Among the countless debutantes this season was a pocket-size West German winger. He was born 1960 in West Berlin, which perhaps explains his not-so German sounding name, but he appeared with 1. FC Koln jersey. His talent was noted, but talented youngsters are many and dilemmas are eternal: is a teenage going to be just a quick flash, just as quickly disappearing, or going to develop into real star? Is it better to put a youngster quickly into the trials of professional football, or is it preferable to introduce him slowly and carefully, step by step? He may burn out right away… his development could be arrested too, if kept on the bench. The first Bundesliga season of the 1.68 m tall winger is not bad as numbers go: 16 matches and 4 goals. Not bad… not great either, for the record says he played only in half of the seasonal matches. Very likely not full games either – coming as a substitute more often than starting a match. Yet, it was a debut in the Bundesliga – a tough and challenging place to be. No matter what point of view one adopts, the youngster’s debut was not big sensation and he was unknown. Yet.
Some boy called Pierre Littbarski. One of the greatest players of the 1980s appeared on the scene without fuss.