In June 2011, he stepped down from club coaching, leaving his managerial role at Aston Villa, following frequent hospitalisation over heart problems.

He was deputy headmaster of the École Normale d'Arras until reaching age 26 in 1973, when he began his full-time managerial career as player-manager of Le Touquet.

[7] In the 2011 book Secrets de coachs, Houllier singled out winger David Ginola for blame in a crucial defeat to Bulgaria during the qualification campaign.

[10] Houllier began what he described as a five-year programme to rebuild the team, and restore discipline to a squad that had been labelled widely as "Spice Boys", as well as begin a continental approach, both tactically and in terms of personnel, to the game starting in 1999.

Simultaneously, eight new players were signed: Sami Hyypiä, Dietmar Hamann, Stéphane Henchoz, Vladimír Šmicer, Sander Westerveld, Titi Camara, Eric Meijer and Djimi Traoré.

The rebuilding continued in 2000 with the signings of Markus Babbel, Nicky Barmby, Pegguy Arphexad, Grégory Vignal, Emile Heskey, Gary McAllister, Igor Bišćan and Christian Ziege, as well as the departures of David Thompson, Phil Babb, Dominic Matteo, Steve Staunton, Brad Friedel and Stig Inge Bjørnebye.

[13] In October 2001, after falling ill at half-time at Liverpool's Premier League match with Leeds United, Houllier was rushed to hospital for an emergency operation due to the discovery of a heart condition, an aortic dissection.

[14] With the help of caretaker manager Phil Thompson, he guided Liverpool to a second-place finish in the 2001–02 FA Premier League season, at the time their best record in the Premiership.

Lyon had just won their previous fourth successive championship and Houllier was hired to convert this domestic dominance to the European stage.

[29][30][31] An official statement on Lyon's website stated that Houllier asked to be released from the last season of his contract and that request was granted by the president.

[32] Houllier was reappointed to the role of technical director for the France national team in September 2007, replacing interim-incumbent Jean-Pierre Morlans.

[33] Despite the team's poor performance during UEFA Euro 2008, Houllier advised French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes to keep faith with manager Raymond Domenech.

[35] On 8 September 2010, it was announced that English Premier League club Aston Villa had appointed Houllier as their new full-time manager, following the resignation of previous boss Martin O'Neill the month before.

[38] It was announced on 18 September 2010 that Gary McAllister had agreed to become his assistant manager, with Gordon Cowans also taking a role in Houllier's backroom staff.

The side was hit with injuries to key players Gabriel Agbonlahor, Stiliyan Petrov, Nigel Reo-Coker and Emile Heskey, and managed just one win in ten Premier League matches.

[41] In November 2010, Houllier signed 37-year-old former Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires on a free transfer in an attempt to aid the club during its injury crisis.

[43] During the match, a selection of the home crowd targeted Houllier with chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning" to vent their frustration at the club's poor run of form.

[45] In the January transfer Window, Houllier signed Kyle Walker on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in a bid to improve Villa's struggling defence.

[48] Villa's January transfer window was rounded off with the loan signing of American international midfielder Michael Bradley from Borussia Mönchengladbach.

During a team-bonding exercise at a health spa in Leicestershire, Villa defenders James Collins and Richard Dunne were involved in a confrontation with club staff.