Peruvian athlete Claudio Pizarro on Saturday bid farewell to his career as a soccer forward in style by playing an emotional match before thousands of fans at Weserstadion in the northern German city of Bremen.
Fans chanted his name and applauded the 43-year-old star who had managed to become one of the best foreign players in Bundesliga history.
The 'Andean Bomber' took the field —in front of more than 42,000 fans— along with former teammates from Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich.
As is known, Pizarro left Peru's popular team Alianza Lima in 1999 to arrive in Germany after being signed by Werder Bremen.
Having made his debut for the Lizards in the same year, 'Piza' went on to play for Bayern Munich, the UK's Chelsea, and Köln (Cologne) before returning to Bremen's squad in 2018.
His greatest triumphs came while defending the Bavarian team, with which he won the Bundesliga six times. During that time, he was also part of the squad that won three tournaments in 2013, such as the Bundesliga, the German Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.
In his last season at the Lizards' club, he played 18 league matches —all coming off the bench.
On July 6, 2020, the 'Andean Bomber' played his last game as a professional athlete in the 2-2 draw playoff versus Heidenheim. That result allowed Werder Bremen to stay in the highest division of the Bundesliga.
During his career in Germany, Pizarro scored 197 goals in 490 Bundesliga games for Bremen, Munich, and Cologne.