Jamie Carragher says Gerard Houllier left Liverpool in better shape than when he found it.
Houllier faces his old club with Aston Villa on Monday.
Reds defender Carragher told liverpoolfc.tv: "Don't get me wrong - the players and Rafa, it was our team.
"But a lot of the players Gerard brought through played a major part in Istanbul. He's got to take some of the credit for that.
"Whenever a manager leaves it's because things haven't gone too well towards the end - it was the same with Rafa Benitez lately. But what Gerard left was winners in the team. He didn't inherit a team of winners.
"Even though the team wasn't doing too well, there were players in the squad who knew how to win trophies. Myself, Sami, Stevie, Michael, Didi, John Arne Riise. All these players had played in major finals. That made Rafa Benitez's job a bit easier coming in - he had players who knew how to win."
