World Cup, Euro, Champions League, World Club Cup and multiple German league and cup winner Bixente Lizarazu was one of the most successful players ever to pull on a Bayern jersey. Ahead of the Girondins Bordeaux clash, fcbayern.de spoke to the man who spent a long spell with marine et blanc before switching to Bavaria. The 39-year-old talked about the upcoming match, his life after football, and his latest sporting success.
Interview: Bixente Lizarazu
fcbayern.de: Bonjour Liza, Girondins Bordeaux and Bayern meet on Wednesday. In the previous meeting, the 1996 UEFA Cup Final, you appeared for Bordeaux. What are your memories of the tie?
Bixente Lizarazu: Bad ones! Apart from losing twice, Kostadinov fouled me after 30 minutes of the second leg and I had to go off injured, so I don’t look back on it very fondly.
What kind of game can we expect on Wednesday?
Bayern are not on peak form right now. They have a strong team with great forwards, but they’re either injured, off form or lacking confidence. Sixth in the table isn’t where Bayern ought to be. Bordeaux are champions, with a stable and balanced team and few weaknesses. They’ve just lost twice in the league, but otherwise made a good start. It’ll be an interesting game between two well-matched teams.
You played many times in the Champions League and know how different it is from the day-to-day grind of the league.
True. Your motivation is very different compared to playing a relegation candidate. You’re much more focused. It’s Bayern’s big chance, they know the situation well and will want to give a better account of themselves than in the Bundesliga recently. But I still say Bayern aren’t in great shape. They can improve, and they have to improve. But there’s huge potential, especially when Ribéry and Robben are fit, and Klose, Toni and Gomez start scoring.
Topics of this article