Claudio Pizarro (born October 3, 1978 in Lima) is a Peruvian
football (soccer) striker, who currently plays for Bayern
Munich.
Prior to joining Bayern, Pizarro was with Deportivo Pesquero
Chimbote (1996-97), Alianza Lima (1997-99), and Werder Bremen
(1999-01). He was a key player in Bayern's Bundesliga and German
Cup double in 2003. Pizza, as he is known, is a regular for the
Peruvian national team.
In a match versus Arsenal on February 22, 2005 Pizarro scored
two magnificent goals in Bayern Munich's 3-1 victory in the
first leg of the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League.
The form and scoring of Pizarro in the Werder Bremen were not
only observed by the German and Peruvians fans. Managers of the
main European clubs had put their eyes on the new star of
Peruvian soccer. After the Bundesliga 2000-2001, the conflict to
secure the Inca scorer's services became very tight. The media
indicated that Real Madrid and FC Barcelona of Spain, the
Internazionale of Italy and also German clubs such as Bayern
Munich and Borussia Dortmund were the main ones interested in
registering Pizarro. Weeks passed, and the most speculated
transfer in Peruvian soccer monopolized the interest of the
national and international press.
The end of May 2001 came, and journalists pointed to Spain as
the almost definite destination for "the Bomber of Los Andes".
It was then that Bayern Munich, which weeks before had won the
European Champions League, decided to do their best efforts to
get the Peruvian star. The efforts of the German club were
successful, and finally Pizarro, after a long conversation with
their representatives, finally opted for Bayern. On June 7 of
2001, Claudio Pizarro officially registered for Bayern Munich,
ending weeks of speculation.
From the first day he joined his new club, the forward had the
unconditional support of their main authorities (headed by the
president Franz Beckenbauer ), of the technical staff and also
of his teammates who received him cordially. Claudio carried out
his training with Bayern Munich without failure, so that he
could assist Bayern's competing in six different tournaments in
next months and to defend the titles of the Champions League /
the Bundesliga. His premiere could not be more auspicious, since
he scored his first goal with the Bavarian team in the fourth
minute of the game against Schalke (the second date of the
Bundesliga 2001-2002). The "Bomber", or sometimes called "Inca
God" by the media, has begun on a good foot with Bayern Munich
and the projection of his career in the short and medium term
continues to be very optimistic.
