Bixente Jean-Michel Lizarazu is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back for Bordeaux and Bayern Munich, among other teams.
16 Facts About Bixente Lizarazu
2.
Bixente Lizarazu had 97 caps for the France national team.
3.
An enthusiast in several sports from a young age, Bixente Lizarazu began his professional career with Bordeaux, joining the club's youth setup as a 15-year-old in 1984 and initially playing as a winger.
4.
Bixente Lizarazu was retrained to play as a counter-attacking left-back at the suggestion of coach Didier Couecou and soon replaced the veteran Gernot Rohr in the position.
5.
Bixente Lizarazu remained with the club and helped them immediately regain their top tier status in 1992.
6.
The club signed Zinedine Zidane, who became another important element of the team, which went on to achieve two 4th- and a 7th-place finish over the next three seasons, Bixente Lizarazu contributing 101 appearances and 15 goals.
7.
Bixente Lizarazu appeared 299 times for his formative club, scoring 28 goals.
8.
Bixente Lizarazu spent just one season with the La Liga club after becoming the first Frenchman to play for Athletic, which has a policy of selecting only players of Basque birth or heritage.
9.
Bixente Lizarazu said that he would leave Bayern in the summer of 2004 and eventually signed with Olympique Marseille.
10.
Bixente Lizarazu made 268 appearances in all competitions for Bayern between 1997 and 2006, scoring eight goals.
11.
Bixente Lizarazu was capped 97 times for France, scoring two goals, and helped them win the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000, starting in the final of both tournaments.
12.
Bixente Lizarazu retired from international football after France were surprisingly eliminated by eventual winners Greece at Euro 2004.
13.
Bixente Lizarazu competed in a jiu-jitsu competition in Europe in 2009, where he became European champion in the Blue Belt Senior 1 Light Division.
14.
Bixente Lizarazu is a keen surfer and works as a football pundit for French television and radio.
15.
In 2013, Bixente Lizarazu was described as a "tramp" by his successor as France's left-back, Patrice Evra, after he and other pundits criticised Evra for giving an impromptu team talk during half-time of a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Belarus.
16.
Bixente Lizarazu was formerly engaged to singer Elsa Lunghini from 1999 to 2006.