Bixente Jean-Michel Lizarazu (, born 9 December 1969) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left back for Bordeaux and Bayern Munich, among other teams. He also had 97 caps for the France national team. In a twelve-year international career from 1992 to 2004, Lizarazu played in three European championships and two World Cups for France, winning the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. Early life Lizarazu was born in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Club career Bordeaux An enthusiast in several sports from a young age, 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. After being told he would not make a career from football due to his frail physicality as a teenager, he impressed the staff with his determination and became a member of the senior squad in 1988 alongside forward Christophe Dugarry. He was retrained to play as a counter-attacking left back at the suggestion of coach Didier Couécou and soon replaced the veteran Gernot Rohr (later to be the club's manager) in the position. In 1990 Bordeaux finished runners-up in the French championship, but the following year they were administratively relegated amid financial problems. Lizarazu remained with the club and helped them immediately regain their top tier status in 1992. The club also 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, Lizarazu contributing 101 appearances and 15 goals. In summer 1995, Bordeaux won the UEFA Intertoto Cup to qualify for the 1995–96 UEFA Cup. They would go all the way to the final under coach Rohr, beating Real Betis, A.C. Milan and Slavia Prague before losing to Bayern Munich 5–1 on aggregate. However their league form suffered, dropping to 16th. Following UEFA Euro 1996, in which Dugarry, Zidane and Lizarazu were part of the French squad which reached the semi-finals, the three moved abroad seeking a new challenge: Zidane joining Juventus, Dugarry going to Milan and Lizarazu staying local but changing nations by moving to Athletic Bilbao, based the same distance from his home in the French Basque Country as Bordeaux. He appeared 299 times for his formative club, scoring 28 goals. Athletic Bilbao Lizarazu spent just one season with the La Liga club after becoming the first Frenchman to