Werder Bremen legend Claudio Pizarro hangs up his boots
The decorated Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro suited up for his last game on Monday.
On Monday, Werder Bremen secured their spot in the Bundesliga for another season with a 2-2 tie in the second relegation playoff match. Though Claudio Pizarro never saw time in the final game of the season, he nonetheless finished his career a happy man.
The former Peruvian international began his career with Werder Bremen in 1999 as a bright young 20-year-old, netting his first goal on September 9. He finished his career in 2020 at age 41 in the place where he began, walking off the field as an absolute legend.
His teammates hoisted him high after Monday’s game, an appreciative and celebratory gesture that was well earned. Werder Bremen took to social media to express their love and appreciation of Pizarro as he heads into retirement.
https://twitter.com/werderbremen_en/status/1280483742314835971?s=20
https://twitter.com/werderbremen_en/status/1280877568044998657?s=20
With 197 goals and 490 games to his name in the Bundesliga, Claudio Pizarro solidified himself as both a Bundesliga and Werder Bremen legend. He finished his career as the second-highest foreign goal scorer in the league trailing only to Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski.
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He also holds the title of all-time leading goal scorer for Bremen and is the sixth-highest goal scorer in Bundesliga history. That’s the kind of career that all strikers dream of.
Claudio Pizarro spent the majority of his career alternating between contracts with Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich (two historically dominant Bundesliga clubs) with brief stints at Chelsea and Köln in between.
Pizarro thrived at Bayern with 6 league titles, 5 cup titles, and 1 Champions League title, winning all 3 at once in the 2012-2013 season. Though his trophy case was filled at Bayern, at Bremen he felt very much at home and had some of the best individual seasons of his career even leading the club to its own cup title during the 2008-2009 season.
Werder Bremen fans, staff, and players will be singing his praises for generations to come. Thankfully Bremen managed to keep it together enough to hang onto the Bundesliga by a thread, ensuring that Claudio Pizarro’s last moments in the Werder Bremen jersey would be positive ones.
Next. Werder Bremen safe in Bundesliga for another season. dark
He will be missed dearly at the Weserstadion, but his legacy is secured in the history books of the green and white.