Setting records
Things had changed as the club prepared for the 1992-1993 season. There was no doubt about it: this time round, the Girondins were determined to
qualify for Europe! The young generation had come to the fore, encourage by new head coach Rolland Courbis. Éric Guérit and Jean-François Daniel joined from A.S. Cannes, along with one of the brightest talents in French football: Zinedine Zidane. At just 20 years of age, this prodigiously talented footballer had his whole glittering career ahead of him. And he chose to start that career in earnest in Bordeaux, alongside his good friends Liza and Duga. Courbis (manager from 1992 to 1994) worked hard to get the most out of this talented squad, constantly experimenting with new tactics and formations. That sometimes involved giving Lizarazu a more attacking role, particularly during the 1993-1994 season. Courbis reflected upon this period during an interview with France Football in 2015: "
I thought that since he used to be an attacking player, he might like to rekindle that flame for a game or two [...] I ended up using him as a winger for a large part of the season, with Laurent Croci at left back. Bixente was in his element in that more forward role, and I think that's what helped him establish himself in the national squad." In fact, Lizarazu
had already won his first international cap the previous season, on 14th November 1992, playing at left back in a 2-1 victory over Finland at Parc des Princes, an early qualifying match for World Cup 94.
1992-1993 was an interesting season in many respects: many observers wondered whether the newly-promoted Bordeaux could keep their momentum going. But the foundations were all in place:
a solid backbone, a team brimming with confidence and an astonishing array of talent. With Huard, Sence, Croci, Márcio Santos, Guérit, Sénac (captain), Dogon, Milojević, Grenet, Michel Flos, Philippe Lucas, Plancque, Daniel, Christophe Vecchioni, Marquet, « Zizou », Dugarry, Celso Moreira Valdeir and Salaün, this was a squad to be reckoned with! In fact the defence was so solid that Bordeaux were unbeaten at home all season! Huard once went for a total of
1176 minutes without conceding a goal (thirteen matches), a record which still stands today… Out on the left flank, Liza played a major role in this success: his incisive runs, explosive pace and fearsome tackling made him a huge asset to the team, as did his natural power and ability to read the game. The Girondins had the strongest defence in the league that season, conceding just 25 goals. Huard, Croci, Sénac, Santos, Dogon, Guérit and Liza (39 matches and 4 goals scored in all competitions, including 36 appearances in D1) were a hell of a team! Bordeaux finished the season in 4th place, just 5 points behind an Olympique de Marseille side who were champions not just of France, but of Europe too. Bordeaux had rebounded from one of the toughest spells in the club's history, and reestablished their top-flight credentials at the first time of asking.
Out in left field
The Girondins were back in Europe and, alongside captain Sénac, Liza was one of the natural leaders in the squad. He even wore the
captain's armband on several occasions, as the squad continued to gel and progress. Lionel Perez (goalkeeper), Yannick Fischer, Marcel Dib, Richard Witschge, Philippe Vercruysse (returning to the club), Youssouf Fofana and Stéphane Paille were added to the playing staff, and soon settled in. The 1993-1994 season started well, with Bordeaux spending a decent spell in second place just behind eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain. The Girondins were denied a top-3 finish on the final day of the season, losing out in extremis to Auxerre ! A second consecutive
fourth place finish, this time on goal difference, but Bordeaux were now well and truly back in the upper echelons of French football. As it should be...
In Europe, meanwhile, Bordeaux lost out in the last-16 to a
Karlsruher S.C. side led by Oliver Kahn. They even won the first leg of that tie, in the process going 56 home games without a defeat at home and extending a record-breaking run which had started on 13th April 1991! Alas, the return leg ended in a 3-0 defeat.
That season the Girondins had the second most prolific attack in the league, racking up 54 goals! Stéphane Paille was top scorer with 10, but Lizarazu's more attacking role saw him in second place, tied with Philippe Vercruysse, on 9 goals! Nine goals from 41 matches, including 32 in D1.
The only negative point for Liza that season was that
his temper sometimes got the better of him, and he picked up a slew of red and yellow cards for his troubles.
On a happier note, in December 1993 he made an
unofficial appearance with the 'national side' of the Basque Country, in a friendly against Bolivia played in Saint-Sebastian in front of 23,000 fans. It was to be his first and last appearance in Basque colours.
Europe, at last
The Girondins had no intention of resting on their laurels, and António José Conceição Oliveira, better known as « Toni », who had recently won the Portuguese league with S.L. Benfica, was brought in to replace Courbis. William Prunier, Daniel Dutuel, Anthony Bancarel, Jean-Yves De Blasiis, Geoffray Toyes, Raphaël Camacho and Franck Histilloles also joined the playing staff. Once again Bordeaux got off to a strong start, but this season was far from plain sailing. The new coach tried to get the best from this talented squad, but his methods met with mixed results.
The Girondins were dumped out of Europe in the last 16 by G.S.K. Katowice, and also exited the Coupe de la Ligue in the last 16 and the Coupe de France in the quarter finals. As the season drew to a close the team seemed to have lost its way, although Lizarazu was always a reliably solid presence in hard times. He played 40 matches and scored 3 goals that season.
Toni did not make it to the end of the season, replaced in March by caretaker Éric Guérit. F.C. Nantes were champions that year, with Bordeaux down in 7th. There would be no European adventure for Bordeaux next season, unless...
Slavoljub Muslin, the Serbian coach of F.C. Pau, was recruited to oversee the 1995-1996 season, which got off to an improbably early start since the Girondins had qualified for the much-maligned
Intertoto Cup. Victory would see them qualify for the UEFA Cup, which just goes to show that in European football anything is possible ! Liza and co. were in European action before the transfer market had closed, or even really opened!
But the opportunity was theirs for the taking.
On 1st July 1995, I.F.K. Norrköping visited the Stade Municipal Lescure for the Girondins' first group match. The result was emphatic - a 6-2 win for Bordeaux - but barely 2000 fans turned out to watch it! Over the coming weeks Bordeaux beat Ireland's Bohemian F.C. and Danes Odense BK, with goals from Zidane, Prunier, Didier Tholot and… Lizarazu! And what a goal it was! A stinging shot from the left flank which slipped just under the bar to lodge itself in the back of the net.
A draw against H.J.K. Helsinki (1-1) saw Bordeaux finish top of Group 5, moving through to a knock-out tie with Eintracht Frankfurt which they promptly won 3-0. The quarter-finals saw the Girondins pitted against Sportclub Heerenveen, another victory in Bordeaux. The semi-finals were played over two legs, and Bordeaux found themselves drawn against recent rivals Karlsruher S.C., now helmed by Winfried Schäfer. The Girondins won the first leg in Germany 2-0, then drew the return fixture 2-2, with both goals scored by Lizarazu (including one from the penalty spot). The captain was proud of his troops, who were crowned
Intertoto champions and handed a spot in the U.E.F.A. Cup!
The adventure continues…
The 'real' European campaign started on 14th September in Macedonia, against F.K. Vardar Skopje. A comfortable 2-0 win for Bordeaux. The return leg on 28th September ended in a 1-1 draw, with Liza scoring from the penalty spot after being hauled down inside the box. He always seemed uniquely well-suited to
taking penalties, an exercise in skill, confidence and calm.
Next up were Rotor Volgograd, dispatched without too much trouble. Finally, in the last 16, Bordeaux found themselves faced with some more appetising opposition:
Real Betis. Bordeaux won the first leg 2-0, and narrowly lost the return 2-1, despite a sensational performance from Zidane. But that margin was enough to send the Girondins through to the next round. It also helped to distract from what was turning out to be a fiasco of a season in the league: Bordeaux finished 16th, just five points above the relegation zone.
The domestic cups were also a wash-out, and on 3rd February Muslin was sacked and replaced by Gernot Rohr. With relegation once again a very real possibility, this was turning into a real rollercoaster season for the Bordeaux faithful.
"I cried after that Milan game"
Having already battled past no fewer than ten opponents, Bordeaux found themselves drawn against a truly legendary club in the quarter-finals:
AC Milan. Owned by Silvio Berlusconi and coached by Fabio Capello, Milan had a squad full of stars, a truckload of money and an immense trophy cabinet to show for it. The Girondins, meanwhile, had snuck in via the Intertoto Cup. The first leg at the San Siro on 5th March 1996 ended in a stinging 2-0 defeat for Bordeaux, the first game in that long European campaign in which they failed to score. But nobody could have predicted what came to pass two weeks later, when Milan made the return visit to Parc Lescure. Freed from the pressure of expectation, Bordeaux
pulled off the unthinkable and defeated Milan on a historic night in Bordeaux. Mario Ielpo (gk), Franco Baresi, Marcel Desailly, Alessandro Costacurta, Christian Panucci, Paolo Maldini, Roberto Donadoni, George Weah, Stefano Eranio, Patrick Vieira, Roberto Baggio, Tomas Locatelli, Demetrio Albertini and Paolo Di Canio endured an evening they would not soon forget!
Led by captain fantastic Lizarazu, by now the figurehead of this squad and a firm favourite with the fans, the Girondins were buoyed by the
incredible, unconditional support of the home crowd.
Something magic happened when the players took to the field that night. Years later, Liza still had chills just thinking about it when he recounted it for the book
"F.C. Girondins de Bordeaux 1881" (M6 Éditions), published in 2009.
"I've rarely felt such a connection with a crowd. There was something electric in the air. The emotion was tangible. I had tears in my eyes... the crowd were going wild. I cried!"
Bixente and his team mates knew that something big was afoot, and felt they could pull it off if they could only manage to grab an early goal. Tholot duly did just that,
connecting with a cross from Liza to put Bordeaux ahead in the 14th minute. The rest is history, as Lizarazu himself recalled in an interview with Les Cahiers du Football in December 2016…
"It's one of those moments that stay with you. I can still see that ball coming in from Richard Witschge, from what felt like about 250 metres away! (Laughing) He was out on the right and there was nothing else for it. The ball was going to fall between me and Panucci, and I knew that whoever went in hardest would win it. I got the ball, I made a break for it, I put the cross in and Didier Tholot scored. That kick-started the game for us. (…) It's crazy, it was a quarter-final but it still feels like a final to me! I still have the impression that we won the UEFA Cup that night."
Zidane (two assists) and
Dugarry (two goals) sealed the result in the second half. A historic 3-0 win which has since become part of club lore. Milan found consolation a few weeks later, when they were crowned Italian champions for the 15th time…
Read more about Bixente Lizarazu and the Girondins
Bixente Lizarazu and France