Full name | Liverpool Football Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nickname(s) | The Reds, The Red Side | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Founded | 1892 (by John Houlding) |
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Ground | Anfield Liverpool, England (Capacity: 45,362) |
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Chairman | ![]() ![]() |
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Manager | ![]() |
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League | Premier League | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2007–08 | Premier League, 4th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Liverpool Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Liverpool, England. Liverpool play in the Premier League, and are the most successful club in the history of English football, having won more trophies than any other English club. They have won a record 18 First Division titles, and seven League Cups. Liverpool have won five European Cups, which is an English record. They have also won the FA Cup seven times.
The club were founded in 1892, though they had limited success until the appointment of Bill Shankly as manager. Under Shankly, Liverpool won three League Championship titles, two FA Cups and the club's first European trophy the UEFA Cup. During the past 30 years they have been one of the most successful clubs in English and European football, winning four European Cups from between 1977 and 1984. The club experienced a lean period during the 1990s, but enjoyed a revival following the advent of the millennium winning a cup treble in 2001, and the club's fifth European Cup in 2005.
The club's traditional colours were red and white, however this was changed to all red in the 1960s. Likewise the club's crest has evolved throughout their history, with flames being added to the crest following the Hillsborough Disaster to honour the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives in the disaster. At the Heysel Stadium Disaster, 39 Juventus fans died when a wall collapsed after crowd trouble in the 1985 European Cup Final.
Liverpool have played at Anfield since their formation, although there are plans to move to a new stadium in Stanley Park, which is due to be completed by 2011. Liverpool have a large and diverse fan base, who hold a string of long-standing rivalries with several other clubs; the most notable of these is their rivalry with Manchester United, due to the success of both clubs, as well as their proximity to each other. They also have a rivalry with city neighbours Everton, with whom they regularly contest the Merseyside derby.
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Liverpool were founded out of a dispute between Everton and John Houlding the leaseholder of Anfield, over rent. Houlding purchased Anfield outright in 1891, proposing an increase in the rent from £100 to £250 per year. Everton who had been playing at Anfield for seven years refused to meet his demands and moved to a new stadium in Goodison Park.[1] Liverpool F.C. were founded by Houlding on 15 March 1892 to play at the vacated Anfield. The original name was to be Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds, Ltd., or Everton Athletic for short, but it was changed to Liverpool F.C. when The Football Association refused to recognise the team as Everton.[2]
The club won the Lancashire League in their first season, and successfully applied to join the Second Division for the following season. They subsequently won the league to move into the First Division. They won their first title in 1900–01, and were champions again in 1905–06. They reached their first FA Cup final in 1914, losing 1–0 to Burnley. The club won back-to-back championships in 1921–22 and 1922–23, following this the club did not win another trophy until 1946–47 when they won the League for a fifth time. Liverpool struggled following this success, suffering relegation to the Second Division in the 1953–54 season.[3]
Liverpool floundered until the appointment of Bill Shankly as manager in 1959. Upon his appointment he released 24 players and began to reshape the squad.[4] Promotion to the First Division was achieved in 1961–62, winning the title for the first time in 17 years in 1963–64. Another League title followed in 1965–66, after the club had won their first FA Cup the previous season. The League and UEFA Cup were won in 1972–73, and a year later after winning the FA Cup again, Shankly retired to be replaced by his assistant Bob Paisley.[5] Paisley was even more successful than Shankly winning the League and UEFA Cup in 1975–76 his second season in charge. The following season they retained their League title, won the European Cup for the first time, and lost in the FA Cup final narrowly missing out on a "Treble". Liverpool retained the European Cup the next season, and the season after won the League again setting a domestic record of 68 points, conceding only 16 goals in 42 matches.[6] During the nine seasons Paisley managed the club, Liverpool won a total of 21 trophies, including three European Cups, a UEFA Cup, six league titles and three consecutive League Cups. The only domestic trophy to elude him was the FA Cup.[7]
Paisley retired in 1983 and like Shankly before him, Paisley handed the reins to his assistant, veteran coach Joe Fagan. The succession of coaches came from the Anfield Boot Room where the Liverpool staff discussed strategy and allegedly stored gin.[8] Liverpool won three trophies in Fagan's first season in charge: the League, League Cup and European Cup, becoming the first English side to win three trophies in a season.[9] Liverpool reached the European Cup final again in 1985. The match was against Juvenus at the Heysel Stadium before kick-off, disaster struck. Liverpool fans breached a fence separating the two groups of supporters and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a retaining wall to collapse, killing 39 fans, mostly Italians. The match was played regardless and Liverpool lost 1–0 to Juventus. English clubs were consequently banned from participating in European competition for five years, with Liverpool receiving a ban for ten years, which was later reduced to six. Fourteen of their fans received convictions for involuntary manslaughter.[10]
Fagan resigned following the disaster and Kenny Dalglish was appointed as player-manager.[11][12] His reign saw the club win another three League Championships and two FA Cups including a League and Cup "Double" in 1985–86. However, Liverpool's successes were overshadowed by the Hillsborough Disaster. On 15 April 1989, when Liverpool were playing Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup semi-final, hundreds of Liverpool fans were crushed against perimeter fencing.[13] 94 fans died that day; the 95th victim died in hospital from his injuries four days later and the 96th nearly four years later having never regained consciousness. After the Hillsborough tragedy there was a governmental review of stadium safety. Known as the Taylor Report, it paved the way for legislation requiring all-seater stadiums in the top-flight. The report ruled that the main reasons for the disaster were overcrowding due to a failure of police control.[14][15] Dalglish resigned in 1991 citing the fallout from Hillsbrough as the reason, he was replaced by former player Graeme Souness. Apart from winning the FA Cup in 1992, Souness achieved little success and was replaced by a former member of the "Boot Room" Roy Evans. Evans fared little better, a League Cup victory in 1995 was his only trophy. Gérard Houllier was appointed as co-manager in 1998–99, however Evans resigned in November 1998 leaving Houllier in sole charge.[16]
In his second season in charge Houllier won a unique "Treble" of FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.[17] The following season Liverpool finished second behind Arsenal, with Houllier undergoing major heart surgery part way through.[18] The following season failed to live up to expectations and Houllier was replaced by Rafael Benítez. The club finished fifth in his first season in charge but won the UEFA Champions League beating Milan 3–2 in a penalty shootout after the match finished 3–3.[19] The following season Liverpool finished third with 82 points their highest points total since 1988, they won the FA Cup in similar circumstances to their Champions League victory the previous season, beating West Ham United in another penalty shootout after the match finished at 3–3. In 2006–07, the club's search for investment came to an end when American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks became the owners of Liverpool in a deal valuing the club and its outstanding debts at £218.9 million.[20] That season, the club reached another Champions League final, but this time lost 2–1 to Milan.[21]
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Liverpool's original home colours (1892–1894) |
Liverpool's traditional colours are red and white, with the home kit having been all red since the mid 1960s. However, it was not always this way. In the early days, when the club took over Anfield from Everton, they used the Toffees' colours of blue and white, wearing a kit almost identical to that worn by the Everton team of the time. By 1894 Liverpool had adopted the colour of red, and in 1901 the city's liver bird was adopted as the club badge.[22] For the next 60 years Liverpool's kit was red shirts with white shorts, socks alternated over the years from red, to black, to white, and back to red again.
In 1964, then Liverpool manager Bill Shankly decided to send the team out in all red for the first time against Anderlecht, as Ian St. John recalled in his autobiography:
“ | He thought the colour scheme would carry psychological impact—red for danger, red for power. He came into the dressing room one day and threw a pair of red shorts to Ronnie Yeats. “Get into those shorts and let’s see how you look,” he said. “Christ, Ronnie, you look awesome, terrifying. You look 7ft tall.” “Why not go the whole hog, boss?” I suggested. “Why not wear red socks? Let’s go out all in red.” Shankly approved and an iconic kit was born.[23] | ” |
Liverpool's away colours are traditionally either white shirts and black shorts or all yellow. However, in 1987 an all grey kit was introduced, which remained grey until the centenary season of 1991–92, when it was replaced by a combination of green shirts and white shorts. After various colour combinations in the 1990s, including gold and navy, bright yellow, black and grey, and ecru, the club alternated between yellow and white away kits until the 2008–09 season when they re-introduced the grey kit.[24] The current kits are designed by adidas,[25] who also made the club's kits between 1985 and 1996. The only other branded shirts worn by the club were made by Umbro up until 1985, and Reebok for ten seasons from 1996.[26] The current away kit is the same grey kit that they wore last time they won the league. There is also a third kit consisting of a turquoise top and black shorts, designed primarily for Champions League away games, but is also used for any domestic games where both red and grey would clash.[27]
Liverpool were the first British professional club to wear a sponsor's logo on their shirts,[28] agreeing a deal with Hitachi in 1979. In the years since, the club has had relatively little variation in sponsorship deals, linking up with Crown Paints and Candy before signing their current deal with Carlsberg in 1992—a deal which is the longest-standing current agreement in English top-flight football.[29] The current Liverpool badge is based around the city's liver bird, which is placed inside a shield. Above the shield is a representation of the Shankly Gates bearing the title of club's famous anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone". The twin flames at either side are symbolic of the Hillsborough memorial, where an eternal flame burns outside Anfield, in memory of those who died in the disaster.[30]
Liverpool have played at their current ground, Anfield, since they were founded in 1892. Anfield was built in 1884 on land adjacent to Stanley Park, and was originally inhabited by Everton.[31] They left the ground in 1892 over a dispute about rent with the owner of Anfield, John Houlding, who decided to form a new club to play at the ground. The capacity of the stadium was 20,000, however only 100 spectators attended Liverpool's first match at Anfield.[32]
In 1906, the banked stand at one end of the ground was formally renamed the Spion Kop,[33] after a hill in Natal. The hill was the site of the Battle of Spion Kop in the Second Boer War, where over 300 men of the Lancashire Regiment died, many of whom were from Liverpool.[34] At its largest, the stand could hold 28,000 spectators, and was one of the largest single tier stands in the world. The stand was considerably reduced in capacity due to safety measures brought in following the Hillsborough Disaster. It was completely rebuilt as an all seater stand in 1994, with reduced a capacity of 12,390, and remaining a single tier stand.[32]
The Anfield Road stand is positioned at the opposite end to the Kop, and houses the away fans. It is the newest stand at Anfield having been rebuilt in 1998 with a capacity of 9,074. The two stands adjacent to these are the Main Stand, with a capacity of 12,227; and the Centenary Stand, which has a capacity of 11,762. The Main Stand is the oldest part of Anfield, having remained largely untouched since its redevelopment in 1973. It houses the players' changing rooms and the director's box, with the dug-outs in front of the stand. The Centenary Stand was previously known as the Kemlyn Road Stand until it was rebuilt for the club's centenary in 1992. The redevelopment saw the houses in Kemlyn Road demolished and the address become non-existent. The current overall capacity of the stadium is 45,362 and it is rated as a four Star Stadium in the UEFA Stadia List.[35]
On 30 July 2004, Liverpool City Council granted the club planning permission to build a new 60,000 seat stadium just 300 yards (270 m) away from Anfield at Stanley Park,[36] and on 8 September 2006 Liverpool City Council agreed to grant Liverpool F.C. a 999-year lease of land on the proposed site.[37] Following the takeover of the club in February 2007 by George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks there was a re-design of the proposed stadium. In November 2007, the new design was approved by the council with construction due to start in spring 2008.[38] The new stadium is being built by HKS, Inc. and is expected to be completed in 2011.[39] Melwood, in West Derby, Liverpool, is home to Liverpool's training ground, it is not attached to The Academy, which is in Kirkby. Melwood is based in the West Derby area of Liverpool and has been their home since the 1950s. The ground previously belonged to St Francis Xavier, a local school.[40]
Liverpool have a large and generally loyal fanbase, with virtually all home matches selling out; in 2006–07 Liverpool had the fourth-highest average League attendance for an English club; 43,561, which was 99.7% of available capacity,[41] and the second-highest all-time average attendance.[42] Liverpool fans often refer to themselves as "Kopites", which is a reference to the fans who once stood, and now sit, on the Kop at Anfield.[43]
The song "You'll Never Walk Alone", originally from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel and famously recorded by Liverpool musicians Gerry & The Pacemakers, is the anthem of the club, and has been sung by the Anfield crowd since the early-1960s. The song has since gained popularity among fans of other clubs around the world. Claims that "You'll Never Walk Alone" was first sung by fans at other clubs have been dismissed as very unlikely.[44] The song's title adorns the top of the Shankly Gates, which were unveiled on 2 August 1982 in memory of former manager, Bill Shankly. The "You'll Never Walk Alone" portion of the Shankly Gates is also reproduced in the the club's crest.
Liverpool's longest standing rivalry is with fellow Merseyside team Everton, against whom they contest the Merseyside derby. This stems from Liverpool's formation after a dispute with Everton officials and the owners of Anfield, which was the ground Everton were using at the time. Religious differences have been cited as a division, though both teams stem from a Methodist origin, undermining the notion of a Catholic–Protestant split.[45] The Merseyside derby is usually a sell out fixture and tends to be a scrappy affair; it has had more red cards than any other fixture in Premier League history.[46] Liverpool also have a significant rivalry with north-west neighbours Manchester United. This is mostly due to the success enjoyed by the two clubs and the geographical proximity of the two cities.[47] The rivalry is so intense that the last player to be transferred between the two clubs was Phil Chisnall in 1964, when he moved to Liverpool from United.[48]
Liverpool's fans are associated with hooliganism, stemming from the Heysel stadium disaster, in which 39 Juventus fans were killed by a wall collapsing. The fans were penned into a corner by Liverpool fans charging in their direction, the sheer numbers of fans cornered caused the wall to collapse. After the final UEFA laid the blame for the incident solely on the fans of Liverpool. English clubs were banned from European competition for five years, with Liverpool serving an extra five years. Liverpool fans have been involved in a human tragedy, during an FA Cup semi-final in 1989 between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, 96 Liverpool fans died due to overcrowding in what became known as the Hillsborough Disaster. The Sun newspaper decided to publish an article entitled “The Truth”, in which it claimed that Liverpool fans had robbed and urinated on the dead and had attacked the police. Subsequent investigations and evidence were to prove these allegations to be false. Many organisations were set up as a result of the disaster, such as the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, which represents bereaved families, survivors and supporters campaigning for justice for the 96 people who died in Sheffield on 15 April 1989.[49]
Liverpool is owned by George Gillett and Tom Hicks, who acquired the club on 6 February 2007, from previous chairman David Moores. The deal valued the club and its outstanding debts at £218.9 million. The pair paid £5,000 per share, or £174.1m for the total shareholding in the club, and £44.8m to cover the club's debts.[50] Tensions between the Americans and their lack of support from the fans has precipitated rumours that Dubai International Capital (DIC), who were looking to buy the club before Hicks and Gillett took over, would bid for the club.[51] Another group Share Liverpool FC also expressed an interest in purchasing the club, offering to pay £500m for the club, with 100,000 fans paying £5,000 each for a club share, though they have been unable to raise the required capital to make an offer for the club.[52]
In April 2008, business magazine Forbes ranked Liverpool as the fourth most valuable football team in the world, after Manchester United, Real Madrid and Arsenal valuing the club at $1.0bn (£605m), excluding debt.[53] Accountants Deloitte rate Liverpool eighth in the 2008 Deloitte Football Money League, a ranking of the world's football clubs in terms of revenue, with the club earning £133.9m in the 2006–07 season, moving up from tenth the previous season.[54]
As one of the most successful teams in the country, Liverpool have often featured when football is depicted in British culture and have appeared in a number of media "firsts". The club featured in the first edition of the BBC's Match of the Day, which screened highlights of their match against Arsenal at Anfield on 22 August 1964. They were also the subject of television's first colour football transmission, which showed their match against West Ham United live.[55] Liverpool fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" were featured in the Pink Floyd song, "Fearless".[56] Liverpool produced a song known as the "Anfield Rap" in 1988. The rap was the club's FA Cup anthem for the final with Wimbledon. It featured John Barnes performing a rap with other members of the squad participating.[57]
A documentary drama on the Hillsborough Disaster written by Jimmy McGovern was screened in 1996. It featured Christopher Eccleston as Trevor Hicks, whose story formed the focus of the script. Hicks lost two teenage daughters in the disaster and went on to campaign for safer stadia, as well as helping form the Hillsborough Families Support Group.[58] Liverpool is featured in the film, The 51st State (also known as Formula 51). Ex-hitman Felix DeSouza (Robert Carlyle), is an avid fan of the team and the last scene of the film takes place at the Liverpool vs. Manchester United match.[59] The club was featured in a children's television show called Scully with the plot revolving around a young boy named Francis Scully trying to win a trial with Liverpool. The show featured many of the prominent Liverpool players of the time such as Kenny Dalglish.[60]
Liverpool's first competitive game was in the Lancashire League against Higher Walton. The match was won 8–0, with a mostly Scottish team.[61] Ian Callaghan holds Liverpool's appearance record, having made 857 over the course of 19 seasons from 1958 to 1978.[62] He also holds the record for League appearances with 640.[35] Of the current squad Jamie Carragher has the most appearances with 500 as of 15 January 2008.
Liverpool's all time leading scorer is Ian Rush, who scored 346 goals in two spells at the club from 1980 to 1987 and 1988 to 1996.[62] Rush holds the record for the most goals in a season with 47 in 1983–84. However, during his career, Rush could not surpass the league goal-scoring record of Roger Hunt, which has stood at 245 since 1970.[35] In the 1961–62 season, Hunt scored 41 goals, setting the club record for league goals in a single season.[35] Gordon Hodgson is the club's third highest scorer with 240 goals,[62] and holds the club record of 17 hat tricks.[63] The most goals scored by a player in a single match is five, which has been achieved by John Miller, Andy McGuigan, John Evans, Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler.[64] Fowler also holds the club and Premier League record for the fastest hat trick from, scoring three goals against Arsenal in four minutes, 32 seconds in the 1994–95 season.[65] Steven Gerrard is Liverpool's all-time leading goalscorer in European competition with 29 goals.[66]
Liverpool's biggest victory is 11–0 against Strømsgodset IF in 1974, in which nine of the ten outfield players scored.[35] Rotherham Town were the victims of Liverpool's biggest league win, losing 10–1 in 1896.[35] This margin of victory was matched in the modern era, as Crystal Palace were defeated 9–0 at Anfield in 1989.[67] Liverpool's heaviest defeats were against Huddersfield Town in 1935 which finished 0–8, and Birmingham City in 1954 which ended 1–9.[35] Liverpool's 8–0 victory on 6 November 2007 against Beşiktaş J.K. in the Champions League is the record win in the competition.[68]
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There have been 17 permanent and one caretaker managers of Liverpool since the appointment of the club's first professional manager's, W.E. Barclay and John McKenna in 1892. The longest-running manager in terms of time was Tom Watson, he managed Liverpool from 1896 to 1915, totalling 19 years. The longest-running in terms of games was Bill Shankly, who managed the club in 783 games during his tenure. Kenny Dalglish was the first player-manager in English football, when he was appointed as manager in 1985. Bob Paisley is Liverpool's most successful, winning a total of 19 trophies during his tenure as manager.[71]
Position | Name | Nationality |
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Manager | Rafael Benítez | ![]() |
Assistant manager | Sammy Lee | ![]() |
First team coach | Mauricio Pellegrino | ![]() |
Reserve team coach | Gary Ablett | ![]() |
Goalkeeping coach | Xavi Valero | ![]() |
Fitness Coach | Paco de Miguel | ![]() |
Physiotherapist | Rob Price | ![]() |
Chief Scout | Eduardo Macia | ![]() |
Liverpool have won the English League Championship a record 18 times.[72] They have also won the FA Cup and League Cup seven times, holding the record number of wins for the latter. The club achieved one League and FA Cup "Double in 1986, and have won the League and European Cup double twice in 1977 and 1984. They also won the League Cup in 1984 to complete a unique "Treble", a feat they repeated in 2001 albeit with different trophies when they won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.[73] Liverpool have won the European Cup, Europe's primary club competition five times, which is an English record. They are third on the overall list behind Real Madrid and Milan. The club's fifth triumph meant that they won the trophy outright and were awarded the UEFA Badge of Honour.[74] They have won the UEFA Cup, Europe's secondary club competition, three times, which is a joint record they share with Juventus and Internazionale.[75]
Liverpool Football Club
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Premier League 2008–09
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Premier League seasons
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