20 August 2003 - Pizarro Was Quick On His Feet

On 20 August 2003, Claudio Pizarro scored the fastest goal in the history of the Peruvian national team, coming just 18 seconds into a friendly against Mexico.

The teams met at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, where Pizarro (pictured) got the game off to a quick start, unleashing a left-footed blast from just outside the penalty spot to put Peru up 1-0. It was the first goal conceded by Mexico in six matches.

They did not wait long to concede again, though, surrendering a second goal to midfielder Carlos Zegarra in the 31st minute, then a third to Nolberto Solano two minutes later.

Down 3-0 at the break, Mexico eventually got on the scoreboard in the 54th minute with a goal from Mariano Trujillo. It was the last goal of the day, but not the last bit of excitement. A 68th-minute brawl resulted in the ejection of four players, two from each side--Pizarro and John Galliquio for Peru, Omar Briceño and Jared Borgetti for Mexico.

23 October 2010 - Pizarro Conquers A Bundesliga Record

On 23 October 2010, Peruvian forward Claudio Pizarro became the Bundesliga's all-time leading foreign goalscorer with a strike against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Pizarro moved to the Bundesliga in 1999 with Werder Bremen, then moved to Bayern Munich in 2001. Between the two, he scored 100 league goals before moving to Chelsea in 2007. His time in London was brief, however, as he returned to Werder Bremen on loan in 2008, then on a permanent transfer in 2009.

His second spell in Bremen started successfully, with the club winning the DFB-Pokal and reaching the UEFA Cup final in 2009, then finishing third in the league in 2010. But they struggled at the start of the 2010-11 season, winning only three of their first eight matches when they traveled to Mönchengladbach. At the time, Pizarro was tied with his former Bayern teammate Élber Giovane as the league's record foreign goalscorers with 133 each.

The match was no contest. After only 12 minutes, the visitors were up 0-2 with goals from Marko Marin (5') and Wesley (12'), then Aaron Hunt stretched the lead to 0-3 in the 51st minute. The hosts got a slight lift when Werder center back Per Mertesacker put the ball into his own net in the 67th minute, but Pizarro restored the margin with his record-setting strike in the 75th minute. It was a rare bright spot in the season for Werder, who finished in 13th place.

Pizarro, who is in his fourth spell with Werder Bremen, has a current tally of 190 Bundesliga goals, making him the fifth highest scorer in league history.

7 December 2007 - Peru's Rush To Justice

On 7 December 2007, Chelsea striker Claudio Pizarro was suspended indefinitely from the Peruvian national team for breaking team rules during their World Cup qualification campaign.

According to a Peruvian journalist, Pizarro and several other players, including Jefferson Farfan, Santiago Acasiete, and Andrés Mendoza, smuggled women and alcohol into the team hotel after Peru's 1-1 draw with Brazil on 18 November and only three days before their 5-1 hammering by Ecuador. Despite Pizarro's claim of innocence, the Peruvian football federation suspended him for 18 months and fined him $80,000.

Although they later reduced the suspension to 3 months and the fine to $10,000, Pizarro appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to clear his name. The CAS overturned both rulings, finding that "[t]he facts put forward by (the federation) in relation to Pizarro were not supported by concrete evidence." Peru, however, has not recalled Pizarro to the national team since his initial suspension.

Peru, who had taken only 2 points from 4 qualification matches before the suspensions, finished at the bottom of the CONMEBOL standings and did not qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

Pizarro returned to the national team in 2011.

27 November 2001 - Bayern Beats Boca

On 27 November 2001, Bayern Munich won the Intercontinental Cup with an extra-time goal against defending champions Boca Juniors, who had been reduced to ten men.

Boca had beaten Real Madrid the previous year and were hoping to repeat as champions. Playing at the National Stadium in Tokyo, they had the better chances in the first half, with attempts from Cristian Traverso and Marcelo Delgado, but both teams went into the break scoreless.

Just after the restart, Delgado received a second yellow card for diving, taking Boca down to ten men. Despite the imbalance, Bayern could not crack their defense and the match remained deadlocked at 0-0 through regulation.

Finally, in the 109th minute, Bayern center back Samuel Kuffour scored off a corner kick. The ball initially fell to Claudio Pizarro, but his header was cleared off the line. After pinballing around the goalmouth, the rebound came to Kuffour, who knocked it home for the deciding goal and Bayern won 1-0.

20 August 2003 - Pizarro Was Quick On His Feet

On 20 August 2003, Claudio Pizarro scored the fastest goal in the history of the Peruvian national team, coming just 18 seconds into a friendly against Mexico.

The teams met at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, where Pizarro (pictured) got the game off to a quick start, unleashing a left-footed blast from just outside the penalty spot to put Peru up 1-0. It was the first goal conceded by Mexico in six matches.

They did not wait long to concede again, though, surrendering a second goal to midfielder Carlos Zegarra in the 31st minute, then a third to Nolberto Solano two minutes later.

Down 3-0 at the break, Mexico eventually got on the scoreboard in the 54th minute with a goal from Mariano Trujillo. It was the last goal of the day, but not the last bit of excitement. A 68th-minute brawl resulted in the ejection of four players, two from each side--Pizarro and John Galliquio for Peru, Omar Briceño and Jared Borgetti for Mexico.

23 October 2010 - Pizarro Conquers A Bundesliga Record

On 23 October 2010, Peruvian forward Claudio Pizarro became the Bundesliga's all-time leading foreign goalscorer with a strike against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Pizarro moved to the Bundesliga in 1999 with Werder Bremen, then moved to Bayern Munich in 2001. Between the two, he scored 100 league goals before moving to Chelsea in 2007. His time in London was brief, however, as he returned to Werder Bremen on loan in 2008, then on a permanent transfer in 2009.

His second spell in Bremen started successfully, with the club winning the DFB-Pokal and reaching the UEFA Cup final in 2009, then finishing third in the league in 2010. But they struggled at the start of the 2010-11 season, winning only three of their first eight matches when they traveled to Mönchengladbach. At the time, Pizarro was tied with his former Bayern teammate Élber Giovane as the league's record foreign goalscorers with 133 each.

The match was no contest. After only 12 minutes, the visitors were up 0-2 with goals from Marko Marin (5') and Wesley (12'), then Aaron Hunt stretched the lead to 0-3 in the 51st minute. The hosts got a slight lift when Werder center back Per Mertesacker put the ball into his own net in the 67th minute, but Pizarro restored the margin with his record-setting strike in the 75th minute. It was a rare bright spot in the season for Werder, who finished in 13th place.

Pizarro still plays for Werder Bremen and has since added to his total--he now has a current tally of 145 Bundesliga goals.

7 December 2007 - Peru's Rush To Justice

On 7 December 2007, Chelsea striker Claudio Pizarro was suspended indefinitely from the Peruvian national team for breaking team rules during their World Cup qualification campaign.

According to a Peruvian journalist, Pizarro and several other players, including Jefferson Farfan, Santiago Acasiete, and Andrés Mendoza, smuggled women and alcohol into the team hotel after Peru's 1-1 draw with Brazil on 18 November and only three days before their 5-1 hammering by Ecuador. Despite Pizarro's claim of innocence, the Peruvian football federation suspended him for 18 months and fined him $80,000.

Although they later reduced the suspension to 3 months and the fine to $10,000, Pizarro appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to clear his name. The CAS overturned both rulings, finding that "[t]he facts put forward by (the federation) in relation to Pizarro were not supported by concrete evidence." Peru, however, has not recalled Pizarro to the national team since his initial suspension.

Peru, who had taken only 2 points from 4 qualification matches before the suspensions, finished at the bottom of the CONMEBOL standings and did not qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

[Update: Pizarro returned to the national team in 2011.]