Bixente Lizarazu

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Lizarazu began his professional career with Bordeaux, joining the club's youth setup as a 15-year-old in 1984. He helped Bordeaux win promotion from the Second Division in 1991–92 and reach the 1995–96 UEFA Cup final. In 1996, he joined Athletic Bilbao as the first Frenchman to play for the club, but spent only one season there. He moved to Bayern Munich in 1997, where he won six Bundesliga titles, five DFB-Pokals, the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, and the Intercontinental Cup. He briefly played for Marseille in 2004 before returning to Bayern in 2005, retiring in 2006.

In Their Own Story

The rain slicked the pitch at Gerland as the clock ticked into stoppage time. The crowd roared, sensing victory was within reach, but a dangerous counter-attack threatened to undo it all. Lizarazu, calm amidst the chaos, intercepted a pass with surgical precision, his eyes scanning for an outlet before clearing the danger. There was no panic in his movement, only the assured rhythm of a man who had conquered the world. He raised a hand to signal his teammates, the Basque giant standing as the unshakeable wall that protected Lyon's dream.

Reader's Guide

Lizarazu is best known for his time at Bayern Munich, where he won multiple trophies and scored his penalty in the 2001 Champions League final shootout. He was a key part of the France national team that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. After retirement, he became a European champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (Blue Belt Senior 1 Light Division) in 2009 and works as a football pundit.

Did You Know?

• Lizarazu was born in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and grew up in Hendaye, both in the French Basque Country.
• He was retrained from winger to left-back at Bordeaux on the suggestion of coach Didier Couécou.
• He became the first player to be a current European and World champion in both club and international football after winning the Intercontinental Cup in 2001.
• Lizarazu wore shirt number 69 at Bayern Munich because he was born in 1969, is 1.69 m tall, and weighed 69 kg.
• He is a native speaker of Basque and French, and also speaks Spanish, German, and English.