Gérard and Guy: a long-lasting affair of the heart

Guy Roux is standing half naked in his office. His shirt is off, and he is down to his briefs. Well, why not? It is his office, after all, and he does need to get changed. Still, it makes for an awkward start to an interview. "Sit down," smiles Auxerre's legendary coach, totally relaxed. "I won't shake your hand."

Minutes before our meeting at the Abbe-Deschamps stadium last week, France's oldest serving manager had been on local television. With the cameras now gone, it was time to slip back in to more "normal clothes". With Roux, what you see is very much what you get. Unlike the man he refers to as his "suave half-brother" Gérard Houllier, whom he is preparing to come face to face with over two legs of a Uefa Cup fourth-round tie, Roux is a football man in the purest sense. Widely acknowledged to be one of the most skilful man managers and tacticians in the game, he is also one of the lousiest dressers. Shirts and ties have never been his thing, he says. Comfort for Roux is a tracksuit. "Always has been," he insists. "Always will be," he might add.

Roux is 64, but has no intention of retiring. Nor has he any plans to leave Auxerre. "Why should I?" says the man who has been in Burgundy since 1961. "Some people have only one lady in their lives; I have only one club." Football is in Roux's veins. "I played from a very young age," recalls the man who admits that Sir Bobby Robson's enthusiasm for the game at 70 makes him dream, "but I was barely a teenager when I knew I wanted to be a manager. You see, I've always been quite bossy and organised."

Following two years coaching the Limoges juniors, Roux was offered the manager's job at then non-league Auxerre. The rest, as they say, is histoire, with the club having risen to become one of France's leading powers. "Our greatest moment," Roux says proudly, "was winning the league and cup double in 1996, but our best achievement is that we have survived in the top flight for 22 years, finishing in an average position of sixth." Better still has been the club's ability to produce players of the quality of Eric Cantona, Enzo Scifo or Djibril Cissé.

Impressive as those statistics may sound, though, they pale into insignificance when compared to Liverpool's four European Cups and the Uefa Cup two years ago. "Liverpool are in a different world to us," Roux admits, "and in many ways, we shouldn't even be on the same pitch." Roux is the master of the mind games, although they may be a little wasted on Houllier. The two have been friends for 30 years, but have become even closer since they recuperated together from their respective heart-attacks in the autumn of 2001 in the Corsican town of Porticcio.

"We are wonderful friends," Roux says, full of emotion, "and the 10 days we spent together last December made us, and our wives, even more tight-knit. Gérard is like a half-brother to me, and that's why it hurts me to see him being criticised. I know they have had a dip since November [when Liverpool were seven points clear at the top of the Premiership and had one foot in the next stage of the Champions' League], but people need to remember that when Gérard took over, Liverpool were a mid-table club going nowhere.

"Now, they are contenders thanks to his wise management, but also his investment in the future with the academy. Some people say he has rebuilt the club, but I disagree. I actually think he has built a new Liverpool: one for today and for the future."

Roux continues: "How can you think of Liverpool as anything but world class? When someone like Michael Owen is on his game, he is simply unstoppable. He is like Djibril [Cissé, Auxerre's highly-rated striker, who is likely to join Liverpool or Arsenal in the summer], only smaller and therefore even harder to contain."

Roux's loyalty towards Houllier is beyond question, but there will be no favours come Thursday. "Our friendship won't stop us from being enemies for two nights of our lives," he says. "It's actually quite beautiful that we are able to meet at this late stage of our careers. It will be a special occasion and I'm very excited." Have they spoken since the draw was made in December? "Of course," Roux exclaims, "several times, but we have never said a word about our match."

It is not just the managers who have an interesting history. The clubs, too, met in the same competition 11 years ago. Roux remembers the match well, if only for the way Liverpool played in the second leg. "We had beaten them 2-0 at our place," he says, "and then we went to Anfield, where they put on a real old-fashioned English display. Or should I say Scottish? Graeme Souness was the manager then, and he had quite clearly instructed his players to take Kalman Kovacs out as quickly as possible. The tackles were flying in left, right and centre, but the referee was weak and it was a nightmare game, which we lost 3-0. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but at least I can go back safe in the knowledge that Liverpool no longer play that kind of football."

Roux, who admits that he would have loved the chance to manage an English club, adds: "The Premier League is a very sophisticated place these days, where money has helped create a slick and Continental set-up. As for Liverpool, they are an excellent team with British spirit and French know-how, so they will be very difficult to beat."

Auxerre may be second favourites, but will draw encouragement from their meetings with Arsenal in the first group stage of the Champions' League when they lost 1-0 at home, but won 2-1 at Highbury. "The fact that we got a result in England will help the players," Roux admits, "but that was largely because they underestimated us. Gérard won't let his players make the same mistake."

That is particularly true since Houllier has an extremely old score to settle. The two managers met for the first time 31 years ago, when a Third Division team called Noeux-les-Mines ran their Second Division hosts very close in Auxerre before eventually losing 3-2 after extra-time. "Gérard has never forgiven me for that," Roux jokes, "so it might be time to give him a new setback to complain about."