Early career and Inter Milan Pizarro began his career at
Santiago Wanderers in his hometown
Valparaíso. After a season playing at
Seaport Team since his promotion to the first-adult team in 1997, he joined
Udinese of the Italian
Serie A. In 2001, he was loaned to Chilean powerhouse
Universidad de Chile to gain experience. Once back in
Friuli, he settled as the Udinese's starting central midfielder, performing well during his five seasons there. On 14 July 2005, Pizarro joined
Inter Milan for a reported €10 million transfer (plus half the rights of striker
Goran Pandev, whom
Lazio purchased one year later for €4 million) on a four-year contract. At Inter, he failed to repeat his successful campaigns at Udinese, at times being overshadowed by Argentine star
Juan Sebastián Verón. Nonetheless, Pizarro won the
2005–06 Serie A with Inter, plus the
Coppa Italia and
Supercoppa Italiana.
Roma On 19 August 2006,
Roma acquired 50% of Pizarro's rights, agreeing to a €6.5 million transfer fee for a four-year co-ownership deal. On his arrival, he chose shirt number 7 and reunited with his former head coach at Udinese,
Luciano Spalletti. On 12 September 2006, Pizarro scored his first competitive goal for Roma in a 4–0
UEFA Champions League victory over
Shakhtar Donetsk in the 89th minute. Five days later, he scored twice in a 3–1
Serie A win over
Siena. He also helped Roma win the
2006–07 Coppa Italia title, where was one of the team top-scorers with three goals. On 20 June 2007, Roma announced they paid Inter the remaining 50% of Pizarro's rights to keep him at the club until 2010. The next season, he was an undisputed starter with
Daniele De Rossi in midfield, making over 30 league appearances as well as in the
UEFA Champions League, where he scored a goal in a 2–1 win over
Real Madrid to seal the club's progression to the quarter-finals. Pizarro also won the Coppa Italia with Roma
that season. In October 2009, Pizarro signed a contract extension which was to keep him at the club until June 2013. He finished the
2009–10 season with two goals and eight assists in 31 appearances, helping Roma finish second in Serie A behind eventual winners Inter.
Manchester City arriving at a Manchester City match in May 2012 On 31 January 2012, Pizarro signed for
Manchester City on loan from Roma for the remainder of the
2011–12 season, reuniting his former head manager at Inter,
Roberto Mancini. Pizarro made his debut four days later as an added-time substitute for
Adam Johnson in City's 3–0 win against
Fulham, becoming the first Chilean to play for Manchester City. On 22 February, he came off the substitutes' bench to score and had an assist against
Porto in the
UEFA Europa League as City won 4–0 in the second leg of the tie, having won 2–1 in the away leg. On 13 May 2012, Manchester City were crowned
Premier League champions for
2011–12 after defeating
Queens Park Rangers 3–2. However, Pizarro only made five league appearances that season, not enough for a winners' medal. His loan spell with City came to an end and returned to Roma, after which he vowed not to move again.
Fiorentina On 9 August 2012, Pizarro transferred to
Fiorentina on a two-year contract. He played 83 times for Fiorentina, scoring four goals. Pizarro was an unused substitute in the
2014 Coppa Italia Final, which Fiorentina lost 3–1 to
Napoli.
Santiago Wanderers Pizarro returned to Chile to join
Santiago Wanderers on a two-year contract. == International career ==