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The Unstoppable Keeper
He has spent 101 days in a brutal Singapore jail after being accused of match fixing, survived after his heart stopped for three minutes during a match, had his shoes nailed to the floor by the Crazy Gang, and stolen a penguin and kept it in his bath while playing in New Zealand… he is German goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel and this is his incredible story.
Described by Four Four Two magazine as the “craziest man in football”, Pfannenstiel is the only man to play pro football in all six FIFA confederations. Having turned down Bayern Munich at the age of 19, he embarked on a globetrotting football adventure that took him from Malaysia to New Zealand – via Wimbledon, Nottingham Forest and Bradford Park Avenue – and from Albania to Brazil.
But the stats – 400 games for more than 25 clubs on six continents – don’t begin to tell the extraordinary story. He has been a techno DJ in Kuala Lumpur, he has lived in an igloo to raise awareness for global warming, he has been goalkeeping coach for both Cuba and Namibia (whose keeper was deaf) and persuaded Maradona to play a charity match in Antarctica!
A massive bestseller in his native Germany, The Unstoppable Keeper is quite simply the most extraordinary footballer autobiography you will ever read!
Highlights from the book include how Lutz:
Became the only person to have played professional football in all FIFA confederations
Was wrongly jailed for match fixing in Singapore – spending 101 days in horrific conditions
Signed for 25 teams
Stopped breathing three times during a game
Turned down mighty Bayern Munich to play in Malaysia
Coached teams in such exotic locations as Norway, Namibia, Armenia and Cuba
and actually kidnapped a Penguin!
205 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
13 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 16 reviews
March 24, 2023
An incredible career that is still going strong..
Enjoyed reading all the crazy stories. What a career Lutz has had. He's currently St.Louis City's Sporting Director and off to a.record 4-0 start. Great read and Go Cit
ty!!!!
Enjoyed reading all the crazy stories. What a career Lutz has had. He's currently St.Louis City's Sporting Director and off to a.record 4-0 start. Great read and Go Cit
ty!!!!
November 2, 2025
Lutz Pfannenstiel has just been appointed as Director of Football at my local football (soccer) club which I support, so I just had to read his autobiography !
Unlike a lot of sports autobiographies that I’ve read in the past, Lutz is not an elite sportsman, he is a ‘journeyman’ goalkeeper and in order to fulfil his dream he has had to travel the world in order to secure work as a professional sportsman. In fact throughout the course of his career he has kept goal professionally on 5 continents in order to make a living. He tells of his travels and his experiences of these different countries and the book is full of humorous and fascinating anecdotes. The most memorable of these are of his time spent in prison in Singapore for alleged ‘match fixing’, the time when his heart stopped three times while playing during a match and when he decided to take a penguin as a pet !
This an interesting, funny and fascinating read which gives a great insight into the inner workings of the football establishment from someone who has had to work hard to carve out a career as a professional footballer.
Unlike a lot of sports autobiographies that I’ve read in the past, Lutz is not an elite sportsman, he is a ‘journeyman’ goalkeeper and in order to fulfil his dream he has had to travel the world in order to secure work as a professional sportsman. In fact throughout the course of his career he has kept goal professionally on 5 continents in order to make a living. He tells of his travels and his experiences of these different countries and the book is full of humorous and fascinating anecdotes. The most memorable of these are of his time spent in prison in Singapore for alleged ‘match fixing’, the time when his heart stopped three times while playing during a match and when he decided to take a penguin as a pet !
This an interesting, funny and fascinating read which gives a great insight into the inner workings of the football establishment from someone who has had to work hard to carve out a career as a professional footballer.
October 8, 2023
Skvělá kniha nejen pro fotbalové fanoušky. Kdyby příběh Pfannenstiela vyšel jako beletrie, kritizoval bych ho, že je extrémně přitažený za vlasy. Více v tomto článku: Gólman dobrodruh. Hrál za 25 klubů, unesl tučňáka, přežil kolaps i vězení.
Jen je škoda, že kniha nemá víc stran. Spoustu zážitků autor zmíní jen z rychlíku, i když by evidentně bylo o čem vyprávět.
Jen je škoda, že kniha nemá víc stran. Spoustu zážitků autor zmíní jen z rychlíku, i když by evidentně bylo o čem vyprávět.
August 1, 2020
This book made me wish I had enough talent to leverage into seeing the world, Singapore excepted maybe.
I am sure many footballers have had some interesting travels, but Lutzś collection of stories is not to be missed.
My son was concerned with his kidnapping of a penguin & I am glad to have learned that it was a brief mistake that resulted in the penguin being back where he belonged. But am also glad to have learned that he seems to have overcome the horrors of his time in Singapore and some of the dodgier incidents along the way to leverage his experiences to work toward good things.
Fun read. Highly recommend.
I am sure many footballers have had some interesting travels, but Lutzś collection of stories is not to be missed.
My son was concerned with his kidnapping of a penguin & I am glad to have learned that it was a brief mistake that resulted in the penguin being back where he belonged. But am also glad to have learned that he seems to have overcome the horrors of his time in Singapore and some of the dodgier incidents along the way to leverage his experiences to work toward good things.
Fun read. Highly recommend.
January 23, 2022
If I met Lutz I'm not sure whether I would find him an inspiration or a nightmare to be around, but his antics certainly make for a great read. Football and travel are two of my biggest passions so this book brought them together brilliantly.
I felt the book could've been a little longer actually, such is the incredible life he's led, and he talks about money a lot. It's something I've noticed footballers tend to do in their autobiographies, talking about considerable amouts of money in pretty throwaway terms, and it's not something I find attractive. Like I say, I'm not sure how much I would warm to Lutz. Still, I admire him for putting his all into his career and his work on tackling global warming, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The game's taken him on an amazing journey that perhaps many more illustrious players have missed out on.
I felt the book could've been a little longer actually, such is the incredible life he's led, and he talks about money a lot. It's something I've noticed footballers tend to do in their autobiographies, talking about considerable amouts of money in pretty throwaway terms, and it's not something I find attractive. Like I say, I'm not sure how much I would warm to Lutz. Still, I admire him for putting his all into his career and his work on tackling global warming, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The game's taken him on an amazing journey that perhaps many more illustrious players have missed out on.
August 3, 2023
This memoir was a gift to me from a good friend as I am also a goalkeeper and love football and football related things, though not particularly football players' memoirs. This fit the bill of why I do not read them much.
This guy had an amazing adventure and some terrible things happen to him and genuinely his story is interesting.
But it is blandly written, a little egotistical and glosses over so much.
I enjoyed his journey but not so much reading it. I think in this case a documentary would be better. I have read a lot of memoirs and this has to be one of the most basic in terms of writing, detail, use of any literary skill that I have read. The only thing that kept me in it was that I love football, travel and I am a goalkeeper.
For anyone else I would recommend to miss it, maybe a 2* but because I can connect I give it 3*
This guy had an amazing adventure and some terrible things happen to him and genuinely his story is interesting.
But it is blandly written, a little egotistical and glosses over so much.
I enjoyed his journey but not so much reading it. I think in this case a documentary would be better. I have read a lot of memoirs and this has to be one of the most basic in terms of writing, detail, use of any literary skill that I have read. The only thing that kept me in it was that I love football, travel and I am a goalkeeper.
For anyone else I would recommend to miss it, maybe a 2* but because I can connect I give it 3*
March 1, 2024
This was a really entertaining book - think David Brent meets Oliver Khan.
Lutz Pfannenstiel's story is a remarkable one that takes him to every continent on the globe during a football career of many highs and lows.
I'm not sure Pfannenstiel realises how funny he is, as he goes full Partridge with questionable (read offensive) greetings toward native Americans and talks about the indignity of having to drive a Volkswagen instead of his usual BMW. He's also an animal lover who steals a penguin to keep in his bath as a pet?!
The book is accessible and entertaining, and even provides a couple of heartfelt moments.
Lutz Pfannenstiel's story is a remarkable one that takes him to every continent on the globe during a football career of many highs and lows.
I'm not sure Pfannenstiel realises how funny he is, as he goes full Partridge with questionable (read offensive) greetings toward native Americans and talks about the indignity of having to drive a Volkswagen instead of his usual BMW. He's also an animal lover who steals a penguin to keep in his bath as a pet?!
The book is accessible and entertaining, and even provides a couple of heartfelt moments.
July 20, 2021
By far the best sports biography I've read. Loved it. The honesty from Lutz and the love and enjoyment obviously had by him by playing a game around the world is amazing. Would and have recommended to any football fan.
March 3, 2023
Read in one sitting on a flight to St Louis to meet this very man (well...)
As a sports writer, the best stories are not just in the glitzy world of Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi, but those in the lower echelons of our game - and this is one.
Lutz's tale is a must-read for all.
As a sports writer, the best stories are not just in the glitzy world of Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi, but those in the lower echelons of our game - and this is one.
Lutz's tale is a must-read for all.
December 24, 2023
The author has a great understanding of how wild his life was and while he does aggrandise that too much at times, he also brings across how difficult and challenging it was. So it comes across as human and sympathetic where it should be. Great read!
July 21, 2017
Must read for any Bundesliga fan
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November 20, 2019Amazing book, great stories, huge story and few laughs.
June 4, 2023
Good story about an amazing life as a goalkeeper , travelling everywhere but not quite making the big time
August 5, 2015
I don't normally read footballers' biographies, but the crazy career of the German goalie who became the first footballer to play professionally in all six FIFA confederations is a cracking read. I saw Pfannenstiel play on a couple of occasions when I lived in Dunedin (NZ) and he was already a cult figure with the fans, even though many of his exploits such as the attempt at keeping a pet penguin (acquired from a local beach) in his bathtub were not publicly known at the time. I highly recommend this fascinating bio.
September 25, 2015
Huge fun and essential reading for any goalkeeper. To be honest this is great for people even if they don't like football.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 16 reviews