Before winning his first cap for France, Bixente Lizarazu had already made a remarkable start to his club career with the Girondins de Bordeaux F.C., rising through the ranks from the Academy all the way to the starting XI. He had already established himself as a reliable, professional presence, keeping his cool and his loyalty when the famed "Claude Bez era" came crashing down and the club very nearly went bankrupt.
Meanwhile, the national side was going through its own process of reconstruction. After racking up
trophies and plaudits throughout the mid-1980s - 4th place at World Cup 1982, 3rd at World Cup 1986 and winners of Euro 1984 on home soil - France's latest golden generation was on the way out. The last few survivors of that era (Manuel Amoros, Luis Fernandez and Jean-Pierre Papin) were now being asked to help prepare the way for the next generation. Times were tough, and France failed to qualify for both Euro 1988 in West Germany and World Cup 1990 in Italy. It was in this challenging
context that Liza began his international career.
No Euro 1992, but some promising signs
At the relatively young age of 23, Liza had already switched from winger to wing-back, played several seasons in the first division (D1) and won the second division (D2) after the Girondins were relegated for administrative reasons!
Quite a tumultuous start to his career, but the sort of experience that forges your character. And Lizarazu was never short of character. The powers that be at the Fédération Française de Football (F.F.F.) knew that here was a player they could rely on for the future.
After
captaining the U21s, he made his full senior debut in 1992. But he was not named in the squad for that summer's European championships, which France exited after the group stage. Bouncing back from this disappointment, Lizarazu battled tooth and nail to guide the Girondins back into the top flight, and in doing so drew the attention of new national coach Gérard Houllier.
At the heart of that Bordeaux team that bounced back into D1 was Lizarazu's partnership with Christophe Dugarry and Zinedine Zidane, three of the brightest young talents in French football...
An experienced newcomer
Liza fought hard to earn the opportunity to represent his country, and he intended to savour every moment of it when he stepped onto the pitch on
Saturday 14 November 1992. The target: qualification for World Cup 1994 in the USA. 28,630 fans turned out at the Parc des Princes to watch Bruno Martini (goalkeeper), Jean-Philippe Durand, Basile Boli, Alain Roche, Bernard Casoni, Franck Sauzée, Didier Deschamps, Jean-Pierre Papin, Éric Cantona, Xavier Gravelaine, Christian Karembeu and Pascal Vahirua. Lizarazu started that day, and was already well acquainted with Durand, Roche, Deschamps and Cantona from his experience with the Girondins !
Faced with an individually inferior but hard-battling Finland side, France opened up a two-goal lead in the first half courtesy of goals from J.P.P. and Cantona. In fact it was
Lizarazu who delivered the assist for Cantona's goal, in a goalmouth scuffle which went in France's favour. Petri Jărvinen pulled one back in the second half, and the game ended 2-1. In his autobiography, cowritten with Arnaud Ramsay and Jacques Bungert and entitled simply "Bixente" (published by Grasset in 2007), the man himself recalls that day fondly
"It came as a bit of a surprise to be called up, I'd just had a very intense season with the Girondins. I was new to the squad, but I felt super relaxed. In fact I was so relaxed I fell asleep in the bus between Clairefontaine and Parc des Princes! That was the last time that happened. I got some very positive feedback after my performance that day."
A promising start for Liza, but France still
failed to qualify for World Cup U.S.A., prompting another period of national soul-searching...
One member of the back room staff in this period was a certain Aimé Jacquet, the same Aimé Jacquet who handed Lizarazu his professional debut with Bordeaux in 1988. Jacquet knew just how great Liza's potential was, and when he was appointed as the new national coach
Bixente gradually became established as a fixture in the starting eleven. He had previously been a semi-regular starter, but competition was stiff and he was obliged to
work hard and stay patient.
"I waited four years before starting regularly. For the second match of Euro 1996, Aimé Jacquet started me at left back instead of Éric Di Meco, who had never lost a game with France. Lilian Thuram took over from Jocelyn Angloma on the other side. Jacquet took everybody by surprise. But I was ready (…)" In actual fact, between 1992 and Euro 1996 he had already won 20 caps, including one on home soil in Bordeaux…
The magic triangle!
Indeed it was back in 1994, at Bordeaux's own Parc Lescure, that the exceptional alchemy between
Lizarazu, Dugarry and Zidane was first witnessed in the national side. The date was Wednesday 17th August 1994, a friendly match against the Czechs. Lizarazu came on for the second half, keen to impress a crowd full of friends, family and supporters. Zizou and Lilian Thuram both made their first-team debuts that day, and ZZ scored two goals to secure a draw (2-2). A game rich in emotion, suspense and promise of brighter things to come...
In his autobiography, Lizarazu recalls this period with great affection.
"On the pitch, Zinedine Zidane, Christophe Dugarry and I were like a cowboy posse! We really worked well together, we could pick each other out instinctively with the ball. Zizou was the perfect midfield playmaker, a super passer of the ball who knew how to keep things simple and make everyone around him shine thanks to his incredible technique. Duga was the attacking power, a great dribbler, athletic and never afraid of a challenge. And me? The counter-attacking defender always looking to break forward. I may have been less technically gifted but I was excellent at playing short balls, and I was always ready for battle. I loved playing with those guys. We made one hell of a trio."
That trio was to be at the heart of the greatest golden age in French football history. And, until 1996, they were also the beating heart of the Girondins. In the summer of 1996, the European championships in England marked a turning point for the young France side. Liza arrived after an intense and draining season with Bordeaux, which saw the club narrowly avoid relegation to D2 while also coming within a whisker of winning the U.E.F.A. Cup! He needed a change, and Euro 1996 was a perfect challenge to motivate him through the fatigue.
Jacquet succeeded in constructing a virtually watertight defence: France did not lose
a single match until July 2000, drawing 4 and racking up 22 victories! Alongside Lizarazu, that defence included Laurent Blanc, Marcel Desailly and Lilian Thuram. With Fabien Barthez between the sticks, they formed the most formidable defensive wall in the world.
Les Bleus were eventually knocked out in the
semi-finals by the Czechs, but only on penalties (the match itself was a 0-0 draw - and Lizarazu scored his penalty).
This experience, followed by a year with Athletic Club Bilbao and then a move to Bayern Munich F.C., helped Bixente to grow and improve even further. The only thing standing in his way now was a niggling groin strain which he couldn't quite overcome, and which was threatening his chances of featuring in World Cup 1998 - hosted in France!
But through all the unsuccessful operations and morale-sapping lay-offs, the psychological support of Aimé Jacquet was priceless, as was Lizarazu's incredible mental fortitude. For six months he fought a tireless personal battle of physio sessions, special training sessions and ambitious personal objectives, ultimately repaying all of the faith placed in him. The struggle paid off and he was fighting fit by the end of the season, ready to take his place in the
22-man World Cup squad!
Liza lights up the Stade de France
In France's second group game against Saudi Arabia, on 18 June 1998, Liza lit up the Stade de France. After a one-two with Zidane followed by a bslitering break down the left wing, he delivered a low-flying cross for Thierry Henry to open the score (36'). Towards the end of the game, with France already leading by three goals,
Lizarazu slammed home a wonderful shot to make it 4-0. Coming after victory over South Africa in the opening game (3-0), this result set France on course for the knock-out stages. It was his second (and last) goal for Les Bleus, his first coming in November 1995 against Israel (2-0) in Caen (Stade Michel D’Ornano). That goal came in a Euro 96 qualifier, with Zidane heavily involved in the build-up play…
Of course the rest is history, and
France were crowned World Cup champions on 12 July after soundly beating a Brazil side packed with stars such as Dunga, Rivaldo and Ronaldo (3-0). A moment of immense national pride, endless celebrations all over the country, and eternal legend status for that incredible squad.
Along with Fabien Barthez, Bernard Lama, Lionel Charbonnier, Vincent Candela, Laurent Blanc, Marcel Desailly, Lilian Thuram, Frank Lebœuf, Patrick Vieira, Youri Djorkaeff, Didier Deschamps, Zinedine Zidane, Robert Pirès, Alain Boghossian, Emmanuel Petit, Christian Karembeu, Stéphane Guivarc’h, Thierry Henry, Bernard Diomède, David Trézéguet and Christophe Dugarry, Liza had suddenly become an icon, a
rock star, a sporting deity! His missed penalty against Italy in the quarter-final was ancient history.
But his incisive runs, his dribbling, his pinpoint crossing, his formidable left foot, his speed on the counter, his power and his rock-solid reliability in defence earned him a
reputation which endures to this day. The diminutive lad from the Girondins' academy had become a player of immense stature, with the trophies to prove it...
Strength to strength
Success breed success, and Didier Deschamps and co. kept the ball rolling into
Euro 2000, hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, which they won with panache! France were indisputable the finest football team in the world, as Italy discovered to their misfortune in a final decided by the now-defunct "golden goal" rule (2-1) ! Meanwhile,
Bixente had become one of the best wing backs in the world, if not the very best…
In 2001 and 2003 France also won the
Confederations Cup, two more trophies which did not quite make up for the disappointment of the group-stage exit at the World Cup in 2002.
Lizarazu called time on his international career after Euro 2004, in Portugal. France exited that tournament in the quarter-finals at the hands of eventual winners Greece. It was time for Bixente to bow out after ten years as an international. With
97 caps to his name, his record in blue was nothing short of
extraordinary…
Record with France
World Cup Winner 1998
European Champions 2000
Winners of the Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003
97 caps and 2 goals between 1994 and 2004
Voted best left-back in the world by UEFA
Read more about Bixente Lizarazu with the Girondins