The defeat of November 17, 1993 against Bulgaria haunted the entire career of Gérard Houiller, who died on the night from Sunday to Monday.

But as emphasized by Jean-Pierre Papin and Noël Le Graët, Monday on Europe 1, the career of the former coach of the Blues did not stop with this defeat, far from it.

Gérard Houiller is dead.

The former coach of the Blues died in the night from Sunday to Monday.

And he leaves behind a rich career, which goes well beyond this infamous defeat of November 17, 1993 against Bulgaria, during which "his" team of France was barred from the World Cup. 94.

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"Yes, it marked his career. He is not the only one to have had regrets. We were all injured by this match, frustrated. But for me, Gérard Houllier, it was not just that match. There are a lot of good things and a whole lot of successes. We had nevertheless put the good foundations for what happened after, since there was 1998 just after ", reacted on Europe 1 the former Blues striker Jean-Pierre Papin, very close to the coach.

"He is someone who deeply loved his team, football in general, and who contributed to many good things for French football," continues Jean-Pierre Papin.

"In Liverpool he revived the club after a period of famine"

According to the former Blues striker, Gérard Houiller had invented, for example, "a new way of seeing things in training".

"He did a lot of training with games and it appealed to all the players. He always spoke well, always precise. Me, I only remember good things," he continues.

"In Liverpool, he revived the club after a period of scarcity. He was someone who liked challenges, who took them head on. And it worked," said "JPP".

Champion of France in 1986 with Paris Saint-Germain and in 2006 and 2007 with Lyon, winner of the UEFA Cup (2001), vice-champion of England (2002), winner of the FA Cup (2001), of the Cup of the English League (2001 and 2003) and the European Supercup in 2001 with Liverpool FC, Gérard Houiller indeed leaves a full track record.

"We owe him a lot of things"

"His record is extremely positive, very positive. We must first remember the elegant man, the talented man, the football man," insists Noël Le Graët, president of the French Football Federation, interviewed by Europe 1. "He set up a system that still exists, the development of pre-training centers, the development of Clairefontaine. We owe him a lot of things," he continues.

Before paying homage to "a faithful friend, courteous and very hardworking".