Florent Sinama-Pongolle has spoken about a fiery coming-together of Steven Gerrard and El-Hadji Diouf.
The two had a notorious dislike for one another during a spell at Liverpool that would be ultimately ill-fated time at the club for Diouf.
Sinama-Pongolle was at the club when Diouf arrived at Anfield in 2002, and spoke of a friendly match that ended in a bust-up between the pair.
Gerrard v Diouf
“It was half-time of a pre-season game. There was a fight between Diouf and Gerrard. I was traumatised.
“Can you imagine the young ones seeing this and thinking that’s what professionals are like at that level?
“At half-time, in the dressing room. Stevie G is all like ‘you have to pass, you have to pass’ and [Diouf] just loses it.
“He didn’t speak English. His English was rubbish. You know what he did? They hated each other so much. Steven Gerrard arrives, he insults Diouf, saying: ‘Hey, you f*****’.
“And [Diouf] couldn’t answer, so he grabs Gerard Houllier and says: ‘Tell him, I’ll f*** his mum’. He came in and said: ‘I’m not his mate, I’ll do him in straight away’.”
Houllier
Gerrard paid a touching tribute to Gerard Houllier after his passing.
"Throughout your career, different people look after you and shape you," Gerrard said.
"I always try and take all the best bits from all the coaches and managers I worked with. It is impossible for me to add to the charisma, the care and the love that Gerard carried.
"This is not a guy who would focus solely on football and what you gave to him in terms of the relationship player-to-manager.
"This was someone who, at my age, wanted to change me as a human being into an elite professional, who wanted me to be a better person, who wanted me to really understand the tactics and the game in a different way and become an even better player and build all the other stuff around the talent I had at that age.
"I'll never forget that."
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