Soccer: Houllier off ventilator after surgery

Liverpool soccer manager Gerard Houllier has been taken off a ventilator after 11 hours of emergency surgery to cure a heart problem.

The 54-year-old Frenchman was taken to hospital complaining of chest pains at halftime during Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Leeds United on Sunday.

A club statement said Houllier was breathing unaided. Liverpool stressed that Houllier, who led the team to five titles in six months between February and the end of August, did not suffer a heart attack.

Tests showed he was suffering from a condition known as dissection of the aorta, one of the most painful and dangerous afflictions known to medicine. It requires emergency surgery of the highest skill and even then more than one-third of patients die.

Houllier was listed in a satisfactory condition and more tests will be carried to ensure the operation was a success. Phil Thompson, Houllier's assistant, is in charge of the team.