Claudio Pizarro has taken part in the one or the other pre-season training during his career—in fact, he’s done it 10 times with Werder. Not much has changed, except for the time needed for his body to recover. He knows his place within Florian Kohfeldt’s system, meaning he can direct his focus to his fitness. “Pre-season is very important for me. It defines how my season will go,” the Werder legend said during a press conference on Friday afternoon.
According to Pizarro, younger players will occasionally ask him why he continues to put himself through this stress. “I still want to play,” Pizarro explained with a big grin on his face. At the same time, however, he admits that he is tired and exhausted. “Sometimes I think to myself that I don’t want this anymore. But at the same time, it is the most important thing to me.”
In any case, Claudio Pizarro won’t have to concern himself with sprints, interval runs and fitness training for much longer. As he made clear, the upcoming season will be his last one. “I'm feeling quite good, but it's enough now,” said the 40-year-old, who (as we know) can always be counted on for a surprise. The Werder legend has a clear vision of how he’d like to end his career: “I want to get into Europe with Werder in what will likely be my final season.” If that happens then Pizarro would be “quite happy,” strenuous pre-season and lengthy recovery time notwithstanding.
