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41-year old Claudio Pizarro has more records in sight before retirement

  /  autty

As Claudio Pizarro readied himself for his customary late cameo for Werder Bremen against RB Leipzig last month, he may have allowed himself a little smile.

At that point, two weeks from his 41st birthday, the veteran striker was older than both managers with him on the touchline - indeed, at 37 Werder Bremen's boss Florian Kohfeldt was a veteran compared to Leipzig's 32-year-old Julian Nagelsmann.

Having announced his intention to retire at the end of the season, Pizarro will depart the professional game with more than 200 goals, 18 trophies and a host of records to his name.

PIZARRO'S RECORDS

Second most goals scored by a foreign scorer in German football history

Sixth all-time top scorer in Bundesliga (197 goals)

Oldest player to score in Bundesliga history

Oldest player to score a hat-trick in Bundesliga history

Top scorer in Werder Bremen history (152 goals)

Pizarro's last Bundesliga goal, predictably a last-minute winner having come off the bench against RB Leipzig in May last season, broke the record he had set two months earlier as the Bundesliga's oldest-ever scorer.

Shortly after that intervention, the Peruvian confirmed he would stay one final year at the Weser Stadium.

At the time, he declared: 'It was simply great to score a goal and to sign a contract extension. The fans have a special place in my heart and this gives me strength,' he said, as quoted by the club.

He was, until Robert Lewandowski broke his record in March this year, the Bundesliga's top-scoring foreigner, and sits fifth in the all-time charts for the division with 197.

He also holds the oldest hat-trick record, set in March 2016 at Bayer Leverkusen at what now seems like the relatively tender age of 37.

There is also, naturally, a place at the top of Werder Bremen's all-time scoring charts with 153 goals in 305 appearances over four spells and nine-and-a-bit seasons.

There is still nearly an entire campaign to keep driving that total up even further.

With six league appearances - plus a two-goal display against SV Atlas in the DFB Pokal - this season, Pizarro is not being kept on for sentiment's sake.

Of course, every time he steps onto the field he breaks his own mark for Bremen's oldest-ever player. Last time out, in a draw with Borussia Dortmund, it stood at 40 years 11 months 25 days.

Pizarro won six German league titles, five German Cups and the Champions League in 2013

PIZARRO HONOURS

Bayern Munich

Bundesliga: 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15

DFB-Pokal: 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2012–13, 2013–14

DFL-Supercup: 2012

UEFA Champions League: 2012–13

UEFA Super Cup: 2013

Intercontinental Cup: 2001

FIFA Club World Cup: 2013

Werder Bremen

DFB-Pokal: 2008–09

Alianza Lima

Torneo Clausura: 1999

After beginning his career with spells at Deportivo Pesquero and Alianza Lima in his native Peru, Pizarro earned a move to Werder Bremen in 1999.

Two seasons and 38 goals were all it took for Bayern Munich to snap up the 22-year-old for a prolific and trophy-laden six years.

A barren spell at Chelsea, encompassing two goals in 32 games, is nigh-on the only blight in an otherwise sparkling career. Naturally, he redeemed himself immediately upon returning to Werder Bremen in 2008, notching 28 goals then 29 goals for the club in consecutive seasons.

Two years later, Bayern came calling again for three less prolific seasons that still included their famous 2013 Champions League triumph.

A third spell at Bremen followed in 2015, with a year in Cologne immediately followed by a fourth and final stint in green.

There is also a 17-year international career that number 20 goals in 85 caps after ending in 2016.

With 27 Bundesliga games left in his illustrious career, Pizarro will be desperate to make them count.