Bixente Lizarazu

Bixente Lizarazu
Personal information
Date of birth	December 9 1969 (1969--) (age 37)
Place of birth	Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France
Height	m ({{FORMATNUM:5 ft 6+1⁄2 in}})
Playing position	Defender
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1988-1996 1996-1997 1997-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006	Girondins de Bordeaux Athletic Bilbao Bayern Munich Olympique Marseille Bayern Munich Total	272 (23) 16 (0) 205 (9) 14 (0) 35 (0) 542 (32)
National team
1992-2004	France	97 (2)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Bixente Lizarazu (Basque: /bi'ʃente lisa'rasu/; French: /bi'gzɑ̃t lizaʀa'zy/) (born December 9, 1969 in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France) is a former football (soccer) left defender for Bayern Munich 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.

Lizarazu (also known as Slizard) , a Basque, has been capped 97 times for France, 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 1.69m and he weighed 69kg.^[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, where he was the club's first non-Spanish player since World War I. 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. He has a son named Tximista with his ex-wife Stéphanie.

Lizarazu announced his retirement from football on April 30, 2006 four days after former teammate Zinedine Zidane. He ends his career with the distinction of the most 'titled' player in French history.

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

References

1. ^ Bandini, Paolo, Bass, Ian and Dart, James. "Have any footballers ever admitted moving for the money?", The Guardian, 27 September 2006. Retrieved on 2006-09-27. 

External links

• FootballDatabase profile and stats
• FussballDaten Bundesliga stats
• Bixente's blog (in French)

France squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup Champions (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 - 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

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