When Houllier took Liverpool to Bangkok

It was very sad to learn of the death of former Liverpool, Aston Villa and France manager Gerard Houllier early in the week. He was a special person who really cared about his players.

I was fortunate enough to interview Houllier when Liverpool came out to Thailand in 2001, the year the Reds had their most successful season during their Premier League title drought.

They had achieved a Cup treble — the FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup — as well as finishing third in the English top flight, meaning they qualified for the Champions League.

The Frenchman, who before his managerial days had spent a year teaching French in a Liverpool school, came across as a very thoughtful, sincere person and a real gentleman with a passionate love of the game and very proud of his…