Former Liverpool and France manager Gerard Houllier passes away at the age of 73

Former Liverpool and France manager Gerard Houllier passes away at the age of 73
The manager who last won a treble for Liverpool, Gerard Houllier has enshrined his name in the hearts of Liverpool fans

Tributes pour in from his former players as Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher pay their respect to their former manager. Winner of the ‘Cup treble’ for Liverpool, he will be forever revered by Liverpool fans for bringing in an era when trophies were far and few between. He presided an era of overhaul for Liverpool and sent many prominent players like David James, Jason McAteer and Steven McManaman.

Revitalised Liverpool with new signings and departures

Just like he cut David James, Jason McAteer and Steven McManaman out of the Liverpool squad, he brought in players like Sami Hyypia, Dietmar Hamann, Vladmir Smicer, Sander Westerveld and Djimi Traore. Each of these players had a hand in Liverpool’s monumental comeback against the legendary AC Milan team. Rafael Benitez led a young Liverpool spearheaded by Steven Gerrard to glory against an AC Milan team that had Kaka, Pirlo, Maldini and Crespo in the side.

Gerard Houlllier was originally brought into co-manager Liverpool with Roy Evans and became Liverpool’s sole manager in November 1998. In the 2000/2001 season Liverpool tasted success as they won the League Cup, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup. They went on to defeat Manchester United in the Charity Shield and Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup in the same year.

In October 2001, he was hospitalised for an aortic dissection and had to rely on caretaker Phil Thompson to manage the team. That season Liverpool finished in 2nd place and Houllier returned after five months of the heart condition being discovered. Results started to drop in the 2002/03 season and he was eventually sacked on 24th May, 2004. Rafael Benitez succeeded him and led Liverpool to Champions League glory.

Houllier has managed Liverpool, France (senior team, U18 and U20), Lyon and Aston Villa and was made Head of Global Football by Red Bull. He took care of the academies of RB Salzburg, RB Leipzig and New York Red Bulls. He became the technical director of the women’s team of Olympique Lyonnais Feminin and OL Reign in November 2020.

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