Gérard Houllier will remain in the hearts of Liverpool supporters.
-
Olivier MORIN / AFP
Gérard Houllier, in check in France, left to train Liverpool to everyone's surprise in 1998.
The French manager professionalises the club on all levels until signing an unforgettable season in 2001, with a historic quintuplet.
The former coach of the Blues has always been considered a spiritual father by Steven Gerrard or Michael Owen.
It is rare that during the days of mourning for a man who counted for French football, the most vibrant tributes reach in a foreign language.
However, it was to England that we had to turn on Monday to celebrate Gérard Houllier as he deserved.
Towards England and Liverpool, the club that he put back on the map of the Kingdom thanks to this unforgettable quintuplet in 2001. The story of his arrival on the banks of the Mersey also tells something of the shadows and the lights of the character in France.
A secret signature in the summer of 98
Coach of the Blues before Jacquet, trainer of the Henry-Trezeguet generation, DTN of French football since 1990, and yet very far in the photo of the 98 world champions. “Gérard would have liked to continue the Hopes, but Raymond Domenech wanted to continue, so we left against all odds, ”evades the faithful deputy Patrice Bergues.
This is not a discovery for the two men, who had already reached the city of the Beatles by hitchhiking the year of their 20 years, to offer themselves a football orgy.
Houllier had even come there a little earlier to meet the correspondent that his lycée du Nord had found for him, before returning there in his year of university gap to teach French, him, the English teacher.
The phone call from executive director Peter Robinson, an old acquaintance, sounds like a poisoned gift.
English football is still looking for its compass in the rubble of the Heysel, and memories of the great Liverpool have turned sepia.
There is even a British staff in place, with whom the duo will deal for two short months.
“It was them or us, and I imagine Gérard had some assurances, but we had to convince the players of a lot of things.
In terms of training, diet, care, it took a good year to clean the club.
Consider that when we arrived, there was not even a physiotherapist and half of the players had a big problem with alcohol ”.
A great man and a great manager.
Liverpool will be forever grateful.
Gérard Houllier - Rest in peace ❤️ pic.twitter.com/36s13bglIB
- Jordan Henderson (@JHenderson) December 14, 2020
The end of the "Bootroom" and prehistoric training
One would think to hear the story of Wenger's first steps with Arsenal, in the same waters as his compatriot.
Liverpool still lives to the rhythm of the “Bootroom”, this legendary little alcove adjoining the Reds' locker room, where the club's greatest managers since Bill Shankly have shaped the great Liverpool destiny between two sips of booze and a Cuban cigar.
The premises have been dismembered to make room for the press room, but the tradition remains.
A tradition that must be shaken up without ever disrespecting it?
Houllier, who has chosen to live in the heart of Liverpool to feel the pulse of fans, is not refusing any discussion of tactical choice or team composition.
“The people there love their club, they want to say what they feel to try to understand, and that Gérard understood it well, it was not someone who escaped”.
"Gérard had time for everyone"
The Frenchman, who at the end of his term could not live with some criticisms of former players, never turns his back on the legend.
Ian Rush, a time integrated into the staff as coach of the attackers, had difficulty concealing his emotion.
“What he did at Liverpool is incredible.
I was in shock when I learned.
I was lucky that he took me on as a forwards coach, and although I was not a bad striker I believe, he taught me an incredible number of things.
He was a gentleman and what I remember about Gérard Houllier is that he had time for everyone, even to talk to the supporters.
He had taught at the university in the city, he knew how it worked ”.
Journalists who follow the club, sometimes supporters of Everton, are also pampered to the point of becoming and remaining close friends long after they leave.
It is not uncommon for Houllier to send a bouquet of flowers for a birthday or a birth.
Even before the sporting consecration, he is one with the city, one with the Reds.
On his hospital bed, when he fell "a millimeter to death" before a match against Lille, he befriends nurse Helen Cain, who takes care of him at Broadgreen Hospital .
He checks in on Richy, Chris, and Claire, his three children, then returns home.
The quintuplet of 2001 for eternity
A few weeks later, he invites the whole family to spend the day at Melwood, the Reds' training center, where he redesigned the foundations.
The 2001 quintuplet has been there (UEFA Cup, League Cup, Cup, British Supercup and European Supercup), and if Gérard Houllier is still the coach, it has almost become a myth.
His surprise return for a C1 match against Roma five months after his operation makes Anfield roar with pleasure, who wept with joy the previous summer.
Bergues: “The parade that there was in the city after the last match in 2001 was exceptional, I don't know how many hours we marched, people were crying as we passed.
They said thank you for giving them back their pride ”.
With its French teacher, Liverpool has once again become a winning club with the kids from the training center.
Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher, to name only the most famous, were born in football in those years.
Now famous consultant for SkySport, the former defender of the Reds had extraordinary words for his former manager:
"What he did for me, for Stevie or for Michael Owen when he arrived, I don't think any of us can forget, or forget all that it might have meant to us.
I think anyone at 20 is a sponge and wants to "swallow" as much information as possible from their trainer.
I loved my trainer and today I am devastated by the news of his death.
The club had had rough times in the 90s, and it was with him that Liverpool won trophies again.
He is an absolute legend in my eyes, I have always thought his work was underestimated at Liverpool.
When you look at the team that won the C1 in 2005, the majority were the hard core formed by Houllier.
All the work he accomplished, he bequeathed to the club in the form of a will and it is thanks to him that the club is what it is today ”.
Obviously, the end of the course was more difficult, and Houllier stumbled like the others on this cursed title of champion which escaped the Reds until Klopp.
But the image of the French technician has suffered no discount over the years on the other side of the Channel.
“We were invited a few years ago to coach a team of former Liverpool players for a charity game, it's like we never left the club.
90% of the people who worked there in our time are still there, it's such a chance to be a Liverpuldian, nobody leaves, and I think Gérard was recognized as one of them, he was almost a god there- low ”.
"As if we had never left"
He had exchanged a few messages with Carragher in recent weeks to confirm his presence at the evening of the 20th anniversary of the 2001 feat, scheduled for next year.
The opportunity for another even more poignant tribute, in an Anfield that we dare imagine filled to the hangers to sing to the glory of his late former manager.
Sport
Death of Gérard Houiller: "A great manager and a man who really cared about others", the beautiful tribute of Michael Owen
Sport
Gérard Houllier, former Blues coach and Liverpool coach, is dead
Soccer
Liverpool
Sport
Disappearance
French team