
GERARD HOULLIER, who died on Monday aged 73, will be remembered across Europe for his football teachings, player development and man-management.
Nowhere is this more the case than at Liverpool FC, where his personable nature, love for the city and its football put him up there among the club’s greats.
Born in Therouanne in northern France in 1947, Houllier’s first job in Liverpool was as a teacher at Alsop Comprehensive School in 1969 through to 1970, not far from Stanley Park which separates the stadiums of Liverpool and Everton.
Liverpool had finished second to Don Revie’s Leeds United in 1969 but did qualify for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup where they faced Dundalk in the first round.
Houllier, then in his early twenties, was one of 32,656 in attendance at the Anfield leg of the tie where the Reds defeated their Irish opponents 10-0.
Towards the end of Houllier’s first stay in Liverpool, Everton were crowned First Division champions but by then the Frenchman already had a fondness for the Reds.
“I was Red,” he once said. “I’ve been Red all my life. Everton were top but Liverpool were right for me.”
Houllier returned to France and reached a post of deputy headmaster in his job as a teacher, before moving into football coaching, having played the game at an amateur level throughout his youth.
He immediately impressed, combining his knowledge of the game with his teaching skills.
He took minnows Noeux-les-Mines from the lower divisions to the second tier of French football, attracting larger crowds and bigger-name opponents in the process.
His achievements in the lower leagues also attracted bigger clubs. He was hired by First Division side Lens, who he guided to Uefa Cup qualification before moving to Paris Saint-Germain, winning the club their first-ever league title in 1986.
Throughout his career, Houllier always specialised in developing young players and preparing them for a first-team environment, and this prompted the French Football Federation to find a role for him at national level.
His period with the senior national team was one of the least successful of his career.
France were knocked out at the group stages at Euro ’92 with Houllier assisting head coach Michel Platini, and failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup with Houllier having replaced Platini at the helm.
Despite this, his initial appointment was always geared towards player development, and this experience will have helped identify some of the problems in the system.
Houllier encouraged the coaching of skills and technique at a younger age throughout French football, so when players arrived at Under-15 or Under-16 level, they already had a skills base on which to build.
Tangible success came with the French youth sides with whom he won the European Under-18 Championship in 1996, but the bigger picture was an improvement in youth development across the country.
France won their first World Cup in 1998, reached their second final in 2006, and won their second World Cup in 2018. The groundwork laid by Houllier in the 1990s played a big part in this newfound success.
Houllier’s stock remained high and a return to club management beckoned. Liverpool meanwhile were still trying to win their first league title since 1990.
Throughout the ’70s and ’80s the club won a total of 10 league titles and four European Cups, but had since declined and didn’t finish higher than third throughout the rest of the ’90s.
When Houllier first watched Liverpool at Anfield back in 1969 they were on the cusp of a period that would see them become the most successful club in England.
Twenty-eight years after the end of his first visit to Liverpool, he was tasked with putting them back on the path to success.
Houllier is widely considered the manager who set Liverpool up to challenge in the modern era, changing the culture from one which had been effective during the ’70s and ’80s but was incompatible with modern Premier League and Champions League football.
Initially working with Roy Evans from July 1998, but taking sole charge of first-team duties by November, Houllier oversaw a transition period at the club, but one which also brought trophies.
They won an FA Cup, League Cup, and Uefa Cup treble in 2001, while still managing to finish third in the league.
At Liverpool, Houllier used his experience with the French national team to modernise the club’s training methods and their Melwood training ground.
He oversaw saw the beginning of a team built around academy players such as Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard which would go on to win the Champions League under Rafa Benitez in 2005.
Another academy product, Michael Owen, won the Ballon d’Or under Houllier in 2001.
In October of that year, Houllier was rushed to hospital with serious heart problems which became apparent during a home game against Leeds.
Assistant Phil Thompson took charge for four months as Houllier recovered, and the Frenchman was given an emotional welcome on his return to Anfield for a Champions League game against Roma in March 2002.
Liverpool finished second that season and Houllier added another League Cup in 2003, but the failure to challenge for a title saw him leave the club in 2004.
Spells with Lyon and Aston Villa followed, winning back-to-back league titles during two seasons with the former, and finishing ninth in the Premier League in his only season with the latter.
Houllier’s legacy and teachings continue to influence European football, especially at Liverpool and the France national team whose recent successes on the world stage can be traced back to changes he made at both organisations.


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