“We needed to…

By Elsa Girard-Basset | Web journalist

A key figure in the 1998 world champion French team, Bixente Lizarazu is among those who remain most attached to this wonderful epic. An approach that the Basque shares with a certain Lilian Thuram, his counterpart on the right side. Moreover, the two men had developed an astonishing ritual before the Blues meetings…

On the ground, they had very little opportunity to cross paths. Bixente Lizarazu played left back, while Lilian Thuram was the boss on the right side. However, each in their own way, the two men participated in building an iron defense, and writing one of the most beautiful pages in the history of French sport with the double of 1998 and 2000.

Beyond their intrinsic qualities, “Tutu” and “Liza”, as they were nicknamed in the group, above all shared the same sometimes unreasonable approach to their mission under the blue jersey. Ready to die on the field, as Thuram himself declared, the acolytes had established a surprising ritual among themselves.

Bixente Lizarazu talks about her “manly” ritual with Lilian Thuram

While he was on the set of “L’Équipe du Soir” to promote his book “My extensions” in 2018, Lizarazu was questioned about an intriguing sentence from the book. And he hadn't walked away:

Journalist: “You write on page 28: 'Lilian Thuram was my fighting brother. Together, we had a little ritual to warm up psychologically. Concretely, what was it?

Lizarazu: “In training we always did extras together, for physical preparation. And then during the warm-up before the matches, or in the locker room, we needed to touch each other a little. But in a manly way! (laughs) No, but you know what I mean? We need to feel each other, we look at each other: 'My Liza', 'My Lilian', come on! When there were the hymns I came to grab him by the hip. It's like a melee, we need to touch each other! »

Very close to each other, and aware that “the others must have thought we were crazy”, Lizarazu and Thuram have maintained a very strong bond over the years. During a cross-interview given to Le Figaro in 2018, Marcus' dad, current striker for the France team, paid a vibrant tribute to his sidekick:

With Liza, we started together as starters at Euro 1996, it was the beginning of our shared love story with the France team. I often told him that I didn't have the chance to be with him in the club, because I think I would have become stronger. When we were in the French team, it was someone who pulled me up. When I saw him play or train, I wondered if I was up to it.

Linked for life by what they experienced, and by this fully assumed “virile” closeness, Bixente Lizarazu and Lilian Thuram will forever remain the two full-backs of the first French world champion team. The achievement of a lifetime for these exceptional defenders, who, associated with Laurent Blanc and Marcel Desailly, have never lost a match while lined up together.