Claudio Pizarro has become the oldest player to score a goal in Germany’s Bundesliga after his 96th-minute equalizer rescued a point for Werder Bremen against Hertha Berlin.
The Peruvian striker, who turned 40 on October 3, 2018, scored with virtually the last kick of the game at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday, cancelling out David Selke’s first-half goal for the hosts.
Pizarro assumes the record from Miroslav Votava, the Czech defensive midfielder who had held the record since 1996 when he also netted for Bremen against Stuttgart.
He takes the title by 15 days from the Czech, who left the club shortly after netting his record-breaking goal more than 22 years ago.
The striker is best known for his time spent playing for Bayern Munich, where he spent nine seasons across two spells.
40 - @pizarrinha scores aged 40 years and 136 days and is now the oldest goal scorer in #Bundesliga history (previously: Mirko #Votava). Senior. #BSCSVW@werderbremen_en pic.twitter.com/cG6HJyYgJy
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) February 16, 2019
During that time he won six Bundesliga titles and the 2013 Champions League, scoring as the team knocked out Juventus in the quarter-final.
He is currently in his fourth spell at Bremen, having rejoined them in the summer on a one-year contract.
Despite his years, Pizarro has held down a regular place in Bremen’s team this term, and his last-gasp strike against Hertha on Saturday was his fourth goal of the season for the team that sit tenth in the Bundesliga.
The 40-year-old also had an illustrious career for his country’s national team.
Between making his debut in a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador in 1999 – a game in which he scored – and his final appearance in 2016, he netted 20 goals in 85 appearances, retiring from international duty shortly after the beginning of Peru’s successful World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign.
It is unknown whether he will prolong his career beyond the end of his Bremen contract, which expires in July.
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