Jean-Marie Pfaff (born 4 December 1953) is a Belgian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

who spent most of his professional career with Beveren and

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

. Pfaff was capped 64 times playing for

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, and participated at the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 ...

and

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 ...

tournaments.

Club career

Pfaff was born in Lebbeke. At the age of 16, he joined

K.S.K. Beveren Koninklijke Sportkring Beveren (''Royal Sporting Club of Beveren'') is a Belgian association football club from the town of Beveren in East Flanders. KSK Beveren was particularly successful during the late 1970s and early 1980s in which it won ...

with whom he won a Belgian champions title (1979) and a Belgian Cup (1978). The same year, he received the Belgian Golden Shoe. In 1982, he entered the

squad, getting three Bundesliga titles (from 1985 to 1987) and two German cups (1984 and 1986).

International career

Pfaff first played with the Red Devils in 1976 against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He was the goalkeeper during Euro 80 and Euro 84, and the

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 Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

and 1986 World Cups.

Style of play

Despite his sturdy physical build, Pfaff possessed quick reflexes and was known for his spectacular playing style, as well as his ability to produce acrobatic saves, which made him an effective shot-stopper. He was also known for his extroverted and outspoken character, his lively and eccentric personality, and his strong and charismatic leadership qualities, as well as his confidence, fair-play, and professionalism, which made him an excellent organiser of the defence and a popular figure among the fans; as such, due to his cheerful attitude on the pitch and humorous demeanor, he earned him the nickname ''El Simpático'' ("Mr. Nice Guy," in Spanish) during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. He also excelled at quickly rushing off his line; moreover, although he was not the tallest goalkeeper, his large hands aided him when coming out to claim the ball, which made him an authoritative presence in goal. Furthermore, he was renowned for his penalty–stopping abilities. Despite his goalkeeping ability, however, and his reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in the world in his prime, and as one of Belgium's greatest goalkeepers ever – with some in the sport even ranking him as one of the best goalkeepers of all time –, he was also known to be inconsistent and prone to occasional errors.

After retirement

Pfaff was named by

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 ...

as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. He was a representative of company United Sol Energy in 2005. The company became the sponsor of the former East German record

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

BFC Dynamo Berliner Fussball Club Dynamo e. V., commonly abbreviated to BFC Dynamo () or BFC (), alternatively sometimes called Dynamo Berlin, is a German football club based in the locality of Alt-Hohenschönhausen of the borough of Lichtenberg of Ber ...

before the 2005-06 season. Pfaff became a member of BFC Dynamo and promoted the establishment of a new youth sports school at the club. The new youth sports school at BFC Dynamo was meant to bear his name. Pfaff visited the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen and participated in training with youth teams of BFC Dynamo. However, the sponsorship never materialized. Pfaff resigned from the club on 11 August 2006 and terminated his membership. He was a TV star in Belgium with the reality show ''De Pfaffs'' showing him and his family from 2002 to 2012.

Honours and awards

Beveren * Belgian First Division: 1978–79 * Belgian Cup: 1977–78 *

Belgian Supercup The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champi ...

: 1979 Bayern Munich *

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 footb ...

: 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87 *

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 considered ...

: 1983–84, 1985–86 * DFL-Supercup: 1987–88 *

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

runner-up: 1986–87 Belgium *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

runner-up:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

* Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1980 *

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 has ...

fourth place:

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 en ...

Individual * Belgian Golden Shoe: 1978 * Kicker Goalkeeper of the Year: 1983 * Kicker German Football Rankings - World Class Goalkeeper'':'' 1983, 1986 *

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine '' France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (f ...

nominations: 1983,

, 1987 * European Goalkeeper of the Year: 1983, 1987 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team:

* FIFA World Cup Golden Glove: 1986 *

France Football ''France Football'' is a French weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclusi ...

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

Guerin Sportivo The ''Guerin Sportivo'' is an Italian sports magazine. It is the oldest sport magazine in the world. Journalists who worked for the magazine include Gianni Brera, Indro Montanelli, Giorgio Tosatti, Darwin Pastorin, Carlo Nesti, Mario Sconc ...

World Cup team:

* IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year: 1987 * Belgian Golden Shoe of the 20th Century (6th): 1995 * IFFHS World Keeper of the Century (16th): 2000 * IFFHS European Keeper of the Century (10th): 2000 * Platina 11 (Best Team in 50 Years of Golden Shoe Winners): 2003 * FIFA 100: 2004 *

Golden Foot Legends Award The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 year ...

: 2014 * IFFHS All Time Belgium Dream Team: 2021 * Honorary Citizen of Beveren: 2022

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfaff, Jean-Marie 1953 births Living people Belgian footballers Association football goalkeepers K.S.K. Beveren players FC Bayern Munich footballers Lierse S.K. players Trabzonspor footballers FIFA 100 Belgium international footballers Belgian First Division A players Bundesliga players Süper Lig players UEFA Euro 1980 players 1982 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1984 players 1986 FIFA World Cup players Belgian football managers K.V. Oostende managers Belgian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Turkey Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey People from Lebbeke Footballers from East Flanders