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, Liverpool
Manager: Rafael Benetez
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.
Although they experienced a lean period during the 90s, they enjoyed a revival in 2001, winning a cup treble followed by the club’s fifth European Cup in 2005. In 2006-07, American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks became the owners of Liverpool F.C. in a £218.9 million deal.
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 as Everton 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
Liverpool have had the same home ground, Anfield, since the formation of the club in 1892. Anfield was built in 1884 on land adjacent to Stanley Park, and was originally inhabited by Everton who left the ground in 1892 over a rent dispute with the owner of Anfield, John Houlding.
Although the stadium capacity was 20,000, only 100 spectators attended Liverpool’s first match at Anfield. The capacity of Anfield is now 45,362 after the complete rebuilding of several stands including Spion Kop and Anfield Stand.
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. Construction of the new stadium is expected to be completed in 2011.
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 the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel and famously recorded by Liverpool musicians Gerry & The Pacemakers.
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.
