Before he retired in 2006, Bixente Lizarazu played left defender for Bayern Munich and three other professional teams, as well as the French national team. French TV network Canal Plus hired him as their sports consultant and Beijing correspondent for the summer Olympics. Bixente crisscrosses the Chinese capital, following his intuition, he says, and produces a daily video report of his encounters with athletes of all countries. “China was heavily criticized, but the fact is that the infrastructure is fabulous, and everything is hyper-organized. The hardest thing for the athletes here is the heat. It’s humid and there’s not a breath of air. Mental strength matters tremendously.”

On August 11th, French wrestlers Christophe and Steeve Guénot invited Liza — yes, you can call him Liza, with a z — to a practice session.

In the video, the brothers have yet to win their first medal and look a bit tense, but Christophe is all smiles when he explains to the 38-year-old soccer legend that attacks below the waist are forbidden. Though he is a seasoned martial arts practitioner, Bixente Lizarazu looks slightly apprehensive, and when he asks about the difference between freestyle and greco-roman, “We’re gonna show you,” is the only answer he gets.

However, after his practice bout with Christophe Guénot, Bixente is beaming, and his impeccably tanned chest is gleaming with sweat. “It’s impressive how strong they are, how they break your back,” he raves. “Very impressive!”

And yes, the hint of masochistic pleasure is definitely there.

Canal Plus video (in French, skip to 00:50)