– A true Liverpool legend – VG

Houllier turned 73. According to L’Équipe, he returned home on Sunday after an operation on the main artery, and on Monday the message arrived that the Frenchman was dead.

The news has rocked the football world, and current Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp says via the club’s official website that Houllier was one of the first to congratulate him when he took over Liverpool in 2015.

– He didn’t even know he had my number! It’s a very, very sad day. He is a true Liverpool legend and a true coach legend. He was very influential in football. A great coach, but at the same time a human being who gave you a warm feeling when you spent time with him. It’s a great loss for all of us, says Klopp.

– I already miss him. The only positive aspect is that we will never forget it here.

Alex Ferguson, a former Manchester United manager who long had Houllier as one of his biggest rivals while managing Liverpool, also says he is sad to have lost a rival who became a good friend.

– The news was a complete shock this morning. Gérard Houllier was still a young man. It is a sad day for the world of football, said former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in a statement.

– Gérard became a good friend (of mine) during his time in Lierpool, and we remain good friends after he left, says Ferguson, who says he will miss the Frenchman.

Riise: – Damn

Also for John Arne Riise, French meant a lot.

– He was a wonderfully kind and caring person. He cared about everyone around him and not least about the players. He always asked how everyone was, also in private. He demanded a lot as a coach, high demands, but fair, Riise tells VG.

– Without him, I would not have had this career. I had not played for Liverpool and I lived my best memories and moments. He believed in me from day one. He taught me what life as a professional means. What it takes to be successful … He took care of me. I was young when I arrived. No, this is very sad, says Riise.

Riise was skiing when she received the news of the death.

– I noticed that the cell phone vibrated a lot in my pocket. Then I realized that there was something. I checked my cell phone and it was completely empty. Shock. Sad. Sad. He was a person who has meant a lot to me on and off the field. I haven’t quite figured it out yet, Riise says.

Houllier had a modest career as a footballer, but as a coach and coach he is among the best in French football.

– It gives me chills. It’s strange to hear a former coach walk away. It is sad for everyone around him. It’s too early, Øyvind Leonhardsen tells VG.

The Norwegian national team legend played with Houllier in Liverpool in 1998 and 1999.

– He came to Liverpool when I was there and changed the things that made the team win in the end. He was very clear and knowledgeable. It was exactly what Liverpool needed at the time. He also had a lot to do with the 1998 World Cup when France won and he has worked at UEFA and has been important there. He was very skilled at soccer.

– What was he like as a person?

– It was the year in which I did not gain much confidence so it gave me challenges, but I was very clear about what I wanted and what I did not want. He had a bit of French arrogance, but he seemed like a very nice person. He had goals and meaning in everything he did, says Leonhardsen.

Deserved

Already in his first season with PSG in 1985/1986, Houllier led the club to its first league gold in France. After three years at PSG, he became assistant coach of the French team in 1988, a position he held until he assumed the position of director of the team after a failed European Championship in France in 1992. However, there was no great success and after the French team failed to qualify. For the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Houllier resigned in 1993.

In the summer of 1998, together with Roy Evans, he became Liverpool manager, a responsibility assigned to him alone since the autumn of 1998. Houllier was manager of the great English club until 2004 and led Liverpool to a triple in 2001 : the League Cup, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup. the cup.

During his time in Liverpool, he brought John Arne Riise, Vegard Heggem and Frode Kippe, among others, to the club. Øyvind Leonhardsen, Stig Inge Bjørnebye and Bjørn Tore Kvarme were at the club when Houllier took over.

– It is a sad message to receive. He was an inclusive person who welcomed me incredibly well as a child. “He gave me the opportunity to sign for my favorite club and I am forever grateful for that,” Kippe tells VG.

Houllier took over as Lyon’s coach in 2005, where he led the French team to league victory two years in a row with, among others, John Carew on the team. His last managerial job was currently at Aston Villa, where he retired after falling ill at the end of the 2010/2011 season.

Also during his stay in Liverpool, he was on sick leave after being taken to hospital for heart problems.