GERARD WAS MORE THAN A MANAGER TO HIS PLAYERS
I LOOk back and see the arrival of Gerard Houllier at Liverpool as akin to Arsene Wenger’s at Arsenal. He was a forward-thinking manager who modernised the club. He made the youngsters understand what it takes to get to the very top, teaching them how to get the best out of their bodies. Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Michael Owen and so many more benefited from being taken under his wing. One of Gerard’s favourite sayings was: ‘Drinking alcohol is as silly as putting diesel in a racing car.’ If you put the wrong fuel into your body, it won’t work as well. That resonated with the players. The youngsters were in awe of him and he instilled discipline with rules about turning up on time, training hard, knowing when’s the time to work and when’s the time to have fun. Gerard was gentlemanly — you could sit with him in his office and talk football — but he could be strict, too. He had that streak in him. It was a regimented set-up. Long before Liverpool, Gerard used to be a deputy headmaster in France, and you could see that in the way he interacted with the younger players. He wanted to educate them, take these wide-eyed talents and turn them into world-beaters. He was like a father figure to them. That is why we have seen such an emotional reaction to the news of his sad passing yesterday from those who were fortunate enough to work with him. Gerard was more than a manager to his players, and he was a hero to the fans, too. He gave them so many reasons to love him, especially in that 2000-01 Treble-winning season. Gerard’s decision to sign Didi Hamann and Sami Hyypia in 1999 was a masterstroke. He knew how to organise a sturdy defence, how to be hard to beat and how to win.
On a personal note, Gerard was responsible for the greatest moment of my club career. During pre-season in 1999, he called me into his hotel room. Paul Ince had left the club and I had just turned 26. He told me: ‘You’re now the captain of the club.’ What a moment. I could never thank him enough for placing that trust in me. We continued to chat but, to tell the truth, I couldn’t wait to get out of that room so I could call my family and tell them! Unfortunately, just as I was warming to my new role, knee injuries struck me down. I couldn’t play a part on the pitch in 2000-01. But I observed Gerard behind the scenes, studied how he was with people and how he would get the best out of the players. I stored that away, just in case I ever became a manager myself. I had so much respect for him. All of us did. There was also a little bit of fear, and you need that in a leader sometimes. Gerard and I had our ups and downs, but that does not mean I ever lost any respect for him. I held him in the highest regard possible. What he did for Liverpool after arriving in 1998 was iconic. Schoolteaching’s loss was clearly football’s gain. All we can do now is remember the great memories he gave us. I will never forget what he did for me.