Hamann: Gerard Houllier influenced all of us on so many levels

Tributes from around the Footballing world have been flooding in after the death of the much loved and respected former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier at the age of 73.

The Frenchman was the first foreign manager to take charge of the Reds and his main task was to put together a squad that would be competitive not only on the domestic front but make them for formidable once again in Europe.

Houllier knew he had a very exciting young and talented group coming through, but to balance that he needed some players who had been battle hardened and brought a winning culture.

So he went about building a cosmopolitan squad, some players like Sami Hyppia and Vladimir Smicer were hardly household names in England, but had the kind of experience that Houllier wanted.

Another player Houllier identified was Dietmar Hamann, who had just played his first season in the Premier League with Newcastle, after winning a number of honours with Bayern Munich.

The German spoke to the Echo about his fond memories of the highly respected footballing figure.

“I am shocked and devastated. I think he influenced all of us who worked for and with him on so many levels and it is just a sad day. Not only for the footballing side of it but also on a personal level.

"Jamie Carragher says that he made him the man he is today. I think it is not something you read very often from an ex-player. That was the impact he had on people.

"It was the way he ran the football club, the way he appreciated every single employee of the club and this is why I think we are very grateful to have the chance to work with him and under him.”

Hamann who spent seven years with Liverpool making 280 appearances and winning nine honours, said the connection he had with the boss was instant.

“I think Titi Camara, Sami Hyypia, Sander Westerveld, Vladi (Smicer), he signed about five or six before me.

"So I came to Liverpool a few weeks later and went straight to Belfast with (chief executive) Peter Robinson. When I got back we had dinner together and it was me, my wife and his wife.

"It can be a bit awkward sometimes when you first meet a manager but it was just a fluent conversation for a couple of hours.

"He told me what he was trying to do. He was just a very charismatic and genuine man. He was very caring, and this is why my love for the football club is mostly owed to him.

"Looking back, he took a chance bringing six or seven foreign players. I don't think he bought one English player in '99 but he probably felt that with the continental flair and experience, it was the best way to nurture the English talents.

“Only Stephane Henchoz and myself had experience of playing in England. All the others didn't and we know the Premier League is more physical, it's quicker and it's a different style of football."

Houllier was widely seen as a revolutionary in the way he brought modern training methods to the club.

Hamann says while the treble winning manager did not claim the top prize in England or in Europe, the 2005 Champions League triumph had his fingerprints on it and set the path for others to follow.

"He changed the football club. Liverpool was in the doldrums in the late 90s.

“They hadn't been too successful and they hadn't won a trophy for a number of years and I think if it wasn't for Gerard, I don't think there would have been a Rafa or maybe a Klopp now.

"He put Liverpool back on the map, he made them successful again and made people realise again that Liverpool can be a force and he really galvanised the whole city in that time.

"I think quite a lot of the fans were disillusioned when he came because the team was not successful.

“He played a huge part in us winning the Champions League because if you look at the players who had a huge impact in that game, Sami, Carra, Jerzy Dudek, you look at Djimi Traore who came in as a kid and turned out to be a fantastic player, Stevie, Vladi came on, scored and scored in the penalty shootout too, so I think without Gerard, there would be no European Cup in 2005.

“This is how he should be remembered.”