Otto Pfister
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Personal information | |||
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Date of birth | November 24, 1937 | ||
Place of birth | Cologne, Germany | ||
Playing position | Striker | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1957–1958 | SC Viktoria 04 Köln | ||
1958–1959 | VfL Köln 1899 | ||
1959–1960 | FC Chiasso | ||
1960–1961 | FC Grenchen | ||
1961–1963 | FC Vaduz | ||
1963–1966 | FC St. Gallen | ||
1966–1968 | FC Nordstern Basel | ||
1968–1969 | FC Moutier | ||
1969–1972 | FC Chur 97 | ||
Teams managed | |||
1961–1963 | FC Vaduz | ||
1963–1966 | FC St. Gallen | ||
1966–1968 | FC Nordstern Basel | ||
1968–1969 | FC Moutier | ||
1969–1972 | FC Chur 97 | ||
1972–1976 | Rwanda | ||
1976–1978 | Upper Volta | ||
1979–1982 | Senegal | ||
1982–1985 | Côte d'Ivoire | ||
1985–1989 | Zaire | ||
1992–1993 | Ghana | ||
1995–1997 | Bangladesh | ||
1997–1998 | Saudi Arabia | ||
1998 | Saudi Arabia (Olympic) | ||
1998–1999 | Saudi Arabia | ||
1999–2002 | Al-Zamalek | ||
2002–2004 | CS Sfaxien | ||
2004–2005 | Nejmeh SC | ||
2005 | El-Masry | ||
2006 | Togo | ||
2006–2007 | Al-Merrikh | ||
2007–2009 | Cameroon | ||
2011–2012 | Trinidad and Tobago | ||
2014 | Al-Merrikh | ||
2015 | USM Alger | ||
2017– | Afghanistan | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Otto Martin Pfister (born November 24, 1937 in Cologne) is a German football manager and one of Germany's most successful coaching exports, voted Africa's Manager of the Year in 1992.[1] He is currently the manager of the Afghanistan national football team.[2]
Pfister has been to four African Cup of Nations competitions—with Upper Volta (now: Burkina Faso), Zaire, Cameroon, and Ghana—and has reached the African Cup of Nations final twice, with Cameroon and Ghana. Pfister has won the FIFA U-17 World Cup with Ghana. He has also won the U19 African Cup of Nations with Cote d'Ivoire and led Togo in the 2006 World Cup. Pfister also qualified for 1998 FIFA World Cup with Saudi Arabia. Pfister has won the League Title in two different Countries (Egypt and Lebanon). He has also won domestic cups in four different Countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Sudan).
Contents
Coaching career[edit]
Otto Pfister has been involved in Association football for almost 60 years, he began his coaching career in Switzerland as player-coach in 1961 at the age of just 23. Pfister's early coaching experience was gained with FC Vaduz, FC St. Gallen, FC Nordstern Basel, FC Moutier and finally FC Chur 97.[3] He has worked as Head Coach for 10 International football teams, eight from Africa and two from Asia. In June 1972, at the age of 34, Pfister retired from his playing days and left Switzerland for Africa, taking the reins as the Head Coach of Rwanda. Pfister would stay in Africa for 23 years until 1995 working as the Head Coach for five other African Nations. Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Zaire (now DR Congo) and Ghana. In 1995, Pfister worked inside the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as the Head Coach of Bangladesh National Team and also Saudi Arabia from 1997 - 1999. Pfister returned to club football over the following six years with Egyptian team Zamalek, Tunisian club CS Sfaxien, Lebanese club Nejmeh and Egyptian club Al-Masry. Pfister was selected as the head coach of Togo on February 18, 2006, after former coach Stephen Keshi was dismissed from the post despite having secured qualification for their first World Cup Finals.[4] Pfister himself resigned shortly before the team's first match in the tournament, after his players went on strike against the federation over a pay dispute,[5] but he was reappointed three days later after demands from the players.[6] Pfister was appointed Manager of Sudanese club Al-Merreikh on September 8, 2006 and would later leave this position on October 26, 2007. The following day Pfister would sign a contract as the Head Coach of Cameroon taking him through until 2010. As of March 24, 2011, Pfister was unveiled as head coach of Trinidad and Tobago.[7] In February 2014, at his age 76, he made a return to the head coach of Al-Merreikh, a team he had previously guided to the final of the 2007 CAF Confederation Cup.[8]
Burkina Faso[edit]
Between 1976 and 1978, Pfister changed the face of football in Burkina Faso. They were known as the Upper Volta national football team until 1984, when Upper Volta became Burkina Faso. The establishment in Burkina welcomed the German coach and because of the natural interest in football, the Government’s commitment and Pfister's ability, Burkina Faso qualified for their first ever African Cup of Nations in 1978 in Ghana. It was the success with the Burkina team that opened the way for Pfister to traverse Africa, the Middle East, and Asia over the following years since his first landing Africa.
Cote d'Ivoire[edit]
In 1982, Pfister became Coach of the Cote d'Ivoire,(commonly known as Ivory Coast in English). He repaid his new employers’ confidence in him by taking the country’s youth team to the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship in Mexico. They would not qualify to the Quarter-finals, however, Pfister would win the U19 African Cup of Nations with Cote d'Ivoire in 1983.
Zaire[edit]
Pfister took over as Head Coach of Congo DR national football team (formerly the Zaire national football team) in 1985, where he would spend four years helping to restore the 1974 African champions to their former glories. Pfister was responsible for unleashing a new generation of ‘Leopards’, including Eugene Kabongo, Gaston Mobati, Panguy Merikani and Mutumbile Santos, all of whom took part in the African Cup of Nations 1988.
Ghana[edit]
Otto Pfister led Ghana to a famous win in the 1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship. The Championship was held in the cities of Florence, Montecatini Terme, Viareggio, Massa, Carrara, and Livorno in Italy between 16 August and 31 August 1991. Ghana finished second to Spain in their group and progressed to the Quarter-finals where they beat Brazil 2–1 with goals from Mohammed Gargo and Nii Lamptey. After a 0-0 draw with Qatar in the Semi-finals, Ghana won 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out, lining up a final against Spain. on August 31, 1991, Ghana beat Spain 1-0 in the World Cup final in Florence, Ghana's first title.
Ghana qualified for the 1992 African Cup of Nations after finishing top of their qualifying group. Ghana qualified to the Quarter-finals after two 1–0 victories over Egypt and Zambia in the first round of the final tournament. Ghana beat Congo national football team to take them through to the Semi-finals where they beat Nigeria, 2–1. On January 26, 1992 in Senegal, Ghana played Côte d'Ivoire in the final of the African Cup of Nations. After extra time the final score was 0–0 and the game entered penalties. After a marathon penalty shootout, the Côte d'Ivoire finally won 11–10 on penalties. The penalty shootout was significant in that it was the first in the final of a major international tournament that every player on the pitch took a penalty.
Saudi Arabia[edit]
Pfister became the Head Coach of Saudi Arabia in 1997 after previously working in the AFC from 1995-1997 with Bangladesh National Team. In 1997, Pfister successfully guided Saudi Arabia to the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France but was crudely released just before the tournament because he requested the Saudi Princes to interfere less in team affairs. After Saudi Arabia lost their opening two games and failed to progress, Carlos Alberto Parreira was fired and Pfister was reinstated as Head Coach on completion of the tournament. As World Cup Qualifiers, Saudi Arabia automatically qualified for the 1998 Arab Nations Cup. With the help of an impressive 8 goals in 4 games from Obeid Al-Dosari, Saudi Arabia were crowned champions after beating Qatar 3–1 in the final. Despite being the only team not to lose a game, Saudi Arabia also finished as runners-up in the 1998 Gulf Cup of Nations in Bahrain.
Al-Zamalek[edit]
Otto Pfister was highly successful during his time at Al-Zamalek. During his time as Head Coach (1999–2002) Pfister won an impressive five trophies. On December 10, 2000, Al-Zamalek recorded a convincing 6–1 aggregate score in the second-leg final against Canon Yaoundé in the African Cup Winners' Cup (now the Confederations Cup). The first and last time this trophy would be won by the Egyptian club. Pfister led Zamalek for their worst defeat against rivals Al Ahly 6–1 on the 16th of May 2002, Al-Zamalek also reached the final of the CAF Super Cup, losing 2–0 to Accra Hearts of Oak SC.
Nejmeh SC[edit]
Pfister was appointed as Manager of Nejmeh SC in the Lebanon for the 2004-05 season. After 19 games, Nejmeh SC were joint top of the Lebanese Premier League 2004–05 with Al-Ansar Club. Both teams needed to win the final match, which incidentally was against each other. The final result was 2-2 and Pfister's Nejmeh SC were crowned champions as they had a highly superior goal difference. Pfister secured qualification to the 2005 AFC Cup for Nejmeh SC (which they would eventually finish as runners-up). Pfister also won the Lebanese Super Cup and Lebanese Elite Cup with Nejmeh SC during the 2004-05 season.
Togo[edit]
Otto Pfister was selected to lead the Togo National football team three Months before World Cup 2006 after Stephen Keshi was sacked. Prior to the World Cup, players went on strike because of unpaid bonuses. Faced with the rebellion over bonuses, Pfister walked out, saying he could take no more. Pfister was reinstated three days later after demands from players and FTF staff.
Sports commentators such as Ed Kavalee ensured that this dispute was resolved with a high level of transparency, with countries as far away as Australia receiving constant Pfister updates.
Togo lost their opening game of the World Cup, despite having taken the lead against South Korea through a goal by Mohamed Kader. In the second half, Jean-Paul Abalo was sent off after 55 minutes, and goals from Lee Chun-Soo and Ahn Jung-Hwan sealed a 2–1 defeat for Togo. Togo's next opponents in Group G were Switzerland, with the match scheduled for the afternoon of 19 June. However, the Togo squad threatened to refuse to fulfil the fixture and take strike action against unpaid bonuses. FIFA negotiated with the squad on 17 June, persuading them to travel to Dortmund in time to fulfil the fixture; goals from Alexander Frei and Tranquillo Barnetta resulted in a 2–0 defeat. Togo's final group game against France ended in 2–0 defeat.
Cameroon[edit]
On 27 October 2007, Pfister was appointed the manager of Cameroon, succeeding 80 other candidates.[9] He coached Cameroon in the 2008 African Cup of Nations, held in Ghana. Two second half goals from Samuel Eto'o was not enough to win their opening game which finished 4–2 to Egypt. Cameroon picked themselves up four days later and beat Zambia convincingly 5–1. In their final group game Samuel Eto'o again scored twice as Les Lions Indomptables won 3–0. After finishing second to Egypt in the group stages, Cameroon progressed to the Quarter-finals where after a close encounter, they beat Tunisia 3–2. Stéphane Mbia scored early in extra time to take the Indomptable Lions through to the Semi-finals. Alain N'Kong scored a 72nd-minute winner for Cameroon in a 1–0 win over Ghana in the Semi-finals, taking Cameroon to their sixth final of the African Cup of Nations. On 10 February 2008, Cameroon took on defending champions Egypt in the Final in Accra. Egypt scored a 77th-minute goal through Mohamed Aboutrika which would be enough to win the match and be crowned the champions of the 2008 African Cup of Nations. Samuel Eto'o was the tournaments highest scorer with 5 goals. Pfister stepped down from his role on 26 May 2009.
USM Alger[edit]
In January 2015, Pfister was linked with Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 club USM Alger, and signed a contract with the club shortly after.[10][11] On May 18, Pfister was sacked as coach of USM Alger after it was revealed that he was having a sexual relationships with the club president's wife, did Otto Pfister???.[12]
Managerial statistics[edit]
- As of 13 June 2017
Nat | Team | From | To | Record | ||||||
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P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||||
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FC Vaduz | 1961 | 1963 | 50 | 24 | 8 | 18 | 48.00 | ||
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FC St. Gallen | 1963 | 1966 | 86 | 44 | 16 | 26 | 51.16 | ||
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FC Nordstern Basel | 1966 | 1968 | 55 | 17 | 15 | 23 | 30.91 | ||
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FC Moutier | 1968 | 1969 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 24.00 | ||
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FC Chur 97 | 1969 | 1972 | 59 | 28 | 9 | 22 | 47.46 | ||
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Rwanda | 1972 | 1976 | — | ||||||
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Upper Volta | 1976 | 1978 | — | ||||||
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Senegal | 1979 | 1982 | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 52.94 | ||
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Côte d'Ivoire | 1982 | 1985 | 30 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 50.00 | ||
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Zaire | 1985 | 1989 | — | ||||||
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Ghana | 1992 | 1993 | — | ||||||
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Bangladesh | 1995 | 1997 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 33.33 | ||
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Saudi Arabia | 1997 | 1998 | 31 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 51.61 | ||
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Saudi Arabia | 1998 | 1999 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 78.57 | ||
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Al-Zamalek | 1999 | 2002 | 53 | 42 | 6 | 5 | 79.25 | ||
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CS Sfaxien | 2002 | 2004 | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 40.00 | ||
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Nejmeh SC | 2004 | 2005 | 26 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 76.92 | ||
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El-Masry | 2005 | 2005 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 25.00 | ||
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Togo | 2006 | 2006 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 20.00 | ||
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Al-Merrikh | 2006 | 2007 | 27 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 62.96 | ||
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Cameroon | 2007 | 2009 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 66.67 | ||
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Trinidad and Tobago | 2011 | 2012 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 71.43 | ||
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Al-Merrikh | 2014 | 2014 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 66.67 | ||
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USM Alger | 2015 | 2015 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 23.08 | ||
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Afghanistan | 2017 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50.00 | |||
Total | 594 | 301 | 126 | 167 | 50.67 |
Personal[edit]
Pfister gained his coaching certificates in Magglingen in the 1960s, and later studied further in Cologne. Pfister is a UEFA Pro License holder, has a Bundesliga license for professional football coaching and is an Instructor for FIFA and German Football Association professional football coaching courses.
In 2001, Pfister was awarded the Order of Merit of the Confederation of African Football as well as a German Football Federation Honors Award.
In Ghana the slang "Rules with an Iron-Pfister" is often used to refer to his coaching style.
During his time in Ghana, Pfister's fame transcended football. His unconventional style of wearing his trousers on the hip, rather than the waist, has become a fashion trend among the youth.
Commenting that Tony Yeboah's birthday can not be determined exactly, Ghana's then-manager Otto Pfister said: There's only one way to find out: saw his leg off and count the rings!
Teams as a player[edit]
- SC Viktoria 04 Köln (Germany, 1957–1958)
- VfL Köln 1899 (Germany, 1958–1959)
- FC Chiasso (Switzerland, 1959–1960)
- FC Grenchen (Switzerland, 1960–1961)
- FC Vaduz (Liechtenstein, 1961–1963)°
- FC St. Gallen (Switzerland, 1963–1966)°
- FC Nordstern Basel (Switzerland, 1966–1968)°
- FC Moutier (Switzerland, 1968–1969)°
- FC Chur (Switzerland, 1969–1972)°
Teams as a manager[edit]
- 1972 - 1976: Rwanda
- 1976 - 1978: Upper Volta (now: Burkina Faso)
- 1979 - 1982: Senegal
- 1982 - 1985: Côte d'Ivoire
- 1985 - 1989: Zaire
- 1989 - 1995: Ghana
- 1995 - 1997: Bangladesh
- 1997: Saudi Arabia
- 1997 - 1998: Saudi-Arabia (Olympia squad)
- 1998 - 1999: Saudi-Arabia
- 1999 - 2002: Al-Zamalek (Egypt)
- 2002 - 2004: CS Sfaxien (Tunisia)
- 2004 - 2005: Nejmeh SC (Lebanon)
- 2005: El-Masry (Egypt)
- 2006: Togo
- 2006 - 2007: Al-Merrikh (Sudan)
- 2007 - 2009: Cameroon
- 2011 - 2012: Trinidad and Tobago
- 2014 - 2016: Al-Merrikh (Sudan)
- 2016 - Otto's Pfisters, Denmark
Honours[edit]
- African Cup of Nations: Finalist with Cameroon in 2008
- Al-Merrikh Sudanese Cup Winner 2007, Finalist of CAF Confederation Cup 2007
- World Cup: Appearances: 2006 with Togo
- Nejmeh SC: Lebanese Premier League 2004–05 Champion 2005, Lebanese Elite Cup Champion 2004, 2005 AFC Cup Qualification 2005, Lebanese Super Cup Champion 2004
- CS Sfaxien: Tunisian League Cup Champion 2003, Arab Champions League Qualification 2003
- Al-Zamalek: League Cup Champion 2002, African Champions League Qualification 2002, FIFA Club World Championship Qualification 2002, African Cup Winners' Cup 2000, Egyptian League Champion 2001-2002, Egypt Cup Champion 2001-2002, CAF Super Cup final 2001-2002
- World Cup: Qualification with Saudi Arabia in 1998, Arab Nations Cup Winner in 1998, Finalist at the 1998 Gulf Cup of Nations in Bahrain. FIFA Confederations Cup Appearances: 1997,
- African Cup of Nations: Finalist: 1992 with Ghana
- Africa's Manager of the Year in 1992
- FIFA U-17 World Championship: Champion 1991 with Ghana
- African Cup of Nations: Appearances: Zaire 1988
- U-19 African Cup of Nations: 1983 Champion with Côte d'Ivoire
- African Cup of Nations: Appearances: Upper Volta (now: Burkina Faso) 1978
- 1964 - 2017 King of the Pfist!!!
References[edit]
- ^ GmbH, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "Aktuelle Nachrichten online". FAZ.NET. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ "Otto Pfister, New Mentor For Afghanistan National Football Team - English - Middle East Press". middleeastpress.com. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ "Switzerland - Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs". www.rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ Germany, SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg. "Togo-Coach Otto Pfister: "Lege keinen großen Wert auf Disziplin" - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Sport". SPIEGEL ONLINE. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ Dunn, Carrie (10 June 2006). "All change in the Togo camp". Retrieved 9 May 2017 – via The Guardian.
- ^ FIFA.com. "Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ Otto Pfister Appointed Coach Of Trinidad & Tobago Goal.com. 24 March 2011.
- ^ German Pfister returns to Merrikh Confederation of African Football. 24 February 2014.
- ^ "BBC SPORT - Football - African - Otto Pfister named Cameroon boss". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ HMF (January 29, 2015). "L’USM Alger en contact avancé avec Otto Pfister" (in French). DZfoot. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ AS (February 10, 2015). "USMA : Otto Pfister s’engage officiellement" (in French). Competition. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ HMF (May 18, 2015). "USM Alger : Otto Pfister limogé !" (in French). DZfoot. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
External links[edit]
- 1937 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Cologne
- German footballers
- German football managers
- West German football managers
- German expatriate football managers
- FC Viktoria Köln 1904 players
- FC Grenchen players
- FC Chur 97 players
- 2006 FIFA World Cup managers
- Expatriate football managers in Liechtenstein
- FC Vaduz managers
- Expatriate football managers in Switzerland
- FC St. Gallen managers
- Expatriate football managers in Rwanda
- Rwanda national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Burkina Faso
- Burkina Faso national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Senegal
- Senegal national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Ivory Coast
- Ivory Coast national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Ghana
- Ghana national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Bangladesh
- Bangladesh national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Togo
- Togo national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Cameroon
- Cameroon national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Trinidad and Tobago
- Trinidad and Tobago national football team managers
- Expatriate football managers in Egypt
- Zamalek SC managers
- CS Sfaxien managers
- USM Alger managers
- Expatriate football managers in Algeria
- German expatriates in Algeria
- Al-Merrikh SC managers
- 1978 African Cup of Nations managers
- 1992 African Cup of Nations managers
- 2008 Africa Cup of Nations managers
- 1988 African Cup of Nations managers