Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier has passed away.
The Frenchman is best remembered for his spell in Merseyside during which the club managed to win six trophies, three of which came in 2001 including the famous UEFA Cup triumph in Dortmund. Unfortunately, he couldn’t guide Liverpool to the Premier League with the best finish being the runners-up in 2001/02.
Due to his successes in the 2000-01 season, he won the now-defunct European Coach of the Year award.
Houllier was the manager who gave Steven Gerrard the opportunity to become a mainstay in the Liverpool lineup. This move paid off as he managed to become a club legend as well as one of the finest footballers of his generation.
Apart from Liverpool. Houllier also won four trophies at Lyon that included two successive Ligue 1 titles. He also won the French League with PSG and was in charge of the French national team for 12 matches.
During his time at Liverpool, Monseiur Houllier signed several players, some of whom went on to make quite a name for themselves. So, let’s take a look at the top five signings at Merseyside from the late Frenchman.
Honorable Mention: Vladimir Smicer, Steve Finnan
5. Gary McAllister
The only reason McAllister is fifth on this list is that he didn’t have a very long stay at Liverpool. The Scottish midfielder came to Merseyside from Coventry City on a free transfer at the age of 35.
McAllister spent only two seasons at the club but the impact he had was enough to propel Houllier to call him his most inspirational signing. In his first season, he had some spectacular moments, one of which was scoring a late winner directly from a free-kick in the Merseyside Derby.
McAllister had a key role to play in the latter stages of the UEFA Cup. He scored the winner against Barcelona in the semi-finals while also finding the net in the final, both from the penalty spot. The Scotsman took the free-kick which resulted in Liverpool’s winning own goal.
McAllister left Liverpool for a return to Coventry in 2002, having scored nine goals in 87 appearances across all competitions.