Liverpool Football Club Profile

Liverpool Football Club Facts

	Full Name:	Liverpool Football Club
	Nickname:	The Reds
	Founded:	March 15, 1892
	Colours:	Red
	Home Ground:	Anfield Stadium
	Manager:	Rafael Benitez
	Premier League Titles:	18
	FA Cup Titles:	7

Liverpool Football Club Profile

Liverpool F.C. is the most successful professional English football club in English football history having won a record 18 First Division titles and seven FA Cups as well as five European Cups - the English record. They have also won the League Cup a record seven times.

The football club did not feature much during the 90s, and it was only in 2001 that the team prospered again in the form of a cup treble win. In 2005 Liverpool F.C. won their 5th European Cup title, and the following year were purchased for a staggering £218.9 million in a deal between George Gillet and Tom Hicks.

Liverpool Football Club History

Founded in 1892 by John Houlding, they were originally to be called Everton F.C. or Athletic Grounds, Ltd., but when the FA refused to recognise the team under the Everton name,  they settled on the name Liverpool.

Although moderately successful in their early years, with election to the Football League alongside Woolwich Arsenal in 1894, the appointment of Bill Shankly as Liverpool coach in 1959 transformed the club into one of the best in Europe. In Shankly’s third season as coach, Liverpool won the Second Division championship and were promoted to the top flight where they have remained ever since, never finishing below eighth in the league.

After Shankly’s surprise retirement in 1974, Bob Paisley took over as coach and during the nine years of his reign Liverpool earned a total of 21 trophies, including three European Cups and three successive League Titles.

Paisley was replaced by 63-year-old Joe Fagan in 1983-1984 and during his first season in charge, Liverpool become the first English club to win three major trophies in a single season: the League title, the League Cup, and the European Cup.

In the following years, Liverpool had notable successes under player-manager Kenny Dalglish, Roy Evans, and Gerard Houllier with Houllier’s second full season in charge (2000-2001) one of Liverpool’s most successful seasons ever. Spaniard Rafael Benetez took over in 2004 and in his first season, Liverpool won their fifth European Cup in Istanbul after finishing fifth in the Premier League.

Anfield Stadium

Since 1892, when the Liverpool Football club was founded, the club has played at the same home ground - Anfield Stadium. Anfield was built in 1884 near Stanley Park where the new home of Liverpool F.C is scheduled to be built, Stanley Park Stadium was to be opening its doors in 2012, but due to the current financial climate, contruction has been delayed.

In 2004, Liverpool City Council granted the club planning permission to build a new 60,000 seat stadium 270 m away from Anfield at Stanley Park and in 2006 they granted Liverpool F.C. a 999-year lease. The proposed stadium was redesigned after George Gillett and Tom Hicks took ownership of the club in 2006 and in November 2007.

Surprisingly, Liverpool’s first match only saw 100 spectators even though the stadium could have held 20, 000 supporters. The capacity of Anfield is now 45,362, the stadium can hold 9 575 spectators at the main stand, 2 454 in the Paddock areas, 344 executive boxes and 80 handicapped zones, the Centenary stand holds the most at 11, 411 seats.

Supporters and Rivalries

Liverpool fans often refer to themselves as “Kopites” in reference to the Spion Kop stand at Anfield stadium. The anthem of Liverpool, sung since the early 1960s is “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, originally from Carousel - the musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein that was recorded by the pop/rock band Gerry & The Pacemakers who like their famous counterparts, The Beatles, were from Liverpool and dedicated fans themselves.

The oldest traditional rival of Liverpool is Everton with this rivalry dating back to 1892 after the dispute between Everton officials and John Houlding who owned the ground.

These teams contest the Merseyside derby which is usually sold-out and is renowned for having more red cards than any other fixture in Premiership history. Liverpool and Manchester United are also close rivals, largely due to the success of the two clubs and the geographical proximity of Manchester and Liverpool.