Rather polite in his public interventions, Bixente Lizarazu did not hesitate to raise his voice on a subject which cannot leave him indifferent: the fall of
Girondins de Bordeaux. Very attached to his training club, the star consultant of TF1 responded sharply to Arnaud De Carli, vice-president of the Girondins, who had pointed out the personalities who “prefer to stay behind a microphone and spend their time giving lessons. »
“ Sorry, but being Gérard Lopez’s vice-president is not a source of pride, thundered Lizarazu in Le Talk for the WebGirondins website. Everyone must accept what they are. This is an indirect response to De Carli. I am a consultant, football commentator, sometimes editorialist, or interviewer. This is the profession I chose. I do this job trying to be the guardian of the temple. That is to say, the things that I like in football, I will say it with pleasure, and, when I don’t like it, I will say it too. It’s my job. A former player who is a consultant and who criticizes the Girondins de Bordeaux is normal. First of all, because it’s a club in which he played, where he was trained like me. »
Lizarazu reframes Lopez again
Bixente Lizarazu then clarified his remarks by giving his thoughts on the man who plunged an entire region into anger: Gérard Lopez. “Seeing the situation of this club and the disaster it finds itself in, it’s normal to be critical. It’s a job that also allows for contradiction, which is very important. When someone does anything, it must be said that they do anything. It’s normal to criticize him, and you have to accept it, because it’s part of the game.
“That’s what the profession of journalist and consultant is for, continued the 1998 world champion. It awakens the spirits, it presses where it hurts. It’s normal when we see the situation of the Girondins de Bordeaux to do so. Obviously, Mr. De Carli is a beginner in football, he doesn’t know the codes, and we have to explain to him that the football environment is like that. And it will always be like this, concluded Bixente Lizarazu. The message got through.
