Former French football star Bixente Lizarazu visited the Union Bordeaux-Begles locker room on Friday.
He was invited by manager Yannick Bru ahead of the Champions Cup final against Leinster in Bilbao on Saturday.
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The 56-year-old World Cup winner rearranged his schedule while traveling in Greenland to attend the pre-match preparations.
He presented a jersey to Bordeaux scrum-half and captain Maxime Lucu.
Lizarazu praised the 33-year-old team captain, highlighting their shared Basque heritage. He expressed strong admiration for Lucu's leadership qualities both on and off the pitch.
“We are both Basque. He is a great player, a great captain, and a great guy.
I told him I love the player he is, that everything is aligned in him: the player, the captain, the man,” Lizarazu said.
The former Bayern Munich defender noted that the players displayed a perfect blend of intense focus and camaraderie.
“It smelled like gunpowder. We saw players hyper-focused.
We know this is a historic moment,” he said.
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Lizarazu expressed complete confidence in their mental preparation.
He stated that the squad avoided the common mistake of playing the match in their heads before kickoff.
“In big matches, you must not play the match before the match. I found them very focused and at the same time relaxed,” Lizarazu said.
Although he will watch the European showcase on television instead of attending San Mames Stadium, Lizarazu joked about wishing he could physically help the team.
“If I had a magic wand to add fifteen kilos of muscle and play with them, I would do it directly,” he said.
Bordeaux faces a formidable Irish opponent in Leinster, a team that has won the tournament four times in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2018.
Leinster also finished as runners-up four times, including three recent final defeats against French clubs Stade Rochelais and Stade Toulousain.
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