Claudio Miguel Pizarro Bosio (Latin American Spanish: [ˈklawðjo piˈsaro]; born 3 October 1978) is a Peruvian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

In 2009, he returned to Bremen, where he was champion of the 2008–09 DFB-Pokal and the unofficial 2009 German Supercup, in addition to becoming top scorer in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.

[13] Pizarro started his professional career playing with Deportivo Pesquero, a small provincial team in the city of Chimbote in the north of Peru, at the age of 17.

[14] Pizarro scored 25 goals over two seasons[14] with Alianza Lima and was part of the team that ended in second position in the Torneo Apertura of Peru in 1999.

[23] Pizarro's 38 goals over 2 seasons[24][25] for Werder Bremen made him the rising star of Peruvian football, coveted by managers of major European teams.

indicated that Real Madrid and Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Werder Bremen's Bundesliga rival Borussia Dortmund were in to sign Pizarro.

[citation needed] After seeming destined for Spain, Pizarro ended weeks of speculation by signing for Bayern Munich on 7 June 2001.

Pizarro's contract with the German champions expired at the end of the 2006–07 season and negotiations on an extension were not making progress, with Sevilla, Benfica and Rangers ready to step in.

His debut was against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Community Shield, coming on as a substitute, but then missed the penalty shootout as Chelsea lost the match.

[38] After Chelsea's coach José Mourinho's departure and the signing of French striker Nicolas Anelka, Pizarro found himself surplus to the then new manager Avram Grant.

Despite this, Pizarro did play an important role in Chelsea progressing to the fourth round of the 2008 FA Cup, by contributing to a rebound of QPR keeper Lee Camp that went into the net.

[42] Pizarro scored Werder Bremen's fourth goal in the club's impressive 5–2 away victory over Bayern Munich on 20 September at the Allianz Arena.

[43] On 26 February 2009, Pizarro scored a second-half brace for Werder Bremen, coming back from 2–0 down to secure a 2–2 draw and a 3–3 aggregate win (away goals rule), to dump A.C. Milan out of the UEFA Cup in the Round of 32.

[44] In the second-leg of their UEFA Cup quarter-final match against Udinese on 17 April, Pizarro scored once and teammate Diego notched a brace as the teams played out an exciting 3–3 draw, with Werder Bremen advancing to the semi-finals with a 6–4 aggregate victory.

[48] However, with the absence of playmaker Diego in the final against Shakhtar Donetsk, Pizarro could not save the team from a 2–1 defeat after extra time to the Ukrainian champions on 20 May 2009 at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul.

[50][51] On 18 August 2009, Pizarro signed permanently his return to Werder Bremen for an undisclosed amount after an impressing performance in the previous season.

[53] On 23 October 2010, Pizarro scored his 134th goal in the Bundesliga, making him the top foreign-born scorer in the league's history, after being tied with Giovane Élber.

In the Champions League match against Lille on 7 November, Pizarro scored a hat-trick within the first 33 minutes of the game as Bayern defeated their French opponents 6–1.

[59] On 30 March 2013, Pizarro scored 4 goals, his firsts in the Bundesliga season, and provided two assists in a 9–2 win of Bayern Munich against Hamburg.

[60] On 10 April 2013, Pizarro came off the bench to score a 90th-minute goal against Juventus in the quarter-final of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, which would end in a 0–2 win for Bayern Munich (0–4 in the aggregate).

[63] On 19 April 2014, Pizarro scored in Bayern Munich's 2–0 win over Eintracht Braunschweig, making him a scorer to every single Bundesliga team.

[80] On 16 February 2019, with his stoppage equaliser in the away match against Hertha BSC, Pizarro became the oldest scorer in the history of the Bundesliga at 40 years and 136 days of age.

[84][85] His fifth goal determined the 2–1 win against RB Leipzig, raising the record for the oldest scorer to 40 years 227 days of age.

On 23 August 2003, Pizarro scored the fastest ever goal in the history of the Peruvian national team, at 18 seconds of the match's start for a 3–1 win over Mexico at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

[92] At the 2004 Copa América, Pizarro suffered a fractured skull when he took an elbow to the side of his head in an on-field collision with the opponent's goalkeeper during a 3–1 win over Venezuela.

[93] Under the management of Julio César Uribe, Pizarro captained Peru to the quarter-finals of the 2007 Copa América, scoring the two goals in the 2–2 draw against Bolivia in the final match of the group in Mérida.

[96] On 7 December 2007, an investigation was launched on women and alcohol found in the national squad's concentration hotel, two days before Peru's away 5–1 defeat by Ecuador.

This action alerted FIFA about his case, who warned Pizarro not to take it to regular courts of justice or face an international sanction.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the $10,000 fine imposed by the Peruvian Football Association after the alleged November 2007 incident.

The sentence quoted: "The facts put forward by (the federation) in relation to Pizarro were not supported by concrete evidence", sport's highest court said in a statement.