Claudio Pizarro says Guardiola’s the best manager he’s played for, still weighing Bayern’s ambassador offer

Pizarro wants to finish the season with Werder Bremen before he makes a decision on anything.

Claudio Pizarro is a true fan favorite at Bayern Munich. The Peruvian striker spent two separate, well decorated tenures at Bayern from 2001-2007 and 2012-2015 before he eventually left for Werder Bremen, where he had previously gone on loan. In his time at Bayern, Pizarro played for a bevvy of world class managers, but he recently revealed that he feels Pep Guardiola was the best manager he’s played for (Bundesliga.com)

During his time at Bayern when Guardiola was manager, Pizarro had to compete with both Mario Mandzukic and Robert Lewandowski for minutes, but he still was able to be productive on the goal-scoring front. He credits Guardiola for widening his scope as a footballer and tactically speaking, he doesn’t think there’s anyone better:

Pep broadened my footballing horizons even further. He has a completely different vision of football compared to other coaches, he’s the best I’ve had. Tactically speaking, and in terms of how he thinks about football, I believe there is no better coach than Pep Guardiola.

Pizarro played under Guardiola for two seasons and before the Spaniard was in charge, Jupp Heynckes had come back to manage for three seasons, replacing Louis van Gaal and then caretaker Andries Jonker. Heynckes was also someone Pizarro has high praise for:

Heynckes was also great, he’s a fantastic human being. He helped the team so much, and the fact Bayern brought him back so often shows just how good he is.

Photo by Andreas Gebert/picture alliance via Getty Images

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Bayern Munich has also offered an ambassador position for Pizarro once he hangs up his boots for good. Currently, Lothar Matthaus, Bixente Lizarazu and Giovanni Elber are brand ambassadors for Bayern, and Hasan Salihamidzic also served as one before he took up his position as sporting director. A big part of the job is to represent the club and brand at publicity events across the globe. Pizarro fits the bill perfectly as such a lovable figure in Munich.

Bayern officially made the offer to Pizarro around this time last year, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge made it clear that he’s always welcome back in Munich. For now, Pizarro says he’s focused on finishing the season with Werder Bremen, who currently sits in the relegation zone along with SC Paderborn and Fortuna Dusseldorf:

SV Werder Bremen EN ()

✔@werderbremen_en

@pizarrinha on a job at @FCBayernEN:

"Bayern would like it to happen and I have told them I'm interested. But for now I still have a job to do here and I will make a decision when it's all over." #werder

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5:13 AM - Apr 14, 2020

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