For the fifth time, Werder Bremen have signed a contract with Claudio Pizarro. The 39-year-old player, who joined the club on a free transfer and allegedly signed a one-year contract with a rather low, performance-related salary, should help Werder as an athlete - a physically strong attacker.

On 3 October, Claudio Pizarro will turn 40, and so far it has been expected to be a big party, after which the guests wake up with a hangover. People had imagined pictures of a retired footballer sitting in a bar, surrounded by friends, devoid of allure, drinking something that is not mineral water. Or, with a little more imagination: Pizarro riding a horse like an old cowboy on the sunset. He owns a racing team, he has called a galopper "Don Jupp" after Josef Heynckes, one of his favorite coaches during his long career.

But it is different now. Pizarro, a six-time German champion, a 446-time Bundesliga player, a 192-time and thus fifth best scorer in league history (and best foreign scorer), the best-known and most popular Peruvian and a true friend of beautiful life, continues playing. His 40th birthday falls in a week between an away game at VfB Stuttgart and a home game against VfL Wolfsburg. For the fifth time in his career, he moved to Werder Bremen. And that is already one of the best transfer stories of this summer.

"He's back," Werder announced Pizarro's contract on Sunday. In 1999, 19 years ago, he moved for the first time to Europe - from Allianza Lima to Bremen. In 2008, he came back to Werder on loan from Chelsea, in 2009 he moved to Bremen again. Werder took him in 2015 after his second spell at Bayern. And now he comes after a disappointing season at 1. FC Koeln, which many thought was his last. During the summer break, he has so far kept in shape in Mallorca and in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with the help of the fitness coach Yann-Benjamin, which was documented with photos in social media. "That's great for me and the best I can do, I feel at home again," Pizarro told the club's Werder TV.

On the one hand, the transfer can be explained. Bremen lost the key players Thomas Delaney and Zlatko Junuzovic in midfield this summer, as well as the mighty striker Ishak Belfodil. As a replacement for Delaney, who moved to Borussia Dortmund for around 20 million euros, Werder signed the Dutch Davy Klaassen from Everton for about 13.5 million euros. In the first test match against Bielefeld on Friday, he actually scored his first goal for Bremen. Yuya Osako from Koeln and another returnee, Martin Harnik from Hannover, already came as strong attackers. But analysing their squad, the club knew that they still lacked a physically strong attacker, a classic nine who holds balls; a player who can come on as a substitute late in the game as a so-called "breaker". The center forward Aron Johannsson wll be still injured for months to come.

Pizarro, who arrived on a free transfer and allegedly signed a one-year contract with a rather low, performance-related salary, did not necessarily promote himself in the Koeln’s relegation season. He hardly helped the team, he ran little and scored only once. But it was still close to Bremen’s view, ask fitness trainer Kugel who was once employed at Werder. In the pictures we see Pizarro sprinting with a band around the waist, Pizarro shooting on goal - he looks amazingly fit. No sign of a slight belly, which he carried for a while with dignity. "I only had a short preparation and I'm more likely to be 60 than 100 per cent fit." says Pizarro. "Claudio knows he will not necessarily be a candidate for the starting line-up, but he will get his moments this season," said coach Florian Kohfeldt, 35, four years younger than Pizarro. "We believe that we can find the right balance by using Claudio's skills without blocking our young players in their development," says the manager Frank Baumann.

Emotionally, the transfer is a little easier to understand than rationally. When Pizarro left Bremen in 2017, he was disappointed as the coach Alexander Nouri was against extending his contract. When Pizarro last season played in Bremen with Koeln, who lost 1: 3, and the audience called his name again and again, he seemed touched and said: "I love the club, they love me." Pizarro scored 104 of his 192 league goals for Werder, he is the club’s record striker. Although he has recently told that he plans to settle in Munich after retirement, it is to be assumed that Werder should consider how they can win Pizarro for the club in his post-retirement future. 

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