Pierre Michael Littbarski (; born 16 April 1960) is a German professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and former player of 1. FC Köln and the West Germany national team. Known for his dribbling abilities, he was mainly used as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

or winger. Littbarski was a

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

winner with West Germany in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, and the runner-up in both

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. Littbarski was the caretaker manager of

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

after taking over from

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club. McClaren began his coaching caree ...

from 7 February to 17 March 2011.

Club career

Littbarski spent most of his playing career at 1. FC Köln. He made his debut for the club, at the time coached by

Hennes Weisweiler Hans "Hennes" Weisweiler (5 December 1919 – 5 July 1983) was a German professional football player and coach. As a coach, he won major titles with Bundesliga clubs Borussia Mönchengladbach and 1. FC Köln in the 1970s. With 11 titles, 8 with ...

, at the age of 18. The stars on the team during Littbarski's first few years were goalkeeper

Harald Schumacher Harald Anton "Toni" Schumacher (born 6 March 1954) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he won a Bundesliga title and three DFB-Pokal titles with 1. FC Köln. At international level, he represent ...

, goal scorer

Dieter Müller Dieter Müller (né Kaster; 1 April 1954) is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward. He achieved his greatest success playing for 1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga in the late 1970s. Müller scored 177 goals in 303 games i ...

, and midfielder

Bernd Schuster Bernd Schuster (born 22 December 1959) is a German former professional footballer of the late 1970s through early 1990s, who won club titles playing for the Spanish sides FC Barcelona (1980–1987) and Real Madrid (1988–1990). He played as a m ...

. Littbarski scored the winning goal in the 1983

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

final against

Fortuna Köln Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until a ...

. He was on teams that were three times the runner-up in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

title chase, in

, 1989 and

. In his career, he was initially used as a deep-lying striker before being utilised as an attacking midfielder. Playing in the former role, in the four seasons from 1981 to 1985 he scored 64 league goals in 128 Bundesliga games. "Litti", as he was nicknamed by German fans, was widely known for his excellent dribbling abilities and humorous attitude, and was one of the fan favourites in the West German Bundesliga during the decade. In 1985 his goal versus

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...

was elected " Goal of the Year". He later played for

RC Paris Racing Club de France Football (, also known as Racing Paris, RCF Paris, Matra Racing, Racing Club, or Racing) is a French association football club based in Colombes, a suburb of Paris. Racing was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline spor ...

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

as well as for

JEF United Ichihara , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club that plays in the J2 League. On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from ''JEF United Ichihara'' to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as ...

and

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in Japan.

International career

Littbarski had a prolific but short career as part of the West German Under-21 side. He was a part of the squad that got to the 1982 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship final. The team lost to England 5–4 after a two-leg final (losing 1–3 away and winning 3–2 at home). Littbarski scored a hat-trick against the English in West Germany, but ultimately they lost the tie. Littbarski earned his first cap for

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

on 14 October 1981 in the 1982 World Cup qualification against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. West Germany manager

Jupp Derwall Josef "Jupp" Derwall (10 March 1927 – 26 June 2007) was a German professional football manager and player. He was head coach of the West Germany national team between 1978 and 1984, winning the UEFA Euro 1980 and reaching the final of the 198 ...

started him in a three-man front line alongside

Klaus Fischer Klaus Fischer (born 27 December 1949) is a German former professional footballer and coach. He was a key player on the West Germany national team that lost the 1982 World Cup final to Italy. As a forward, he was noted for his bicycle kicks, ...

and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Littbarski's international career got off to a promising start, as he scored the first and second goals in that game. His third international goal came at the 1982 World Cup, in the second round match against

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, a 2–1 victory. Against France in the semi-final, Littbarski scored the opening goal, and later was successful on a penalty in the deciding shoot-out. The now legendary match ended in a 3–3 draw, with Littbarski involved in the dramatic extra-time equalizer, crossing to Horst Hrubesch, who headed to

, who scored with an overhead bicycle kick. Littbarski had minutes earlier provided the pass that Rummenigge scored from to cut France's lead to 3–2. A poignant scene in the penalty shootout showed the young Littbarski consoling a tearful

Uli Stielike Ulrich "Uli" Stielike (born 15 November 1954) is a German former footballer and manager. Usually a central midfielder or sweeper, Stielike was well known for his stamina and footballing intelligence.Radnedge, Keir. (2004). The Complete Encyclope ...

, who had just missed a penalty and had buried his head in Littbarski's shirt, while watching West Germany's goalkeeper,

, save

Didier Six Didier Six (born 21 August 1954) is a French football coach and former player, who most recently worked as manager of the Guinea national football team until October 2021. A gifted but inconsistent winger, Six enjoyed a nomadic career, playing ...

's penalty to even the score. West Germany eventually won 5–4 on penalties. West Germany lost 3–1 to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the final. Littbarski played the whole match, receiving a yellow card in the 88th minute. He holds the record for the most player assists in a single World Cup tournament, with five assists in 1982 FIFA World Cup, alongside with

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

(1970),

Robert Gadocha Robert Gadocha (born 10 January 1946 in Kraków) is a retired Polish soccer player, most notable for playing for Legia Warsaw. Gadocha, who started his career in Garbarnia Kraków. later also played for FC Nantes, and briefly in the United S ...

(1974),

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...

(1986) and

Thomas Häßler Thomas Jürgen "Icke" Häßler (; born 30 May 1966) is a German former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder throughout his career. At club level, he made a century of appearances for four teams: 1. FC Köln, Karlsruher SC and 1860 ...

(1994). At the

UEFA Euro 1984 The 1984 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in France from 12 to 27 June 1984. It was the seventh UEFA European Championship, a competition held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. At the time, only eight countries ...

, West Germany, with Littbarski, were eliminated in the group stage after a string of poor performances. The

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...

in Mexico, while successful for West Germany, proved less so for Littbarski personally. He was benched by manager

Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...

, and had to watch the semi–final and final from the bench. West Germany again finished as runners–up, losing 3–2 to Argentina. In 1987, he played in a friendly match against England and scored two goals, one directly from a corner, as the West Germans won 3–1. The West German players had high hopes for the

UEFA Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. The tournament crowned Netherlan ...

on their home soil. However, the hosts lost 2–1 to the Netherlands in the semi–finals. Littbarski did not score any goals in the tournament. In 1990, Littbarski enjoyed a successful final appearance at the

, as West Germany won their third title, defeating Argentina 1–0 in the final in Rome. Littbarski scored his only goal in the group stage against

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

but started three of the four games at the knockout stage, including the final.

Managerial career

In 1999, he started his coaching career with

Yokohama FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the first tier of football in the country. The club was formed by fans of Yokoh ...

Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership am ...

and he led the club to the promotion to J2 League. He has also been the manager of

(twice), as well as assistant manager of

Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

and manager of

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jers ...

Sydney FC

He was manager of Australian

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

side Sydney FC between 2005 and 2006, and led them to the

FIFA Club World Championship The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

in 2005, and a win in the inaugural

A-League Championship A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professionalism in association football, professional men's association football, soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Austral ...

. He was famous amongst Sydney FC supporters and the media for his stylish brown suits. Sydney under Littbarski were criticised for boring football, but the results could seldom be argued with and Sydney FC went on to claim the inaugural A-League Championship under his reign. Littbarski and Sydney FC severed ties on Wednesday, 5 May 2006, with Littbarski announcing he would not re-sign for the club following disputes over a cut-price contract offer.

Avispa Fukuoka

In December 2006, Littbarski was appointed the manager of Avispa Fukuoka, a J2 League side that was newly demoted to the second division after the 2006 season. In July 2008, he left the club and was replaced by Yoshiyuki Shinoda.

Saipa F.C.

On 26 July 2008, it was announced that he became the new manager of Iranian side

Saipa F.C. Saipa Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال سايپا, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Saipa'') is a football club from Tehran, Iran. The team is owned by SAIPA, an Iranian automobile manufacturer. The team has never had a large fanbase, despite so ...

His contract was terminated on 8 October 2008 after nine games.

FC Vaduz

On 4 November 2008 he signed a contract as head coach and team manager of

FC Vaduz FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

. On 12 April 2010 he was dismissed due to lack of success.

VfL Wolfsburg

On 9 June 2010, Littbarski signed a two-year contract as assistant coach by

. After

was sacked on 7 February 2011, Littbarski was appointed caretaker manager of VfL Wolfsburg.

Felix Magath Wolfgang Felix Magath (; born 26 July 1953) is a German football manager and former player. The most notable spell of his playing career was with Hamburger SV, with whom he won three Bundesliga titles, the 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final a ...

was subsequently made head coach in March 2011.

Name

Littbarski has said that he was named "Pierre" because his parents loved France and, when thinking of a name for him, recalled their travels there.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list West Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Littbarski goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

1. FC Köln *

: 1982–83 *

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

runner-up: 1985–86 Germany *

; runner-up:

Individual * ''

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

Team of the Season: 1981–82, 1984–85, 1989–90 *

top assist provider:

Goal of the Year (Germany) The Goal of the Year in Germany is, like the '' Goal of the Month'' ( Tor des Monats), the ''Goal of the Decade'' and ''Goal of the Century'', an individual football award selected by spectators of the ''Sportschau'' ( ARD German TV), among spect ...

: 1985 * Sydney FC Hall of Fame: 2015

References

External links

* *
League matches of Pierre Littbarski season by season
at RSSSF
TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen's Who's Who
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Littbarski, Pierre 1960 births Expatriate footballers in Japan Expatriate football managers in Japan 1. FC Köln players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1990 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players Bundesliga players German football managers German expatriate footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Australia German expatriate sportspeople in France German expatriate sportspeople in Japan German footballers Germany international footballers Germany under-21 international footballers Germany B international footballers JEF United Chiba players J1 League players Japan Football League (1992–1998) players Ligue 1 players Living people Footballers from Berlin Racing Club de France Football players Sydney FC managers UEFA Euro 1984 players UEFA Euro 1988 players Vegalta Sendai players J2 League managers Yokohama FC managers Avispa Fukuoka managers German expatriate sportspeople in Liechtenstein MSV Duisburg managers West German expatriate footballers West German footballers Expatriate soccer managers in Australia Expatriate football managers in Switzerland A-League Men managers FC Vaduz managers German expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Association football wingers