THE WAR OF words between Gerard Houllier and David Ginola over France’s failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup has been reopened.
Houllier was coach of the France side that missed out on the finals in the United States, with their qualification hopes shattered in a now infamous final Group 6 clash with Bulgaria.
France needed a draw with Bulgaria in November 1993 to progress and were level at 1-1 until the visitors netted a late winner after launching a counter from a failed Ginola cross, leaving Houllier to blame the winger for the elimination.
Ginola sued Houllier for alleged defamatory remarks about him in the former Liverpool manager’s 2011 book ‘Coaches’ Secrets’, although the lawsuit was thrown out by a French court.
Houllier reignited the row by telling RMC: “We have all dragged the ball, we have all suffered, it’s not just him. His missed pass against Bulgaria, it is a fact of the game, but when you are offset from the spirit of the team, you play badly.
“Before this game, he said to the press he had to play in place of Eric Cantona and Jean-Pierre Papin.
“Even during his last game with the national team [in 1995], he had said in the dressing room that as a Newcastle player he was to play as a starter and not a substitute.”
However, Ginola then called into the radio station to offer a retort. He said: “These are lies. I never said I had to play instead of Cantona and Papin.
“What I said at the time [in '95] is that in England, I had never been booed, while in France, the country that I love, I had been whistled because of these people.
“I will not allow a man like him to violate everything that I did. He [Houllier] showed weaknesses during these years. It’s nice to say that Ginola is a criminal, but in football you win with 11 and lose with 11, but in that game I lost alone.
“We must stop with this, I have children now. It looks like it gives you pleasure. Are there not enough people who cried in 1994?”
As a pool fan, houllier blamed all around him/ yes bad cross from ginola but what about the centre back that the striker strolled past
The French do love to hate each other don’t they…
Players make mistakes, and that one will haunt Ginola for the rest of his life, no two ways about it. Gerard falling on his arse against Chelsea and Jesper Olson passing the ball into the path of Butragueno in the But 1986 World Cup spring to mind.
But France’s World Cup hopes weren’t just shattered in the match against Bulgaria. The full facts are as follows; With two matches left to play in their group, both of them at home, France needed just 1 point. First up was Israel, who France had beaten 4-0 in Tel Aviv, and hadn’t a single win to their name, and Bulgaria who had already beaten France in Sofia, so they should have had a fair idea of what they were dealing with.
The French led both games (2-1 and 1-0 respectively) but went on to lose both, I believe, in injury time.
Houllier has repeatedly blamed Ginola for the entire failure due to his part in the Bulgaria defeat, but the blame lies with himself more so than anyone else.
What an emphatic collapse, I remember it fondly.
The Israel game was the biggest Mess up by far, instead they blame the defeat where they lost in the last minute to the eventual World cup semi finalists
yea finals should have kept the ball down at the corner flag and killed off the game but what about the keeper getting beaten at his near post.
* finals is typo for ginola in my post above
If it was an Irish player today he would have passed it back instead of take the shot!