Pierre Littbarski facts for kids
.jpg)
Littbarski in 2006
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pierre Michael Littbarski | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 16 April 1960 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | West Berlin, West Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder, winger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | VfL Wolfsburg (lead scout) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1967–1976 | VfL Schöneberg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1976–1978 | FC Hertha 03 Zehlendorf | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1986 | 1. FC Köln | 234 | (89) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | RC Paris | 34 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1993 | 1. FC Köln | 172 | (27) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | JEF United Ichihara | 63 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Brummell Sendai | 29 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 532 | (135) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1982 | West Germany U-21 | 21 | (18) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 | West Germany B | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1990 | West Germany | 73 | (18) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Yokohama FC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Bayer Leverkusen (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | MSV Duisburg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Yokohama FC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Sydney FC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Avispa Fukuoka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Saipa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | FC Vaduz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | VfL Wolfsburg (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | VfL Wolfsburg (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Honours
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pierre Michael Littbarski (born 16 April 1960) is a German professional football manager and former player. He was known for his amazing dribbling skills. He mostly played as an attacking midfielder or winger. Littbarski was a FIFA World Cup winner with West Germany in 1990. He was also a runner-up in the World Cup in 1982 and 1986. He later became a coach, even taking care of the VfL Wolfsburg team for a short time in 2011.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Littbarski spent most of his playing days at 1. FC Köln, a big club in Germany. He started playing for them at just 18 years old. In 1983, he scored the winning goal in the DFB-Pokal final. This is a major German cup competition. His team also finished second in the Bundesliga (Germany's top league) three times.
Pierre was known as "Litti" by his fans. He was famous for his excellent dribbling. This meant he could move the ball past defenders very well. He also had a great sense of humor. In 1985, one of his goals was even chosen as the "Goal of the Year" in Germany. Later in his career, he played for teams in France and Japan. These teams included RC Paris, JEF United Ichihara, and Brummel Sendai.
Playing for His Country
Littbarski also played for the West German Under-21 team. He scored many goals for them. In 1982, his team reached the final of the 1982 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. They lost to England, but Littbarski scored three goals in one game against them! He still holds the record for most goals on the Under-21 Germany squad.
He played his first game for the senior West Germany team in 1981. He scored two goals in that very first game against Austria. At the 1982 FIFA World Cup, he scored against Spain. In the semi-final against France, he scored the first goal. The game ended in a 3-3 draw. It went to a penalty shoot-out. Littbarski scored his penalty. West Germany won the shoot-out 5-4. They then lost to Italy in the final.
In 1986, West Germany reached the World Cup final again. They lost to Argentina this time. Littbarski didn't play as much in this tournament.
The West German team had high hopes for the UEFA Euro 1988 tournament. It was played in their home country. But they lost in the semi-finals to the Netherlands.
In 1990, Littbarski had a great final World Cup. West Germany won their third World Cup title! They beat Argentina 1-0 in the final. Littbarski scored one goal in the group stage against Colombia. He played in the final match, helping his team win the trophy.
Coaching Career
After his playing career, Pierre Littbarski became a football coach. In 1999, he started coaching Yokohama FC in Japan. He helped them get promoted to a higher league. He also worked as an assistant coach for Bayer 04 Leverkusen and managed MSV Duisburg.
Coaching Sydney FC
From 2005 to 2006, Littbarski was the manager of Sydney FC in Australia. He led them to win the first-ever A-League Championship. He was well-known among fans and the media for his stylish brown suits! Sydney FC won many games under him. However, he left the club in 2006 after disagreements about his contract.
Coaching Other Teams
In 2006, Littbarski became the manager of Avispa Fukuoka, another Japanese team. He left them in 2008. He then had a short time as manager of Saipa F.C. in Iran. After that, he coached FC Vaduz in Liechtenstein from 2008 to 2010.
Coaching VfL Wolfsburg
In 2010, Littbarski became an assistant coach for VfL Wolfsburg in Germany. For a short period in 2011, he was the main coach. This happened after the previous manager left.
How He Got His Name
Pierre Littbarski once shared that his parents named him "Pierre" because they really loved France. They remembered their trips there when they were thinking of a name for their son.
Career Statistics
Club Games
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | International | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1. FC Köln | 1978–79 | Bundesliga | 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | 21 | 6 | ||
| 1979–80 | 34 | 7 | 8 | 2 | – | – | 42 | 9 | |||||
| 1980–81 | 32 | 6 | 3 | 0 | – | 9 | 3 | 44 | 9 | ||||
| 1981–82 | 33 | 15 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 15 | |||||
| 1982–83 | 34 | 6 | 6 | 2 | – | 5 | 1 | 45 | 19 | ||||
| 1983–84 | 33 | 17 | 3 | 1 | – | 4 | 1 | 40 | 19 | ||||
| 1984–85 | 28 | 16 | 2 | 1 | – | 8 | 3 | 38 | 20 | ||||
| 1985–86 | 24 | 8 | 2 | 0 | – | 9 | 4 | 35 | 12 | ||||
| Total | 234 | 89 | 27 | 7 | – | 38 | 12 | 299 | 109 | ||||
| RCF Paris | 1986–87 | Division 1 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 33 | 5 | |||
| 1987–88 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 34 | 4 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 35 | 5 | |||||
| 1. FC Köln | 1987–88 | Bundesliga | 31 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 10 | |||||
| 1988–89 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 38 | 6 | |||||
| 1989–90 | 34 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 46 | 11 | |||||
| 1990–91 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 2 | |||||||
| 1991–92 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 2 | |||||||
| 1992–93 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 4 | |||||
| Total | 172 | 27 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 240 | 35 | |||
| JEF United Ichihara | 1993 | J1 League | 35 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 44 | 11 | |||
| 1994 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 63 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 74 | 12 | |||||
| Brummell Sendai | 1996 | Football League | 27 | 5 | 3 | 1 | - | 30 | 6 | ||||
| 1997 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 29 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 37 | 6 | |||||
| Career total | 532 | 135 | 49 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 55 | 15 | 658 | 166 | |||
International Games
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Germany | 1981 | 2 | 3 |
| 1982 | 15 | 5 | |
| 1983 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1984 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1985 | 10 | 4 | |
| 1986 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1987 | 6 | 3 | |
| 1988 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1989 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1990 | 10 | 1 | |
| Total | 73 | 18 | |
- Scores and results list West Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Littbarski goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 October 1981 | Praterstadion, Vienna |  Austria |
1–1 | 3–1 | 1982 World Cup qualifier |
| 2 | 3–1 | |||||
| 3 | 18 November 1981 | Westfalenstadion, Dortmund |  Albania |
6–0 | 8–0 | 1982 World Cup qualifier |
| 4 | 14 April 1982 | Müngersdorferstadion, Cologne |  Czechoslovakia |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 12 May 1982 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo |  Norway |
2–1 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 6 | 3–1 | |||||
| 7 | 2 July 1982 | Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid |  Spain |
1–0 | 2–1 | 1982 World Cup |
| 8 | 8 July 1982 | Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville |  France |
1–0 | 3–3 | 1982 World Cup |
| 9 | 24 February 1985 | Estádio Nacional, Lisbon |  Portugal |
1–0 | 2–1 | 1986 World Cup qualifier |
| 10 | 27 March 1985 | Ludwigsparkstadion, Saarbrücken |  Malta |
4–0 | 6–0 | 1986 World Cup qualifier |
| 11 | 17 April 1985 | Rosenaustadion, Augsburg |  Bulgaria |
3–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 12 | 30 April 1985 | Strahov Stadium, Prague | Czechoslovakia |
2–0 | 5–1 | 1986 World Cup qualifier |
| 13 | 9 September 1987 | Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf |  England |
1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 14 | 2–0 | |||||
| 15 | 13 October 1987 | Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen |  Sweden |
1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 16 | 22 March 1989 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia | Bulgaria |
2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 17 | 4 October 1989 | Westfalenstadion, Dortmund |  Finland |
2–0 | 6–1 | 1990 World Cup qualifier |
| 18 | 19 June 1990 | San Siro, Milan |  Colombia |
1–0 | 1–1 | 1990 World Cup |
Managerial Statistics
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Yokohama FC | 2003 | 2004 | 88 | 20 | 34 | 34 | 22.73 |
| Sydney FC | 2005 | 2006 | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 61.76 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 2007 | 2008 | 72 | 30 | 12 | 30 | 41.67 |
| Total | 194 | 71 | 53 | 70 | 36.60 | ||
Awards and Honours
Here are some of the awards and titles Pierre Littbarski won during his career:
With 1. FC Köln
With West Germany Under-21 Team
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 1982 (finished second)
With West Germany National Team
- FIFA World Cup: 1990 (winner!)
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1982, 1986 (finished second)
Individual Awards
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship top scorer: 1982 (scored the most goals)
- kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1981–82, 1984–85, 1989–90 (chosen as one of the best players)
- FIFA World Cup top assist provider: 1982 (made the most passes leading to goals)
- Goal of the Year (Germany): 1985
- Sydney FC Hall of Fame: 2015 (honored by the club he coached)
See also
In Spanish: Pierre Littbarski para niños
- Litti's Summer Sports, a Game Boy video game that featured Pierre Littbarski
