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Bixente Lizarazu

Personal information
Date of birth	December 9, 1969 (1969-12-09) (age 40)
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	272	(23)
1996–1997	Athletic Bilbao	33	(2)
1997–2004	Bayern Munich	205	(16)
2004–2005	Marseille	24	(0)
2005–2006	Bayern Munich	25	(2)
Total		559	(43)
National team
1992–2004	France	97	(2)
Honours Competitor for Bordeaux Gold Ligue 2 1992 Gold UEFA Intertoto Cup 1995 Silver UEFA Cup 1996 Competitor for Bayern Munich Gold DFB Liga-Pokal 1997 Gold DFB Pokal 1998 Gold DFB Liga-Pokal 1998 Gold Bundesliga 1999 Silver DFB Pokal 1999 Silver UEFA Champions League 1999 Gold DFB Liga-Pokal 1999 Gold Bundesliga 2000 Gold DFB Pokal 2000 Gold DFB Liga-Pokal 2000 Gold Bundesliga 2001 Gold UEFA Champions League 2001 Silver UEFA Super Cup 2001 Gold Intercontinental Cup 2001 Gold Bundesliga 2003 Gold DFB Pokal 2003 Gold Bundesliga 2005 Gold DFB Pokal 2005 Gold Bundesliga 2006 Gold DFB Pokal 2006 Competitor for  France Gold FIFA World Cup 1998 Gold UEFA European Championship 2000 Gold FIFA Confederations Cup 2001 Gold FIFA Confederations Cup 2003
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Bixente Lizarazu (Basque pronunciation: [biˈʃente lisaˈrasu], French: [biɡzɑ̃t lizaʀazy]) (born Vicente Lizarazu on 9 December 1969 in Saint-Jean-de-Luz) is a former football left defender for Olympique Marseille and three other professional teams, as well as the French national team. Being such a successful French player he is now a footballing legend in France and is widely considered as one of the greatest left backs of all time.

Football career

Lizarazu (nicknamed "Liza"), of Basque descent, has been capped 97 times for France (for the first time on November 14, 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.^[1]

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.

Lizarazu announced his retirement from football on 30 April 2006 - four days after former teammate Zinedine Zidane. He ends his career with the distinction of being the most successful French footballer in history.

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 was named European champion.^[2]

Career statistics

^[3]

International Goals

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

Honours

• Club:
  • French Ligue 2 championship 1992
  • UEFA Cup finalist 1996
  • German League Cup 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
  • German Cup 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006
  • German Bundesliga championship 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006
  • UEFA Champions League 2001
  • Intercontinental Cup (Toyota Cup) 2001

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

• Personal:
  • He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 1998^[4][5]

Record

After winning the Intercontinental Cup in late 2001 with Bayern, Lizarazu was European Champion and World Champion on both club-level (with Bayern) and national level (with the national squad). This was the first time in history one player held such a record.

References

1. ^ Bandini, Paolo; Bass, Ian and Dart, James (2006-09-27). "Have any footballers ever admitted moving for the money?". The Guardian. http://football.guardian.co.uk/theknowledge/story/0,,1880604,00.html. Retrieved 2006-09-27. 
2. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj2_XNENMqc
3. ^ LIZARAZU (Bixente Lizarazu) - Retired football (soccer) player from France
4. ^ "France honors World Cup winners - Government gives Legion of Honor to players, coaches". CNN/SI. 1 September 1998. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/news/1998/09/01/france_legionhonor. Retrieved 2006-07-20. 
5. ^ "Décret du 24 juillet 1998 portant nomination à titre exceptionnel". JORF 1998 (170): 11376. 1998-07-25. PREX9801916D. http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=PREX9801916D. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 

• http://www.dufloconalavague.org/
• FootballDatabase profile and stats
• FussballDaten Bundesliga stats
• Bixente's blog (French)

France Squad France squad – UEFA Euro 1996 semi-finalists 1 Lama • 2 Angloma • 3 Di Meco • 4 Leboeuf • 5 Blanc • 6 Guérin • 7 Deschamps • 8 Desailly • 9 Djorkaeff • 10 Zidane • 11 Loko • 12 Lizarazu • 13 Dugarry • 14 Lamouchi • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Madar • 18 Pedros • 19 Karembeu • 20 Roche • 21 Martins • 22 Martini • Coach: Jacquet France squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup Winners (1st Title) 1 Lama • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Blanc • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Deschamps • 8 Desailly • 9 Guivarc'h • 10 Zidane • 11 Pirès • 12 Henry • 13 Diomède • 14 Boghossian • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Charbonnier • Coach: Jacquet France squad – UEFA Euro 2000 Winners (2nd title) 1 Lama • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Blanc • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Deschamps • 8 Desailly • 9 Anelka • 10 Zidane • 11 Pirès • 12 Henry • 13 Wiltord • 14 Micoud • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Ramé • Coach: Lemerre France squad – 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup Winners (1st Title) 1 Ramé • 2 Sagnol • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Gillet • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Pirès • 8 Desailly • 9 Anelka • 10 Carrière • 11 Wiltord • 12 Coupet • 13 Silvestre • 14 Née • 15 Bréchet • 16 Dacourt • 17 Marlet • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Camara • 21 Dugarry • 22 Robert • 23 Landreau • Coach: Lemerre France squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Ramé • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Christanval • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Makélélé • 8 Desailly • 9 Cissé • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Boghossian • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Micoud • 23 Coupet • Coach: Lemerre France squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup Winners (2nd Title) 1 Landreau • 2 Mexès • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Boumsong • 5 Gallas • 6 Dacourt • 7 Pirès • 8 Desailly • 9 Cissé • 10 Giuly • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Rothen • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Kapo • 18 Pedretti • 19 Sagnol • 20 Marlet • 21 Dabo • 22 Govou • 23 Coupet • Coach: Santini France squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Landreau • 2 Boumsong • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Gallas • 6 Makélélé • 7 Pirès • 8 Desailly • 9 Saha • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Rothen • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Dacourt • 18 Pedretti • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Marlet • 22 Govou • 23 Coupet • Coach: Santini