Bundesliga
Claudio Pizarro "an asset" - Florian Kohfeldt
Werder Bremen head coach Florian Kohfeldt has hailed the influence of veteran striker Claudio Pizarro, revealing how he regularly draws on the Peruvian's wealth of experience for inspiration.
Forty-year-old Pizarro is enjoying his fourth stint at Bremen and 19th season of Bundesliga football. He is the German top flight’s record foreign scorer on 195 goals and while he has only made a handful of starts in 2018/19, he continues to make a telling contribution on and off the pitch.
"I let him speak to the lads ahead of Sunday’s game," Kohfeldt said in reference to Bremen’s 4-0 drubbing of Augsburg on Bundesliga Matchday 21. "His words and his presence are really helpful. He's also valuable to us on the pitch, as seen in the Dortmund game."
Pizarro’s pep talk was the precursor to Bremen’s biggest win of the campaign, and came just days after the Green-Whites fought back to knock Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund out of the DFB Cup.
Pizarro had only been on the pitch for 17 minutes when he levelled for 2-2 with his fourth competitive goal of the campaign. He also scored in the decisive penalty shootout as Werder completed a memorable comeback to set up a quarter-final clash with Schalke.
"Claudio pretty much always makes the right decision," Kohfeldt continued. "It’s a privilege to be able to bring on someone like him."
Pizarro overtook former Werder midfielder Mirko Votava as the oldest goalscorer in Bundesliga history with his last-gasp equaliser in a 1-1 draw away to Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
It also meant he has scored a Bundesliga goal in each of the last 21 calendar years.
Watch: Claudio Pizarro - 20 years of Bundesliga goals