Pierre Littbarski

1977/78 Hertha Zehlendorf (GER)

1978/86 FC Cologne (GER) 299 games, 109 goals

(German Championship: 234 games, 89 goals)

(German Cup: 27 games, 7 goals)

(European Champion Clubs' Cup: 3 games, 1 goal)

(UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 4 games, 1 goal)

(UEFA Cup: 31 games, 11 goals)

1986/87 RC Paris (FRA) 34 games, 4 goals

1987/93 FC Cologne (GER) 205 games, 35 goals

(German Championship: 172 games, 27 goals)

(German Cup: 16 games, 5 goals)

(UEFA Cup UEFA: 17 matches, 3 goals)

1993/94 JEF United Ichihara (JAP) 74 matches, 12 goals

(Japanese Premier League: 63 matches, 10 goals)

(Japanese Cup: 3 matches, 2 goals)

(Japanese League Cup: 8 matches)

1996/97 Brummell Sendai (JAP) 37 matches, 6 goals

(Japanese Premier League: 29 matches, 5 goals)

(Japanese Cup: 3 matches, 1 goal)

(Japanese League Cup: 5 matches)

With the National Team :

73 caps, 18 goals

(Friendly matches: 31 caps, 8 goals)

(World Cup qualifiers: 11 caps, 7 goals)

(World Cup: 18 caps, 3 goals)

(Euro qualifiers: 7 caps)

(Euro: 6 caps)

1st cap: 14 October 1981 against Austria (3-1)

Last cap: 8 July 1990 against Argentina (1-0)

B: 1 cap

U21: 21 caps, 18 goals

Pierre Michael Littbarski

Born April 16, 1960 in Berlin (GER)

German, Attacking-midfielder/Right-winger/Striker, 1m68

Nickname: "Litti"

Pierre Littbarski was born on April 16, 1960 in Berlin, Germany. He discovered football in his neighborhood club, VfL Schöneberg. At 16, he joined Hertha Zehlendorf before being spotted by FC Cologne in 1978 when he was only 18. Upon his arrival, he joined the professional group of the team with whom he discovered the Bundesliga. Called up in 1979 to play for the German U21 team, he scored 18 goals in 21 matches for this youth selection. He also reached the final of the European U21 Championship in 1982, scoring a hat-trick in this match against England, a defeat however.

A fine dribbler, his double contacts humiliate the German defenses of the Bundesliga, becoming a major player of his club, he also reached a mythical 2nd place in the Bundesliga in 1982 and then won the German Cup in 1983. During his career, he was first placed as a center forward, before becoming an attacking midfielder or right winger. It is also in these last two positions that he can show all his talent with his runs and his technical quality. A genius scorer, he scores the German goal of the year in 1985 against Werder Bremen at the end of a crazy counterattack.

A German international in the first team of West Germany from 1981, he will have a brilliant 1982 World Cup. Against Spain, the player scores 1 goal and delivers 1 assist. He succeeds 96% of his passes and delivers 6 key passes. But it was during the next match, against France, that Littbarski would become a true legend of his country at only 22 years old. He scored 1 goal and again provided 1 assist. Author of 81% of successful passes, he made 2 key passes and was one of the best players of the match that would have caused so much controversy.

During the final, he missed his match like a large part of the German team. Following with West Germany 2 mixed Euros in 1984 and 1988, he found each time a level of genius during the World Cups. And in 1990, he finally won a title with his country, the World Cup. During this edition, he was consistent and decisive. These would be his last international matches.

Legend of FC Cologne and especially of the German national team. He scored 18 goals and provided 26 assists for his country between 1981 and 1990.

At club level, he joined Matra Racing in 1986, a club with crazy ambitions. It was a failure both financially and sportingly, with the club finishing 13th in the championship despite a huge squad. He then returned to FC Cologne where he led his club to become one of the best clubs in the country. He finished runner-up in 1989 and 1990 and established himself as the greatest legend in the club's history.

In 1993, he left for Asia and the Japanese club JEF United Ichihara where he became one of the first legendary players to go into exile. He delighted the fans there before joining another Japanese club, Brummell Sendai in 1996, where he retired at the end of the season, at the age of 37.

- Silver medal of the Bravo Otto Prize in 1981 and 1982

- Top scorer of the European Under-21 Championship in 1982 (6 goals)

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