Bixente Lizarazu

Bixente Lizarazu

Personal information
Date of birth	9 December 1969 (1969-12-09)
Place of birth	Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Left Back
Youth career
1984–1987	Bordeaux
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1987–1996	Bordeaux	244	(22)
1996–1997	Athletic Bilbao	16	(0)
1997–2004	Bayern Munich	143	(8)
2004–2005	Marseille	14	(0)
2005–2006	Bayern Munich	31	(0)
Total		448	(30)
National team
1992–2004	France	97	(2)
Honours Competitor for Bordeaux Winner Ligue 2 1992 Winner UEFA Intertoto Cup 1995 Runner-up UEFA Cup 1996 Bayern Munich Winner DFB Liga-Pokal 1997 Winner DFB Pokal 1998 Winner DFB Liga-Pokal 1998 Winner Bundesliga 1999 Runner-up DFB Pokal 1999 Runner-up UEFA Champions League 1999 Winner DFB Liga-Pokal 1999 Winner Bundesliga 2000 Winner DFB Pokal 2000 Winner DFB Liga-Pokal 2000 Winner Bundesliga 2001 Winner UEFA Champions League 2001 Runner-up UEFA Super Cup 2001 Winner Intercontinental Cup 2001 Winner Bundesliga 2003 Winner DFB Pokal 2003 Winner Bundesliga 2005 Winner DFB Pokal 2005 Winner Bundesliga 2006 Winner DFB Pokal 2006 France Winner FIFA World Cup 1998 Winner UEFA European Championship 2000 Winner FIFA Confederations Cup 2001 Winner FIFA Confederations Cup 2003
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Bixente Lizarazu (Basque pronunciation: [biˈʃente lis̻aˈɾas̻u]), born Vincent Lizarazu, (9 December 1969 in Saint-Jean-de-Luz) is a former football left defender who played most notably for Bordeaux and Bayern Munich, as well as the French national team.

Football career

Lizarazu (nicknamed "Liza"), of Basque descent, has been capped 97 times for France (for the first time on 14 November 1992 against Finland), scoring two goals, and helped them win the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. He has won six Bundesliga championships with Bayern Munich, as well as five German Cups, the Champions League, and the Intercontinental Cup. During his second spell with Bayern Munich in 2005 and 2006, Lizarazu wore the shirt number 69. Clarifying that it wasn't a lewd gesture, he said this was because he was born in 1969, his height is 1.69 m and he weighed 69 kg.

Before moving to Germany, Lizarazu played for Girondins de Bordeaux, where he played in the 1996 UEFA Cup final against Bayern; and Athletic Bilbao. He said he would leave Bayern in the 2004 offseason, and eventually signed with Olympique Marseille. However, six months after signing with Marseille, he returned to Bayern Munich in January 2005.

He has been threatened by the Basque terrorist group, ETA, alleged for not giving money to the organization, what the terrorists called the "revolutionary tax". He also has a stadium named after him in the French Basque country, the "Stade Bixente-Lizarazu" (former "Belcenia Stadium"). His fiancée was French singer and actress Elsa Lunghini for seven years and he has a son named Tximista with his ex-wife Stéphanie. He has a daughter named Uhaina with French actress and singer Claire Keim.^{[citation needed]}

Lizarazu announced his retirement from football on 30 April 2006 – four days after former teammate Zinedine Zidane. However, he did subsequently make one appearance for Middlesbrough Football Club in August 2006, participating in Robbie Mustoe's testimonial alongside Curtis Flemming.

Post-retirement activities

After retirement, Lizarazu got involved in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competed in a Jiu-Jitsu competition in Europe in 2009, where he became European champion in the Blue Belt Senior 1 Light Division.

Career statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
1988–89	Girondins de Bordeaux	Division 1	16	0
1989–90			38	2
1990–91			35	2
1991–92			33	0
1992–93			35	4
1993–94			32	9
1994–95			32	2
1995–96			23	3
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Copa de la Liga		Europe		Total
1996–97	Athletic Bilbao	La Liga	16	0
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Premiere Ligapokal		Europe		Total
1997–98	Bayern Munich	Bundesliga	11	0	3	0
1998–99			18	2	5	1
1999-00			22	1	1	0
2000–01			15	0	1	0
2001–02			25	1	1	0
2002–03			26	2	5	0
2003–04			26	1	1	0
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
2004–05	Olympique Marseille	Ligue 1	14	0
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Premiere Ligapokal		Europe		Total
2004–05	Bayern Munich	Bundesliga	13	0	2	0
2005–06			18	0	2	0
Total	France		258	22
	Spain		16	0
	Germany		174	7
Career total			448	29

France national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1992	1	0
1993	6	0
1994	5	0
1995	5	1
1996	9	0
1997	4	0
1998	13	1
1999	6	0
2000	12	0
2001	10	0
2002	7	0
2003	12	0
2004	7	0
Total	97	2

International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	15 November 1995	Stade Michel d'Ornano, Caen, France	Israel	2 – 0	2 – 0	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
2.	18 June 1998	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Saudi Arabia	4 – 0	4 – 0	1998 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Club

FC Bordeaux

• UEFA Cup: Runner-up 1995–96
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1995
• Ligue 2: 1991–92

FC Bayern Munich

• Intercontinental Cup: 2001
• UEFA Champions League: 2000–01
• UEFA Champions League: Runner-up 1998-99
• UEFA Super Cup: Runner-up 2001
• Bundesliga: 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2005–06
• DFB-Pokal: 1997–98, 1999–00, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06
• DFB-Ligapokal: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000

International

France

• FIFA World Cup: 1998
• UEFA European Championship: 2000
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2001, 2003

Orders and special awards

• Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur: 1998

Record

After winning the Intercontinental Cup in late 2001 with Bayern, Lizarazu became the first player to be European Champion and World Champion on both club-level (with Bayern) and national level (with the national squad).

External links

• Bixente Lizarazu at fussballdaten.de (German)