Gérard Houllier, French football team former coach has died at the age of 73, according to a report by RMC Sport and L’Équipe on Monday, December 14. The report also revealed that the coach who coached PSG, Liverpool and Lyon died at home after undergoing aortic operation in a Paris hospital a few days ago.
Gérard Houllier is a native of Thérouanne, in Pas-de-Calais, even though he never played a professional footballer like most of the coaches today, he had a distinguished career as a coach and manager, from Lens in the 1980s to Aston Villa at the end of his career, in the early 2010s.
Gérald Houiller joined the PSG squad for the 1985-1986 season, where he won his first French league title after coaching D2 and then D1 clubs. He later joined the French Football Federation where he was an assistant to Michel Platini, before replacing him as coach in 1992.
Gérald Houiller success with the Blues, for 12 games will not be so successful than at PSG: after two successive defeats against Israel and Bulgaria, France did not qualify for the 1994 World Cup and suffered one of the worst failures in its history of football.
Gérard Houllier will then be in charge of the selection of the Blues under 18 and then under 20 before leaving the territory for a few years. Between 1998 and 2004, he was the manager of Liverpool where he won four competitions over the said period, including the UEFA Cup, the two National Cups and the European Super Cup.
He is with Luis Fernandes and Zinedine Zidane, one of the three French coaches who won a European Cup.
We are mourning the passing of our treble-winning manager, Gerard Houllier.
The thoughts of everyone at Liverpool Football Club are with Gerard’s family and many friends.
Rest in peace, Gerard Houllier 1947-2020. pic.twitter.com/isHGXIfe5E
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 14, 2020
Most of his career period was marked by a serious health problem, like in 2001, when he suffered a dissection of the aorta, a serious condition which he narrowly escaped and with lifelong treatment, Gérard Houiller returned to France to lead Olympique Lyonnais where he won two French championship titles.
Tributes began to rain after his death, which occurred a few hours after the Paris SG-Lyon match (0-1), between two of his former clubs.
Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar wrote on Twitter, “In shock at this sad news. Today I am very sad. Thanks to you, I was able to play in this wonderful Liverpool club. A big thank you for everything you have done for me.”
The Minister for Sports Roxana Maracineanu wrote, “With the disappearance of Gérard Houiller, France loses a great coach and football, a technician recognized all over the world.”
Coach
Aujourd’hui je suis très triste
Grâce à vous j ai pu jouer dans ce merveilleux Club de @LFC
Un grand merci pour tout ce que vous avez fait pour moi
Paix à votre âme
Merci MR Gerrard houiller pic.twitter.com/m52jMZ5yjj— Djibril Cisse (@DjibrilCisse) December 14, 2020
C’est avec une profonde tristesse que le Paris Saint-Germain a appris le décès de son ancien entraîneur Gérard Houllier.
À sa famille, à ses proches, le Paris Saint-Germain présente ses plus sincères condoléances. ❤️💙
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) December 14, 2020
