Firmino scout rubbishes quirky Football Manager rumour

Posted by

The rumour that Roberto Firmino was found on Football Manager by a Hoffenheim scout has been rubbished!

A story which suggested infamous former keeper and talent spotter Lutz Pfannenstiel discovered the Brazilian by browsing his stats on a computer game is sadly not true…

Pfannenstiel is the scout credited for discovering Firmino, but he did so by conventional means. The Germans signed the forward in 2010 from Brazilian second division outfit Figueirense, but he eventually developed into one of the Bundesliga’s most consistently impressive performers. We acquired him in 2015 for a big fee and he’s now established as one of the Premier League’s best forwards; completely crucial to Jurgen Klopp’s system.

SEE MORE:
Editor’s column: Firmino is unmarkable & remarkable in equal measure

“Yes, this is madness. I’ve played on all six continents, but there’s probably a seventh called Absurdistan,” told German source achtzehn99. “I did not talk about the game Football Manager in the interview. I’ve never played the game before. To be honest, I do not even know of it. At least I now what it is!”

If you haven’t heard of Pfannenstiel, have a Google. This is a guy who’s known to be the only player in history to have played professionally in all six FIFA confederations. He also ‘died on the pitch’ from a heart attack before being brought back to life in 2002 and was jailed for 101 days in Singapore for match fixing!

So, it wouldn’t be completely absurd for him to have found Firmino on Football Manager, but alas, it’s not true!

More Stories Brazil Roberto Firmino