VIDEO: Lutz Pfannenstiel's Journey to Brazil: World Cup 2014 Preps!

My friend Lutz Pfannenstiel is the most travelled professional footballer of all-time and he takes us on a journey to Brazil as the home of the beautiful game gets ready to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Lutz Pfannenstiel: I've heard about Subrata Pal's potential

On the second day of the AIFF organized Goalkeeping Course, 'Art of German Goalkeeping' the course instructor Lutz Pfannenstiel spoke about an Indian Goalkeeper, Subrata Pal.

The buzz in the classroom amongst the participants was unmistakable. Lutz Pfannenstiel clarified, "I know, I know… I am talking about his stint with RB Leipzig in Germany."

To the surprise of the participants, Lutz Pfannenstiel knew quite a bit about Subrata Pal but that is not uncommon for a scout like Lutz who has been a personal friend of mine for many, many years and he has been briefed about Indian football by me before he left.

Lutz pointed out that Subrata's stint with the German outfit in division four (Regionalliga Nordost) was a very fruitful one and assured that the standard of the fourth tier in Germany is as good as the Premier League in other parts of the world.

"I got good reviews about him (Subrata). The standard in the German fourth division League is very high I can assure you that. So his stint with Rasen Ballsport Leipzig must have been very good. I've heard about his potential. The standard in Germany is very high and level of competition stays intense."

He continued as the coaches listened. "Germany is the place for goalkeepers! So Pal's training could only have gone in one direction… that is good."

The two-hour long theory session also saw Pfannenstiel stress on the importance and transformation of equipments of a goalkeeper, training methods and so on. Videos were shown to the participants to explain the drills they need to perform in their next practical session.

Speaking on the transformation of equipments Pfannenstiel said, "The equipments of a goalkeeper has changed over the years. From the ball which swings a lot now than probably ten years back, to their gloves, everything has changed. A goalkeeper of the 80's would find life difficult nowadays."

"The need for good quality equipments is paramount. In Africa you don't find good goalkeepers. The reason is that kids who choose goalkeeping have harrowing experience standing under the bar. The grounds are full of stones and they are the ones who have to do the diving. So naturally they don't want to do it again. This is where good quality kits come into play."

Pfannenstiel also pointed out some features of how coaches should train their goalkeepers. "A goalkeeper trains alone with his coach. He is in that way separated from the main team's training. But the Head Coach stays the most important. A goalkeeper’s training is always special," Lutz said.

"If you are a National Team Goalkeeping Coach you have limited time with your goalkeepers. So you have to out your training plan in a nutshell. But if you are with a club you have time and this is where club keeper training comes into the fray."

AIFF organised ‘Art of German Goalkeeping’ kicks-off in Mumbai

The All India Football Federation organised goalkeeping course titled 'Art of German Goalkeeping' kicked-off at the Cooperage ground in Mumbai today.

This first of its kind course is being organised by AIFF in association with the German Olympic Association (DOSB) and German Football Association (DFB). Former German Goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel is conducting the week-long course which will comprise of theory and practical sessions, stressing on various positions of the goalkeeper and how the dynamics have changed in recent years.

Pfannenstiel, a scout for Bundesliga outfit TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, also spoke on the basic role of a goalkeeping coach and explained the difference between a normal coach and a goalkeeping coach citing examples.

"The position of a goalkeeper has transformed over the years. Now a goalkeeper has to be a good footballer as well. Manuel Neuer is the best example of a modern day goalkeeper. He is a motivator in the side," Lutz said.

"Shot stopping skills alone are not enough anymore. A goalkeeper needs to distribute the ball well and on counter-attacks he plays a key role in building the first block of a move," Lutz added.

"In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Lehmann got the nod ahead of Oliver Kahn because Lehmann was more a modern day goalkeeper than Kahn, who was of course the best shot stopper."

Twenty eight coaches including those contracted with the AIFF are attending the one week course.

"A goalkeeper is a team player and a lone warrior. He trains differently as well. But again he is the motivator if the side," Lutz further added.

"Goalkeeping coaches are not like normal coaches. You see Jose Mourinho perhaps never kicked a football. Arsene Wenger was not a great player. But they are world class coaches. But a person who cannot kick the ball well cannot be a goalkeeping coach. In training you need to shoot the ball perfectly and in chest height for your goalkeeper to get good practice."

Lutz Pfannenstiel, who has the unique distinction of having been the only professional football to play in on all six Continents maintained that it is the responsibility of goalkeeping coaches to make their second and third choice custodians 'feel important'.

"A goalkeeper's position stays static on the football pitch. You can have two world class strikers playing but not two great goalkeepers. So for a coach it is very important to keep his second and third choice keepers happy and make them feel important. They should be fielded in Friendlies and less important matches."

The 90 minute educative session was followed by an hour of practical session where the 28 participants were taught relevant drills.


The list of coaches stay as follows

Tanumoy Basu, Mario Aguiar, Feroz Sheriff, Henry Picardo, Subrata Dasgupta, Abdul Siddique, Raghuvir Khanolkar, Pramod Brid, Abdul Quadeer, Premkanta Singh, William Koso, Mohammed Yusuf Ansari, Utpal Mukherjee, T.K. Majumdar, Richard Sanchez, Sebastian Noronha, Chandrakant Naik, Ashok Panda, Nirvan Shah, Vivek Gupta, Gavin Araujo, Lokesh Kukrety, Nitesh Dimri, Hameed K., Fysal K. Bappu, Manoj Nair, Gumpe Rime, Abun Gobi Singh

'The Art of German Goalkeeping' course in Mumbai from tomorrow

A high performance goalkeeping instructor course titled 'The Art of German Goalkeeping' will be held from October 8 to 15 at the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai.

The course will be conducted by instructors Lutz Pfannenstiel and Feliz Imm from Germany, who are on a three week coaching instruction trip to India as part of a partnership between the German Olympic Association (DOSB) and German Football Association (DFB) plus their Indian partners All India Football Federation, Indian Football Association (West Bengal), Mizoram Football Association and Western Indian Football Association (Maharashtra).

The course in Mumbai is being organised by WIFA under the aegis of the AIFF, DOSB and DFB with the course open to AIFF affiliated coaches plus those from I-League clubs and Academies.

AIFF's Technical Director for Regional Academies Scott O'Donell would also conduct some modules of the program. The coaching program includes theory as well as practical sessions and the participants would be introduced to the German way of goalkeeping.

"This is a great initiative. This course will be the first of many such activities that will take place at Cooperage in the coming months," added WIFA CEO Henry Menezes.

Before coming to Mumbai the duo of Lutz Pfannenstiel and Feliz Imm have been in Kolkata (West Bengal) and Aizawl (Mizoram) over the last couple of weeks to do general coaching courses.

German Football Coaching tips for Mizoram

On their current trip to Mizoram, German coaching instructors Lutz Pfannenstiel and Felix Imm of the German Football Association (DFB), have stated that Mizoram can produce footballers of world class if the abundant talent among young footballers is properly harnessed, as the duo feel there was no reason why budding footballers from the Northeastern state cannot graduate to world standard players.

The coaches, who are in Aizawl to train local footballers and local coaches, were pretty impressed by the potential and high spirits of the young players.

“The potential is clearly visible in the spirited and entertaining game played by the young players," former goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel said.

Lal Thanzara, President of Mizoram Football Association had requested Rainer Schmiedchen, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kolkata, to provide good coaches for Mizoram, the Consul General promptly expressed keen interest in exploring football talent in the state and took initiative to bring German coach to the state back in May 2012.

The world goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel, who is the first footballer to have played professional football in all the six continents of our planet, said that for the past few days he and Felix Imm had been watching the local Mizo football keenly and concluded that the state has enough talent to make it to international standards.

The German duo is in the process of training local football coaches who will be participating in the upcoming Mizoram Premier League.

"We hope that some coaches may be inspired by what they learned during the training to try to find those same footballing truths for themselves and having found them, apply them to their own teams in Mizoram," said the German duo.

"The players need psychological, physical, moral, medical and sports support. This is how we do it back in Germany and there is no reason why we can’t do it in India or Mizoram," Lutz said at the press confidence.

"Our sincere thanks go to Lal Thanhawla, chief minister of Mizoram who paved the way for Mizoram Football Association to meet Consul General of Germany and our President Lal Thanzara, their efforts have paid off, not only for Mizoram, but also for India," said Lalnghinglova Hmar, Honorary Secretary of the Mizoram Football Association.

The coach education programme with the German coaches started on October 1 and runs until October 6 with 28 coaches from Mizoram attended the programme.

Global United FC: Lutz to interview me live today!

A little later at around 09.30 CET (14.00 IST / 08.30 GMT) listen to me in my friend Lutz Pfannenstiel's livestream ( www.globalunitedfc.com/Igloo_2012.php ), who is sitting in an Igloo (Ice House) at the Biathlon World Championship in Ruhpolding, Germany. Lutz is spending five days in the igloo to raise awareness about climate change and global warming.

We will be speaking about India and its football during the interview. Lutz will share with the others his experience in New Delhi in September 2010, where we both participated at the FICCI Sports Summit Turf 2010.

Over these five day Lutz will be having guests in the 'Talks of the Day' with decision makers from sports, economy, politics and other walks of life and also talk with you all via Internet about climate change and other social projects.

The former football goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel, the only professional footballer to have played on all continents, is trying to make people aware of the topic of climate change and global warming through his charity organisation Global United FC, while also supporting social projects.

You can watch the livestream from around 09.30 CET (14.00 IST / 08.30 GMT) onwards under www.globalunitedfc.com/Igloo_2012.php . Enjoy listening!!!

VIDEO Interview with Lutz Pfannenstiel (Global United FC)

My friend Lutz Pfannenstiel has founded and runs with two partners the football charity Global United Football Club which aims to fight climate change and global warming. I caught-up with Lutz for a television interview at the Arena auf Schalke over the weekend to get to know more about Global United FC and its work.

And in some good news for India, Lutz is planning to bring Global United FC with its football stars from around the world to India to play a charity match in 2011.





To learn more about Global United FC go to their official website under: www.globalunitedfc.com .

Travelling with Lutz Pfannenstiel to India & back

A couple of weeks back I flew down from Germany for the 2nd FICCI Sports Summit 'Turf 2010' to New Delhi with my good old friend Lutz Pfannenstiel. And surely it was a trip to remember with all possible ups and downs.

Lutz and I have known each other for nearly a decade. It was actually an introduction through an email. Lutz, the only footballer to play in all of FIFA's six confederations, was interested to come and play in India. But it didn't work out then, still we remained in contact and over the years became friends. We have met again and again, but we met a lot over the last three month's due to work and Lutz was still interested to come to India as he is fascinated by our country. I kept that in mind and then suggested to the organisers at FICCI to use Lutz's knowledge for the sports summit and they agreed, so Lutz was on the flight with me.

As a former footballer and now coach Lutz travels a lot, so getting an Indian visa wasn't the easiest task due to time constraints, so getting the visa became part of our journey. Our travel started early on Tuesday morning, September 28. Lutz picked me up in his car at 07.00 h and we had a two hour drive ahead of us down to Frankfurt to hand in Lutz's papers for the visa at the Indian consulate. The drive took us a little longer, so we handed in Lutz's passport just before 10.00 h. The officer at the consulate told us to come back around 13.00 h as we told him our Emirates flight would leave Frankfurt at 15.25 h that day, so we needed the passport back asap. We went out of for a coffee on a gloomy day in Frankfurt. We were back by 12.45 h, but we didn't get the passport back before 13.40 h and I was getting a little nervous if we would make it for our flight. In the end we did get onto our flight and we were on our way to India.

After a short stopover in Dubai we landed in Delhi at the new Terminal 3 on Wednesday morning. Lutz's first impression like many newcomers these days to Delhi was great. A drive through town and we were at our hotel, the Oberoi. A short rest, the chance to freshen up and then we went through our presentations giving it final touches before the sports summit the next couple of days. We went on a little tour of Delhi before we had early dinner and went to sleep early to be fresh the next morning as we were a little tired after the long journey.

On Thursday, September 30 we got up early, had early breakfast and then where driven across to FICCI House for the opening of the 2nd FICCI Sports Summit 'Turf 2010'. I am now used to this carnival like atmosphere at opening of such events in India when important people are around. For Lutz it was new and he seemed surprised at what was happening infront and around him when Commonwealth Games organising committee president Suresh Kalmadi and Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda entered the room. Their entourage, security plus media made it look like a circus for someone like Lutz, who simply sat in his chair and watched with a grin in his face. He whispered across to me, "can't they take it easy." And I replied, "sadly they can't."

After the introductory speaches it was time for the sessions and I was on the first one titled "Changing Face of Indian Sports", while Lutz had to wait until the afternoon to be part of the session named "Sports for All". And there Lutz came to life explaining how youth development in football around the world is organised or often not really organised. He spoke about the German system and help that the German FA was offering, besides the example of the German Goalkeeper Academy which focused solely on goalkeepers. Lutz was involved in a discussion with the other panelists and thereafter held small talk with interested persons.

Lutz also talked about his charity project Global United FC in which footballers fight climate change and global warming, which I personally find very interesting and fascinating. In GUFC more then 300 former professional footballers from around the world have come together to play charity and friendly matches to raise fund and awareness about the problems of climate change. And not do the footballers play their matches around the world, but when in a certain region or city they go into schools to try and educate the kids about the topic. I hope we will soon have a charity match of Global United FC in India to highlight India's dangers due to climate change and global warming

Day two was more of listening for us and interacting with people. Lutz often was asked about Germany's surprisingly positive performances in South Africa. And as Lutz had been in South Africa as a television expert for Germany's ZDF he could speak about stories first hand.

The way back on Saturday was another highlight. We had our flight out of Delhi at 11.00 h, but I had an 08.00 h breakfast meeting which I had to have before I left Delhi, but at the time Lutz didn't know where he would fly to. He only had the Delhi to Dubai sector confirmed. So would he fly back with me to Frankfurt or over to Johannesburg, South Africa for a coaching assignment? He tried sorting it over the phone at night, but it didn't work so it had to be done at the airport. I checked in my luggage, got my boarding pass and it was about 70 minutes before the flight. Lutz was asked at the counter to speak with the office over the phone and sort out where his connection flight would go. Lutz wanted to fly to Johannesburg, but the ticket wasn't confirmed though booked. About 50 minutes before the flight I was asked to go in while Lutz was still working on where to go. I went through immigration and security, took my seat on the aircraft and while I was texting Lutz to find out if he was joining me or taking a later flight out of Delhi, he suddenly turns up and by chance gets the seat next to me on a fully booked flight. But now Lutz had only a ticket until Dubai and he would have to try and sort out his ticket to Johannedburg or join me on my flight to Frankfurt in Dubai, but he had about 90 minutes which is tight at the now bigger Dubai Terminal 3. I went to my flight to Frankfurt when I got the text message from Lutz saying, "I made it to the Johannesburg flight!"

It was an enjoyable and interesting five days with Lutz, but I don't need the unnecessary tension at the airports. I love to check in on time and enjoy myself close to the gate with a cappuccino or hot chocolate. And surely India would welcome Lutz back again, but maybe next time our travel will be a little less stressful. I hope you are listening Lutz...

VIDEO: 3rd International Goalkeeper Congress

The video of the 3rd International Goalkeeper Congress held in Zurich is now ready and can be viewed below, only it is in German.






More infos on the 3rd International Goalkeeper Congress under www.goalkeepercongress.com .

3rd International Goalkeeper Congress - A personal review

The 3rd International Goalkeeper Congress was held in Zurich over the weekend of July 31/August 1. I had the task and honour to moderate the theoretical sessions on day one, while day two was filled with practice sessions from goalkeeping experts and former keepers like Jean-Marie Pfaff and Lutz Pfannenstiel showing their training methods.

Day One was held at the Sonnenberg Convention Center in Zurich, the former home of world football governing body FIFA. And surely this was an impressive location for the Congress with the old building's terrace overviewing the Zurich Lake and you have the Alps in the backdrop. This is Switzerland as you have it on picture post cards. Maybe this was why the organisers picked this location after Nuremberg and Munich hosted the first two editions.

Moderating an event like this is a lot of work as you have to prepare yourself with as much input as possible about the people making presentations or being interviewed by you. And also you have to be prepared for all eventualities plus I was given the chance to moderate in place of former FIFA Media Director Markus Siegler, so some added pressure on me but none with which I can't live with. To give you an example, the Global Ambassador of the International Goalkeeper Congress is German national goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke, but due to a serious illness in the family, he couldn't attend. So it meant short notice changes to the program and the overall plans. And then there was Jean-Marie Pfaff, who was being followed by a camera team, as he has a long running reality show in Belgium like the Osborne's used to have on MTV. Impressive how he handled the situation with the camera always around.

The grand opening had former Belgian Bayern Munich goalkeeper of the 1980s Jean-Marie Pfaff; former Swiss captain and Borussia Moenchengladbach keeper Joerg Stiel; German goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel, who is the only player to have played on all continents; and Michael Fuchs, the goalkeeping coach of the German Women's national team, to start the day. The main discussion in the opening session revolved around the Jabulani ball and the goalkeeping blunders at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. While the younger generation put some blame on the ball and the different conditions across South Africa, Pfaff said that quality proves itself in the end and questioned if goalkeeping was at its highest standards as keepers these days are integrated into their sides and aren't crazy individuals as keepers have been in the past.

Over the day you had numerous sessions on goalkeeping and also about artificial turf, a help or hindrance; in stadia seating; plus latest technology which helps keepers to develop their game and find out their weaknesses.

I personally found the sessions with my friend Lutz Pfannenstiel the most interesting as Lutz has not only travelled the world as a player, but has also learned a lot about cultures and follows football around the world. He not only understands the game in theory but the next day showed his vast knowledge in the practical sessions as well. Lutz personally told me, he would be very interested to come to India to coach and manage a club or maybe even get involved with Team India.

An interesting aspect was also the conference call sessions. Something which I hadn't seen at a congress before. This was done as a number of persons couldn't be physically present in Zurich, still we had them as part of the Congress by calling them and getting their views, talking about goalkeeping and football in their countries.

The day ended with a joint dinner, while day two was held at the Sportanlage Chrummen in Freienbach, just outside of Zurich. This happens to be the national training centre of the Swiss national teams with two natural turf grounds plus an artificial turf. And with artificial turf producer Polytan as Congress sponsor and the artificial turf being theirs the practical sessions where held on that ground. Jean-Marie Pfaff and Lutz Pfannenstiel showed their training methodology with other coaches chipping in with their ideas or even discussing if the methods are right or wrong. As a non-goalkeeper it was interesting to follow how such training sessions and methods are structured.

World Radio Switzerland interview - with Lutz Pfannenstiel and myself