Claudio Pizarro and why he inherited the nickname ‘Bomber’ from Gerd Müller

The nickname sounds familiar, but history dictates that Gerd Müller He was the first world-class attacker to break webs with his shots. The German died last August at the age of 75 and his nicknames are mentioned all over the world: Bomber and Torpedo, although in Peru, the Bomber is related to Claudio Pizarro,

Gerd Muller ceased to exist and the awards he received in life are repeated now that he is gone. The attacker managed to be world champion, won the Champions League, Ballon d’Or and had the scoring record in the Bundesliga for more than 40 years.

But why did they call him the ‘Bomber’? A first reason is given by Franz Beckenbauer, perhaps the player who shared the most with Müller, since he was his roommate at Bayern and the German national team. , said the ‘Kaiser’ in an interview with Bayern.

“He was well fed,” recalls the legendary goalkeeper, “his thighs were the same size as the waist of the others,” recalled goalkeeper Sepp Maier. His physical condition was another reason that led experts to give him those nicknames.

But it was his goals that consolidated with honors being the Bomber of the Nation. 735 so many officers throughout his career. He scored in the finals of the World Cup (1974 against the Netherlands), Champions (4) and Eurocup (1972).

With his selection, he achieved 68 goals in 62 international matches (14 in the world), a record that Miroslav Klose reached in 2013, but in 129 matches. “I’m glad it was you who equaled my 68 goal mark. But I have to say that I needed a couple of games less, “Müller wrote in an article in Sport Bild magazine at the time.

In addition, in 1972 he achieved the figure of 85 goals in the calendar year, which Lionel Messi just broke in 2012 with 91 goals. Meanwhile, in the 1971-72 season he reached 40 goals in the Bundesliga, a record that Lewandowski just broke last season with 41 goals.

That’s the German Nation Bomber. Paolo Guerrero learned from that scoring instinct and Claudio Pizarro polished himself. The German attacker was the one who rewarded Guerrero when he was in the Bayern Munich subsidiary and congratulated Pizarro for his achievements with the Bavarian team.

Peruvian bomber

. The attacker is receiving greetings from the clubs where he passed, especially from Germany, where he is considered a legend for all that he achieved and for being the Bundesliga’s foreign scorer for a long time, until the arrival of Lewandowski.

Pizarro became the Bomber of the Andes, as he was baptized upon his arrival at Werder Bremen in mid-1999, after playing a season and a half with Alianza Lima. He scored 5 goals the day the German scouts were at Matute.

“Once in the German league, he immediately dazzled his club and the Bundesliga with his goals, in keeping with his origin and geography in Peru. From there then, the “Bomber of the Andes” emerged, a true reflection of how Pizarro carved his history with the goal cry ”, highlights the Bundesliga in an article on Pizarro.

“Over four decades he proved his worth in the Bundesliga and now he leaves as the foreigner with the most matches in the competition (490) and six salad bowls in his personal showcase,” Bayern himself highlighted in 2020 when Pizarro announced his retirement .

Furthermore, the Bundesliga itself recalls the fact that the Peruvian is the only player in the history of the Bundesliga to have scored more than 80 goals for two different clubs (103 with Werder Bremen and 87 with Bayern).

As a tribute to the German attacker, Claudio has among his stallions in his stud farm one with the name of Gerd Müller, as well as others called Allianz Arena, Oktoberfest and Marienplatz, the central square of Munich.

Meanwhile, the Peruvian who broke nets in our football was always Teodoro ‘Lolo’ Fernández. The cream attacker was nicknamed the ‘Gunner’ – similar to Müller’s ‘Torpedo’ – for his strong shot that, they say, made archers faint.

Lolo played between 1931 and 1953, and in those 22 seasons he was a scorer 7 times in the Peruvian tournament. In total, 171 goals are recorded according to the FPF, which made it Peru’s top scorer until ‘Cachito’ Ramírez surpassed that mark in 1982.