As one of the grand slam players in world football, Lizarazu has won three very important titles: the World Cup, the European Championship and the Champions League. A few days ago, 442 magazine conducted an exclusive interview with the bayern legend, and he talked about many interesting topics in his career...
Here's what the interview is all about (Q: for question, A: for answer):
Q: Can you clarify whether your name is Bixente or Vincent?
A: Vicente. I was born in the Basque Country of France and my parents wanted my official name to be Vicente. But the local government officials said no, and it was not allowed to have a Basque name at that time, so I could only use the French translation of the name Vincent.
In the Basque Country, everyone calls me Vicente, and when I become a famous player, journalists will say: "Vincent Lizarazu sent a biography." I was like, "Vincent? Who is this guy? I don't know him. "It's definitely not my name, so I followed my parents' wishes and asked a lawyer to change my name to Vicente. Now, my son Tximista and daughter Uhaina both bear The Basque name.
Q: What was it like to play with Cantona when I was in Bordeaux?
A: I didn't play with him for long, but he never had any problems. I know he's famous for his things in England, scoring a lot of beautiful goals and getting into trouble with the fans. I saw his previous interview where he said he should be more ruthless with that fan. While in Bordeaux, nothing unusual happened to Cantona, except for one cup match. We got a penalty and it was very windy that day, so he tried a spoon penalty but the ball didn't even reach the goal line.
Q: Bordeaux played very well from the International Toto Cup to the 1995-96 UEFA Cup final, is that good for you to transfer later?
A: Yeah, I think that's when it started. But this didn't start with the UEFA Cup final against Bayern, because I didn't play in the second leg because of injury, but our performance in the UEFA Cup has attracted a lot of attention. Zidane joined Juve after that, Dougari joined Milan, I joined Bilbao and then bayern.
Q: How good was Zidane at the time?
A: When I first joined Bordeaux, Zidane's body was not strong. It's very difficult for him to stick 90 minutes and he does a lot of training in that. However, he is a talented player and in training he sometimes does some strange things.
Zidane didn't have the classic techniques he learned in football school, but the skills and moves he learned on the streets were out of the way no one else could do it. He can change the game, he can score goals, but he also has a lot to offer for his teammates. If you run three times and the ball doesn't pass to you, the third time you think, "Really, he never passes the ball to me." "But that doesn't happen to Zidane, who will upload the ball two metres in front of you at the perfect point in time if you run in position.
Zidane knows that his teammates don't run for no reason, and when you have a player like that, every teammate does the running position. When you get the ball defensively, you keep looking for Zidane and you know he's not going to lose the ball, even if the pass is worse. When the ball is passed to him, all the passes will be good balls, and playing with him is very simple.
Q: How proud are you to play for Bilbao as the first French player to play for a club that only recruits Basque players?
A: It's hard to talk about my season at Bilbao because I started that season with injury. Going to play in Bilbao is a football decision, I loved watching La Liga when I was young, we live on the border with Spain and I often go to real sociedad matches. I want to experience Spanish football, but people prefer to talk about me being the first French player to play for Bilbao than about me. Subsequently, I couldn't play normally because of injuries, so it wasn't a fun season for me.
Q: How important is Yakai to your career?
A: I started my career in Bordeaux in Jacques, I started out as a left winger and I spent my best time with the national team under him. He's the kind of manager you're willing to break his leg for him, just like Heathfield was at Bayern. I have a good relationship with Jacquet, we have a lot of communication and I'm the kind of player who needs to understand something and communicate with the manager. I'm interested in tactics and some of the things in training.
It was easy to communicate with Jacquet and he helped me at a critical time in my career. In 1997-98, I was still in trouble with injuries during my debut season at Bayern, which made me lose all my confidence. Jacquet came to visit me in Munich and said: "If you can get 100% back, then you will be my left-back at the World Cup. ”
Such words filled me with strength in training, I came back in time for the World Cup, and I wanted to play a good big game myself. In the same season, I went from being the worst moment of my career to becoming a world champion.
Q: At Euro 1996, you reached the semi-finals but lost to the Czech Republic, do you think that was a success or a failure?
A: This tournament gave us confidence, we lost in the penalty shootout, which shows that we are very close to the final, not that we are not good enough. This is the beginning of the rise of our new generation of players. Ginola and Cantona no longer play for the national team, and Jacquet has made players like Zidane and Djokov the core of the team. Euro 1996 was like the training match for the 1998 World Cup.
I didn't play the first game, but after that I became the team's starter. Even though I made my debut for the national team in 1992, I really felt like I was an important member of the national team at that European Championship.
Q: Before the 1998 World Cup, did you think you would be able to win the championship in your home country?
A: We really didn't know too well at the time, and it's hard to talk about things like that. Before entering the World Cup, we were confident in our own defence but not very sure of our offensive potential. But in the end everyone scored, whether it was a striker, a midfielder or a defender. Thuram scored two goals in the semi-finals, Blanco scored and I scored against Saudi Arabia.
Scoring goals at the World Cup makes you feel incredible, I've been away from injuries and it's like a gift from God.
Q: You formed the French backline with Thuram, Desailly and Blanco, how good is that?
A: With our four-man defense and Battz guarding the goal, we never lost, which is an incredible feeling. It's not just that we individuals are very strong, we're stronger together. Defensive ability has earned us world championships, but the midfielder has also played a key role in this process, with good defense with more than four defenders and goalkeepers.
Q: Blanco kisses Battz's bald head before every game, what do you think about that? It feels a little weird, doesn't it?
A: It's really interesting! But it's like wearing the same socks or underwear, they have to do that before every race and we want them to do that, which means good luck. In the world of football, you start to believe in things like this, it's like if they don't do it, we're going to lose.
Q: What kind of memories do you have against Brazil in the World Cup final?
A: We were very relaxed at the time, and it was very important to stay relaxed under such a lot of pressure. My experience has taught me that the more stress you need to relax, and if you feel less stress, you can show your aggression during the game. On the morning of the final, we were all talking about Ronaldo, talking about the way he played, and we were going to be a little more careful with him.
Ronaldo is an incredible player, he can't be stopped on the pitch, so we can only put it into a laugh because we don't have any way to stop him. But, in the end we were mentally stronger than Brazil and we controlled the game, even though Brazil had some really good players. When we received our championship medals, I saw my father crying in the stands and I will always remember the moment I held the cup. Zidane handed me the trophy and I said, "We did it!" "No one can take the trophy out of my hands. You'll never be a former world champion, and moments like this become eternal.
Q: Winning the 1998 World Cup is already great, did you think you would win Euro 2000?
A: It was really fantastic, and the feeling of winning the championship through the Ballon d'Or was unparalleled. We played a very good tournament, a team that was very offensive, but Italy did very well in the final and their tactical use was excellent. They scored first and it was very difficult to turn the tables over, but we were lucky to finally find a solution and I want to thank Virtod and Trezeguet.
Q: France has a diverse culture, do you think that will help the team in some way?
A: We don't pay attention to who's coming from where, we're all friends. We don't look at a player from Martinique, from Ghana or the Basque Country. We were all friends, spoke the same language and enjoyed playing football together.
Q: How hard was it for you to miss the 1999 Champions League final?
A: It was a very tough thing for me, I was injured in a match for France and I couldn't make it to the Champions League final with a 3-month absence. We were the better side in that game, but after the game, I really couldn't do anything but comfort my crying teammates. It was very sad to see my teammates like that. But that game also gave us the strength to make a comeback, and I'm pretty sure of that. Two years away, we shrugged off all the disappointments of the 1999 Champions League final and won the title in San Siro against Valencia.
Q: In the 2001 Champions League final against Valencia, how much pressure did you carry on the penalty shootout?
A: I'm not one of the top 5 penalties on the team, I missed a penalty against Italy in the 1998 World Cup, and I said I would never take a penalty again. However, in the Champions League final, I decided to stand up because after 5 penalties, we were still in a draw. I did my best to score that penalty, but the game wasn't over until Kahn saved Valencia's penalty. It was an unbelievable moment, when he was 50 meters away from us, but we were all running madly towards him and I think we were running faster than Bolt. It was a wonderful moment that I will always remember.
Q: How glorious is it for you to be the first player to win the World Cup, the European Championship and the Champions League?
A: Yes, I was the first player to win the World Cup, the European Championship and the Champions League, and then we beat Boca to win the Club World Cup. At that time, I won everything, it was unbelievable, I had achieved all my goals. In 2001, we fought with Schalke for the Bundesliga title, we won the Bundesliga title in the last minute and I was named the best left-back in the world, so this year was very special for me. It's like the second Everest of my career, because the 1998 World Cup was the first Everest.
Q: Who is Bayern's biggest protagonist, Kahn or Effenberg?
A: Both. When you play on the pitch with players like this, you are not afraid to fight. Maybe we weren't as good technically as Bayern, the treble winner in 2013, but we had a strong mentality and we won 6 Bundesliga titles together. When a team has players like Kahn, Effenberg, Jens and Kufuor, it's hard to beat them.
Q: When you were at Bayern, did you really slap Mateus in training?
A: I shouldn't have done something like this, but what I have to say is his hand that moved first. I responded that something like this could happen, and I would make fun of Mateus when I met him, but we would have some beer afterwards. Sometimes you need to prove your presence and show your personality. I'm a Basque with my own personality, and so is Mateus, but he's a really good player.
Q: Have you ever had the opportunity to join the Premier League?
A: I had that chance, probably in 2001 or 2002, when United wanted to sign me, but Bayern quickly said no. Sir Alex Ferguson was eager to sign me and also negotiated with Bayern, but Bayern was reluctant to let go, so I stayed. I was very happy at Bayern, but Manchester United made an effort.
Q: Was the 2004 move to Marseille the most regrettable decision of your career?
A: If you don't try anything, then you won't make a mistake. When Heathfield left Bayern, I felt like my story at Bayern was over and it was a good option to end my career in France. But after joining Marseille, we had a lot of problems, we changed two presidents and three managers, so that's why I didn't like this transfer.
I had a very bad relationship with the last manager, so I decided to return to Bayern. Interestingly, I spent five months at Bayern that season and five months at Marseille. Bayern won the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal that season, I was named the best left-back in the Bundesliga, and in Marseille they all said I was finished.
Q: After returning to Bayern, you chose the number 69 shirt, why? Or do you just think it's funny?
A: Yeah, that's how I think. After I returned to Bayern, Lucio was already wearing my number 3 shirt, and all my good memories come from this shirt number. I thought, which number can I wear? I was born in 1969 and my height was 1.69 meters, although the weight was 74kg, and there was a gap between the number 69, so I chose the number 69 shirt. However, people will think that I chose this jersey number for other reasons. It's very interesting and football itself should be fun.
Q: What happened to the French team at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004?
A: It's hard for a team to last long at its peak, we've had two tournaments, Spain has lasted three, and we've all seen what happened at the 2014 World Cup. We've had the best team in the world in four years and it's been a good result. But after such great success, you'll get invitations from places where sometimes it can make you lose focus and discipline.
The 2002 World Cup was the worst because we were still a very strong team, but we failed to replicate the successes of 1998 and 2000. We started out very badly, losing to Senegal, and then we had to try to change the situation.
Q: When you were a commentator on French television, Evra called you a "beggar", why did he do that?
A: I wasn't in Evra's head, and I didn't want to know what he was thinking. He was free to say whatever he wanted, it was his problem. I think he forgot, but I won't forget, and neither will anyone else. I won 4 major titles, which no one can take.
Q: As an ambassador for Bayern, can you talk about your role?
A: Football has changed a lot, when I played for Bayern, Bayern was the signature of German and European football, and now Bayern has become a global brand like Nike and Adidas. Due to the successes in the club's history, the influence of the club and the strength of the team, Real Madrid, Barca, Manchester United and Bayern are the most influential clubs in Europe. So our market is not only in Germany, our market is global.
I've been to China, New York, South America, and maybe I'll go to Indonesia. Bayern now has four ambassadors, me, Breitner, Salihamidzic and Elber, and maybe more because we have a lot of work to do. Bayern is a special club, we are all in one big family, this is our Bavarian spirit. Although the club has become global, we must maintain such values. I've been with Bayern for 9 years, so I love this club very much.
(Two monsters)