"Liza" first shot to fame as part of the famous "Zidane-Dugarry-Lizarazu" trio. But at the Girondins de Bordeaux, recognition for these three legends came in reverse order. It was
Lizarazu who first turned professional with Bordeaux, making his Division 1 debut at left back…
In at the deep end
After a string of impressive performances on the wing or as an attacking midfielder for the reserves, the irrepressible 18-year-old made his professional debut against Stade Malherbe de Caen (3-0), coming on to replace Zoran Vujović in the 54th minute on
12th November 1988. The Girondins' boss that season was Aimé Jacquet, a coach that Liza would get to know well…
Born in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Bixente started out with local youth side Les Églantins d’Hendaye before moving north to join the Bordeaux youth academy. That generation of young Girondins was packed with talent, and our club was at the forefront of European football. But Lizarazu was not daunted by any of that: he had an appetite for a challenge, and an endless passion for the sport. For all sport in fact, since he had also proven himself to be a gifted athlete in everything from racquetball to surfing, wrestling and a variety of Basque sports!
The young man registered with the football league as
Vincent Lizarazu was about to make his dreams come true: in the 1988-1989, season he played alongside Dominique Dropsy, Philippe Sence, Gilles Barragué (goalkeepers), Dominique Thomas, Jean-Christophe Thouvenel, Éric Péan, Zoran Vujović, Gernot Rohr, Didier Sénac, Alain Roche, Diégo Mujica, Jean-Amadou Tigana, Jesper Olsen, Éric Dewilder, Enzo Scifo, Bernard Genghini, Bernard Gimenez, Éric Cantona, Jean-Marc Ferreri, Yannick Stopyra, Marc Pascal, Jérôme Gnako, Clive Allen and a certain Christophe Dugarry! What a line-up ! And what an incredible adventure for a young man who was
almost dropped from the academy at the age of fifteen because the coaches worried that he might be too "slight"...
And while there was still plenty more progress to be made, he made 17 appearances in that maiden season. The youngster made himself thoroughly at home at
Parc Lescure, as he continued to go from strength to strength…
A temporary change of position
In the following season he also scored his first professional goal (1989-1990), in the victory over Brest Armorique F.C. on 30th August 1989 (3-0). By now the former winger had been switched to left-back on the advice of Didier Couécou, who replaced Aimé Jacquet in mid-season. This was supposed to be a temporary measure, when cover was required in defence for the away trip to face R.C. Strasbourg at Stade Meinau in February 1989 (3-2), but it turned out to be the start of something special...
But in the meantime, the 1988-1989, which started out so brightly for the ambitious young star, had proved to be a disappointing vintage. And a frustrating experience for managers and supporters alike. The assembled stars collectively underperformed, but the hardcore fans in the Virage Sud, not least the Ultramarines, found a glimmer of hope in the performances of this promising young academy graduate. Nevertheless, the Girondins finished 13th that season as old rivals Olympique de Marseille won the league title.
In the U.E.F.A. Cup, meanwhile (the equivalent of today's Europa League), Bordeaux were knocked out in the quarter-finals by a Napoli side led by the greatest footballer in the world:
Diego Armando Maradona (0-1/0-0). Liza did not feature in that decisive quarter-final, but he got his first close-up view of football at the very top level. All the while he continued to improve and progress, proving that his relatively short stature (169cm) was no obstacle to putting in solid performances. Much more important was his impressive
mental strength, which earned plaudits from the more experienced players in the squad. This "kid" was bound for bigger things, no doubt about it!
The ascension
Rapid at the back, lighting fast on the counter-attack and a fearsome tackler, Lizarazu also knew how to score goals ! Along with Danish international Jesper Olsen, he terrorised defences up and down the country in the 1989-1990 season, a much happier year for Bordeaux. Bordeaux had the second best defence in the league that season, conceding just 25 goals (A.S. Monaco conceded 24), while also making effective use of their speedy wing-backs to strike opponents on the counter! Probing runs, one-twos, triangle, crosses, dribbles, dazzling bursts of speed: they had it all! Klaus Allofs, Piet Den Boer and Jean-Marc Ferreri made the most of the service laid on for them, scoring 14 goals each in D1 ! Bordeaux also had the second most prolific attack that season (51 goals), and logically finished
second in the league (51 points) ; once again, Marseille were crowned champions (with 75 goals 53 points). OM were the dominant force in French football, and European football too… For all their strengths, the Girondins just couldn't keep up…
All the while, Liza was establishing his reputation as the
archetypal modern wing-back. The speed and confidence with which he ascended to the top level were impressive. Almost as impressive as his ball control and speed. Total : 42 appearances and 2 goals, including a full 38 games in D1 !
Europe (and hell)
The following season saw Liza make his European Cup debut, going all the way to the last-16 where they were knocked out by a rampant A.S. Roma (5-0/0-2). Back in France, Bordeaux ended the 1990-1991 season in 10th place (O.M. were crowned champions yet again), but still ended up
relegated to the second division (D2) for off-field financial misdeeds. Lizarazu kept the faith and remained loyal to his boyhood club, knuckling down in the second tier with total determination to return to the top flight immediately. Joining him in this battle was his old mate
Christophe Dugarry, also a member of the first team squad since 1989…
That season was a tough experience, occasionally brutal in fact, but ultimately enriching, character-forming and successful…
D2, hard times and triumph
With Jean-Didier Lange and Alain Afflelou installed as co-presidents, and a total overhaul of the club's legal structure, Bordeaux set themselves a target of returning to the top flight within 2 seasons. As for the squad,
Bixente was one of the leading figures in a collective now coached by Gernot Rohr, until recently a Bordeaux player !
Many of the more experienced players left when the Girondins were relegated, but the squad that lined up in D2 that year was not short of quality: Philippe Sence, Didier Sénac, Jean-Luc Dogon, Jean-Pierre Bade, Pascal Monbrun, Bernard Gimenez, Stéphane Plancque, Philippe Fargeon, Arnór Gudjohnsen and Dugarry were joined by new recruits Gaëtan Huard (gk), Michel Milojević, Philippe Raschke, Patrice Lestage, Jean-Michel Lavaud, Jean-Marc Ferratge (returning to the club), Thierry Fernier, Patrice Marquet, Philippe Lalanne (also returning to the club), Stéphane Lerda, Ronan Salaün and Rainer Ernst.
For the optimists among the fans, this was an interesting challenge; for the less sunnily-disposed, the second tier looked like a hard slog. But Rohr had a squad ready for combat,
and despite the difficulty of adjusting to D2 Bordeaux got off to a strong start. Lizarazu,
by now a pillar of the squad and one of the club's emblematic stars, fully embodied Bordeaux's fighting spirit.
After a season spent duking it out with teams who packed out their defences and aimed to shut down the midfield, the Girondins finished top of their pool and beat U.S. Valenciennes-Anzin 4-0 and 3-2 to earn the title of
D2 Champions. A triumph of will, talent, style and determination - and for Liza, his first
national title as a professional ! A season which would prove to be crucial in forging the future of this football club… A formative experience for the "kazko" ("stubborn" in Basque) and the new-look Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux !
Liza had discussed the mixed emotions this season inspired in an interview with the club's official match-day programme just before Christmas 1991 …
"I won't be happy until I'm back playing in the top flight again with Bordeaux ; and only with Bordeaux. I won't know until the end of the season whether I made the right decision by staying. I do wonder sometimes, it's true, because there have been some tough moments. Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing in this situation, but then a few minutes later everything is better. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, I think it's only natural to have those doubts sometimes."
But a few months later, all doubts had been dispelled… Somehow he also found time to graduate with a degree in sports science that year, adding academic triumph to sporting glory… The "intellectual" of the squad now had no qualms about seeing out his contract with the club, which ran until the end of the 1994-1995 season. And which allowed him to forget all about the clause
which gave him the option of leaving at the end of 1991-1992 if the club were still in the second division!
During this transitional year, which he handled with grit and style, Lizarazu definitively established himself as one of the
best full backs in France. His work ethic, stubbornness and the confidence shown in him by successive coaches (including Raymond Goethals in 1989-1990) drove him onwards and upwards to bigger things: more titles, more honours, and a place in the national side. Particularly with Euro 1992 just around the corner, not to mention the prospect of World Cup 1994 in the USA…
More on Bixente Lizarazu and the Girondins
The epic adventure of Bixente Lizarazu with the France national side