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Rare hat trick Bayern victory gives Lizarazu yet another title
MILAN (Reuters) -- French international Bixente Lizarazu completed a rare hat-trick after starring in Bayern Munich's Champions League victory on Wednesday. The little left wingback became the first player in 25 years to hold winners' medals for the World Cup, European championship and European Cup at the same time. Lizarazu won the World Cup in Paris in 1998, added the European championship in Rotterdam last year and played a key role in Bayern's defeat of Valencia at the San Siro. "To win the World Cup, European championship and European Cup -- and to take three German league titles in a row -- it's wonderful," he said after Wednesday's 5-4 penalty shootout victory that followed a 1-1 draw including extra time. "I can't choose between the three. The feeling is the same. I wanted to win the Champions League at least once in my life and it's a huge bonus." The last players to achieve the feat were all part of the Bayern and West German sides of the 1970s. There were six of them: Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Gerd Mueller, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, Paul Breitner and Uli Hoeness. All played in the West German side that won the 1972 European championship and then beat the Dutch in the 1974 World Cup final. They were also part of the Bayern teams that won three European Cup titles in a row between 1974 and 1976. Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, who becomes only the second manager to win Europe's top club competition with two different teams, heaped praise on Lizarazu. "He had a marvellous match," Hitzfeld said. "He was active in defense and got forward, both in a positive sense and also to counter [Valencia playmaker] Gaizko Mendieta. We overloaded them down the left and Lizarazu played a vital part in that approach." Lizarazu's joy contrasted starkly with the disappointment of his great friend and France team mate Didier Deschamps. The Valencia player was left on the bench for the entire match and was thwarted in his bid to become the first player to lift the European Cup with three different clubs following successes with Marseille in 1993 and Juventus in 1996.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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