Claudio Pizarro

Peruvian legend and Bayern Munich's record-breaking Latin American star.

Claudio Miguel Pizarro Bosio (born 3 October 1978) is a Peruvian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently serving as club ambassador for Bayern Munich. He was captain of Peru's national football team, and was its fifth-highest scorer. He is the highest scorer and most successful Latin American football player in the history of German football. He is the all-time top scorer of SV Werder Bremen, the ninth top scorer in the history of Bayern Munich, and the sixth top scorer in the history of the Bundesliga, where he scored 197 goals in 490 appearances. He is also the oldest player to score a goal in the Bundesliga, at over 40 years old.

Quick Facts

Full name: Claudio Miguel Pizarro Bosio
Height: 1.84 m / 6 ft
Born: 3 October 1978
Birthplace: Callao, Peru
Position: Striker

Lore & Background

Pizarro began his professional career in Peru with Deportivo Pesquero and Alianza Lima before joining Werder Bremen in 1999. He signed for Bayern Munich in 2001, where he won multiple Bundesliga titles and domestic cups during two separate spells. He also had a stint with Chelsea F.C. in the Premier League and a season with 1. FC Köln before retiring in 2020 after a fifth spell at Werder Bremen. With the Peru national football team, Pizarro earned 85 caps and scored 20 goals. He captained Peru to third place at the 2015 Copa América and participated in the 2004 and 2007 editions of the tournament as well.

Reader's Guide

Pizarro was born to Patricia Bosio and Claudio Pizarro Dávila, a naval officer, in Callao, Peru and raised in Santiago de Surco district of Lima, Peru. He started playing in his youth in the Academia Deportiva Cantolao in Callao. Pizarro has Italian ancestry; some of his paternal great-grandparents were from Brescia, while his maternal grandparents came from Frattaminore, near Naples.

Did You Know?

Pizarro scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 victory for Deportivo Pesquero against Atletico Torino in 1996.
He made his Bundesliga debut on 28 August 1999 as a substitute against Hertha BSC.
Pizarro scored a hat-trick in his third Bundesliga appearance, a 7–2 win over VfL Wolfsburg.
He is nicknamed 'Bomber of the Andes' by Bayern fans, referencing Gerd Müller.