Peru tunes in for Pizarro

There cannot be many more daunting tasks for an attacker than taking on AC Milan, but Peruvian Claudio Pizarro is up for the challenge as FC Bayern München meet the Rossoneri in their UEFA Champions League first knockout round encounter tonight.

'Peru is waiting'
Speaking to uefa.com, the skilful Peruvian revealed that Bayern will have the support of his home nation. "Peru is waiting for this match," Pizarro said. "It is being broadcast live, everyone is looking to me and maybe my young compatriot José Paolo Guerrero too. I think Peru is very proud that we are playing in such a big match."

Anticipation
Even back in Germany, the first leg of this tie is certainly the biggest competitive Bayern game the Fußball Arena München has staged in its short life. Pizarro and his team-mates have been counting the days to this fixture ever since it emerged from the pot in mid-December, just before the German winter break began. "We have been waiting for this match," he said. "We started preparing with ten days in Dubai, which was very hard, but everybody was thinking about this Milan match. It helps the team a lot in the winter preparations to have a game like this to look forward to."

Improved squad
Part of the anticipation comes from the feeling that finally, after falling just short in their last few UEFA Champions League campaigns, Bayern have a squad capable of winning the title for the first time in five seasons. "I think our team is stronger than in recent years," Pizarro said. "The team is complete with new players like Lucio. And in midfield we have so many combinations it is difficult for any team to play against us: Is Zé Roberto playing? Is Bastian Schweinsteiger playing? Is Sebastian Deisler playing? Or is Hasan Salihamidžić playing?"

Formidable back line
Pizarro himself will not have Paolo Maldini to face, as the magnificent Milan defender is injured. But even without their leader the Rossoneri boast one of the most formidable back lines in European football - conceding just two goals in their last seven Serie A games. Pizarro, though, may just have the guile to outfox Milan's athletic defence, and the striker says that Bayern will stick to their usual attractive style. "We know how strong and powerful their defence is - it is very special like any Italian team," Pizarro said. "Of course, we don't play the English style with high and long balls, we try to play football."

Kahn hope
At the other end of the pitch, Bayern could be without their own captain Oliver Kahn, who has a bruised thigh. "I hope - we hope - he will play, but we have to wait, perhaps until half an hour before the match begins," said Pizarro. "Oliver Kahn is a very important player for us because he is very experienced. But [understudy] Michael Rensing has already shown what he can do. We have never lost when he has played."

Unbeaten record
That record also goes for their new stadium, which has proved a fortress for Bayern since their summer move from the Olympiastadion. Pizarro said: "You just have to look at the statistics - we hope that we will still have this record after this game!" With all Peru as well as the Bayern regulars behind him, Pizarro is well placed to make sure.