When Paolo Guerrero was banging in goals for the Bayern reserves, the great Gerd Müller himself rewarded the youngster with a bar of whole nut milk chocolate every time he found the back of the net. And Paolo must have been on the way to building up a chocolate mountain, with 45 goals in his 66 third division appearances.
The sweets don’t appear to have caused the Peruvian front man any harm. After four years at Bayern (2002 to 2006), which included his first steps on the Bundesliga ladder (27 appearances, 10 goals), Guerrero moved to Hamburg SV, where he became a first-rate striker. Paolo has netted 29 goals in 91 league games for Hamburg, including last weekend’s winner for HSV in the 1-0 victory away to Mainz. fcbayern.de spoke to Guerrero ahead of his reunion with the Reds.
Interview: Paolo Guerrero
fcbayern.de: Hi Paolo. You did Bayern a favour with your goal at the weekend: Mainz have failed to beat Bayern’s record run from the opening game of a season and FCB have made up ground on the leaders. Did you get any texts from Munich thanking you for your hard work?
Paolo Guerrero: No, I didn’t. There probably shouldn’t be too much contact before the game on Friday.
How close are you to the players at Bayern these days?
Obviously, we do keep in touch, but not on a regular basis. I’ve been in Hamburg for four years now and I’ve got my friends here. But I always enjoy meeting up with the lads if they’re still around. Like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm. The team has changed almost completely over the last few years.
You spent four years at Bayern and now you’re in your fifth season at Hamburg. Do you still feel a bit Bavarian?
I think I’m more of a Northerner now after four years up here. But I still have a soft spot for Munich. I had a great time and I never want to forget it. I really enjoy coming back to Munich.
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