899 Hoffenheim as head of international relations & scouting.

Two seasons as Fortuna Dusseldorf sporting director during which they finished 10th in the Bundesliga, their highest position in three decades.

Five years as sporting director with St Louis City, creating their youth academy and training facility, as they won the Western Conference in 2023.