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.
Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier in Bangkok in 2001. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)
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 players.
It was a huge shock when just three months after his Thailand visit, Houllier was taken ill during a Premier League game at Anfield and had to undergo an emergency heart operation.
At the start of our interview, Houllier admitted he had been "a bit worried" about how his team would be received so far from their home in Merseyside.
He need not have worried. Liverpool were a close-run second to Manchester United in popularity amongst Thai fans.
He was truly impressed by the Thai welcome. "I've been staggered by the reception out here," he said.
Houllier, who had a well-earned reputation for his man management, was also encouraged by how the players had interacted with the Thai fans.
"A star has to be a star on the field and off the field," he said.
"What gives you class is if you remain humble, approachable, accessible. It makes me proud the way they respond. When the players see the enthusiastic response they are getting from their fans they have a responsibility to give something back."
Liverpool had flown to Bangkok from Singapore where they had taken on the national team, beating them 2-0.
Houllier said he was staggered by the scenes in Singapore.
"The stadium was full of red shirts and they cheered us rather than their own team," he said.
As for the match in Thailand which was played in a heavy rainstorm at Rajamangala National Stadium, Emile Heskey scored the opening goal as Liverpool went onto win 3-1.
Vladimir Smicer notched a brace in the second half, although Liverpool never really stepped into top gear.
It was rather a bizarre game, with the first half lasting nearly 60 minutes despite no stoppages, following what was termed a "misunderstanding."
After an hour, it was left to Thailand coach Peter Withe to suggest to the referee that it might be a good idea to blow the whistle and end the half.
Houllier commented afterwards: "That was the longest half I have experienced in my life.''
At the opening kick-off, when shaking hands with Thailand Kiatisak "Zico" Senamuang, Michael Owen had the rare experience of meeting a fellow captain the same size as himself.
The two of them went on to prove that you don't have to be a physical giant to be good at football. Owen's first sublime touch prompted a crescendo of screams from the terraces.
Asked what his proudest moment had been since joining Liverpool, Houllier said it was winning the Uefa Cup. "Liverpool's reputation was made in Europe," he said. "We had not won in Europe for 17 years so that was something special."
There was another high point.
"The moment I cherish most was after winning the FA Cup, Jamie Redknapp [club captain] was asked spontaneously by the boys to accept the trophy despite the fact he hadn't played all season. That was evidence the team spirit was very good. That meant to me that something was working. There's no successful team without a happy bench," he said.
One signing he was clearly proud of was that of Heskey from Leicester.
"He was a boy with great potential and had an extremely good attitude," he recalled.
However, the Heskey signing was not popular amongst Liverpool fans and was heavily criticised by newspapers.
But Houllier stood by his man and Heskey, though not a prolific goalscorer, managed a reasonable 39 goals in his 150 games for the club.
Heskey was very grateful for the faith Houllier put in him.
In a tribute to his former boss this week, he said: "He gave me confidence and I wanted to play for him.''
This is a common theme amongst all the stars who played for Houllier, reflected in their tributes this week.
A "heartbroken" Owen called him "a great manager and genuinely caring man," while a "devastated" Steven Gerrard commented "I will never forget what this man did for me."
An emotional Jamie Carragher admitted "I loved him to bits" and one suspects he was speaking for every footballer fortunate enough to play for this special manager.