Pizarro spurred on by Mourinho reunion

Claudio Pizarro has "very fond memories" of San Siro. The last time he played there, two years ago almost to the day, his goal helped FC Bayern München condemn FC Internazionale Milano to their second group defeat in as many matches. Now, in the green and orange of Werder Bremen, the Peruvian is hoping lightning will strike twice as he comes up against his former Chelsea FC coach José Mourinho.

'Fond memories'
On that late September evening in Milan, Pizarro muscled past two defenders to break the deadlock nine minutes from time and as Inter unravelled, with both Fabio Grosso and Zlatan Ibrahimović receiving red cards, Lukas Podolski scored another in added time to give Bayern a memorable 2-0 win. "We are under no illusions how hard it will be because Inter are a very competitive side," Pizarro said. "But we also know we can beat them. I have very fond memories of the last time I came here because I scored a goal and we won the match."

Familiar face
Pizarro will also find a familiar face in Mourinho, the man who took him to London from Bayern shortly before his reign at Stamford Bridge came to an end last September. The centre-forward expressed regret at not having had the chance to spend more time under the Portuguese tactician. "It'll be great to see him again," he said. "Unfortunately I only had the chance to work with him for a short while. I didn't really have the chance to show him what I could do because I also missed quite a lot of pre-season playing in the Copa América. But tomorrow is another chance for me to show him what I can do."

'Dangerous'
Mourinho himself needs no reminding about the qualities of Pizarro, who has scored 14 goals in 52 UEFA Champions League appearances and three in five Bundesliga outings this term. "Pizarro is a good player," Mourinho said. "He was only with me for three or four months before I left but he impressed me with his attitude. He was a happy player who scored goals and contributed well to the team. Unfortunately after I left his life changed. But I know full well what he can do and in today's players' meeting I told them all about him, what sort of player he is and how dangerous he is."

Materazzi wary
Inter defender Marco Materazzi had clearly been paying attention. "Werder Bremen play very well as a team," he said. "They don't have any really dangerous individuals that stand out, apart from Diego, who is very clever. But they do move very quickly as a team and have good strikers like Pizarro, who is physically strong and good in the air."