Liverpool F.C.
| Liverpool emblem | |||
| Full name | Liverpool Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Reds | ||
| Founded | 1892 | ||
| Ground | Anfield, Liverpool | ||
| Capacity | 45,362 | ||
| Chairman |  David Moores | ||
| Manager | Spanish Rafael Benítez | ||
| League | FA Premier League | ||
| 2004-05 | FA Premier League 5th | ||
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Liverpool Football Club (usually known simply as Liverpool) is an English football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside; the current champions of Europe, they are also statistically the most successful English football team to date. Since being founded in 1892, Liverpool is the only English team to have won the Champions League five times. The club also has 18 Football League titles to its name, as well as being the English club to have won the most number of UEFA Cups, European Supercups and English League Cups. Despite having won the most number of Football League titles, the club have yet to win the FA Premier League since its first season in 1992/3. The club's home ground is the 45,362 capacity Anfield stadium, which is about three miles from the centre of Liverpool.
The club was founded on March 15 1892 by John Houlding, the owner of Anfield. Houlding decided to form his own team after Everton left Anfield in an argument over rent. The original name was to be Everton F.C. but was changed to Liverpool F.C. (after the F.A. refused to recognise the team as Everton). Liverpool were elected to the Football League alongside Woolwich Arsenal two years later.
The club was present at two of the biggest tragedies in European football — at Heysel in 1985 and Hillsborough in 1989. After Heysel, English clubs were withdrawn from European competition for a period of five years, six in the case of Liverpool.
Liverpool Football Club is not to be confused with Liverpool (Rugby) Football Club which was formed in 1858 and is now known as Liverpool St. Helens.
History
Main article: History of Liverpool F.C.
Early Successes
In 1901 Scottish international Alex Raisbeck was the first Liverpool captain to collect the Football League Championship. Liverpool were league champions again in 1906.
On April 25 1914, Liverpool made their first appearance in the FA Cup final at Crystal Palace but lost 1-0 to Burnley. In 1922, and again in 1923, captained by England full back Ephraim Longworth, Liverpool won the league. In 1946-7, the first season after World War 2, Liverpool were surprise league champions. Over a decade of mediocrity was to follow.
The Bill Shankly Revolution
Bill Shankly became Liverpool manager in 1959 and over the next 15 years he transformed them into one of the finest club sides in Europe. In his third season as manager they 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. In 1964, Liverpool lifted the league championship. They failed to retain the championship trophy the following season but compensation came in the form of a first-ever FA Cup. A year later Liverpool regained their championship crown. By now Shankly was one of the most highly rated managers in the game, and his squad contained some of the finest players in England - Roger Hunt, Ian St John and Ron Yeats to name but a few. Liverpool made their first impact on the European game in 1973 with a UEFA Cup triumph, as well as winning another league title that season. They won the FA Cup again a year later, but Shankly stunned the footballing world soon afterwards by announcing his retirement. The club's players and fans tried to persuade him to carry on, and a local factory even threatened to go on strike. Shankly ignored these pleas and joined the club's fans on The Kop as a spectator, while he handed over his managerial duties to Bob Paisley.
Bob Paisley: The Greatest Glory Days
Bob Paisley was manager of Liverpool F.C. from 1974 until 1983, and during those nine years he became one of the greatest managers ever to take charge of an English club. He won a total of 21 trophies, including three European Cups and three successive league titles, during his spell as manager and ended his career on a high with the league championship and League Cup double. Under Paisley, a new era of stars emerged. They included Graeme Souness, Ian Rush, Alan Hansen and arguably the greatest player to ever wear Liverpool colours, Kenny Dalglish who is also a Celtic legend.
Joe Fagan: Brief but Glorious
Veteran coach Joe Fagan moved up to the manager's seat on Paisley's retirement, and his first season at the helm saw 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.
Fagan's second season as manager was his last - and it had a traumatic ending. Having lost to neighbours Everton in the race for the league title, Fagan decided to retire and wanted to go out on a high with the European Cup. The Reds had a rare trophyless season as they lost 1-0 to Juventus in the European Cup Final at Heysel Stadium in Brussels. But the disappointment of the defeat was irrelevant, as 39 spectators - nearly all Juventus fans - were crushed to death during crowd trouble before the kick off. Some Liverpool fans were later convicted on manslaughter charges relating to the tragedy. The sequel of the tragedy was a 5-year ban on English clubs in European football, while Liverpool had to serve an extra year once all other English clubs were readmitted.
Kenny Dalglish: Success in Exile
Fagan handed over the reins to striker Kenny Dalglish, who had established himself as a world class player and now wanted to prove himself as a top manager. His first season in charge - 1985-86 - could not have been better, as the Reds fought off competition from Everton, West Ham United and Manchester United to win the league title. They also beat neighbours Everton 3-1 in the F.A Cup final to become only the third team to win the league championship/F.A Cup double in the 20th century.
1986-87 was trophyless as Dalglish's men finished league runners-up to Everton and lost to Arsenal in the League Cup final. There were fears that Liverpool's glory days were over when striker Ian Rush was sold to Juventus in a £3.2million deal, but his £750,000 successor John Aldridge silenced the critics by topping the club's goalscoring charts in the 1987-88 season and inspiring the Reds to another championship success - this time achieved with just two defeats all season. New winger John Barnes was credited with the Player of the Year Award. The downside of the season was a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of Wimbledon in the F.A Cup final. Liverpool had by this stage been one of England's strongest sides for more than 20 years. Wimbledon, meanwhile, had been First Division members for just two seasons and had only joined the league 11 years earlier.
Liverpool came close to repeating the double once more in 1988-89. They lifted the F.A Cup with another victory over Everton in the final, but the league title slipped out of their grasp in the last minute of their last game of the season at home to Arsenal. A last minute goal from Arsenal's Michael Thomas (who later joined Liverpool) gave the league title to the visitors because they had a superior goal difference. But the season was overshadowed by the Hillsborough Stadium tragedy which had struck the club in the F.A Cup semi-final. Hundreds of Liverpool fans were trampled on the terraces at Hillsborough. 94 fans died that day and 95th fan died in hospital from his injuries four days later. A 96th fan died nearly four years later having never regained consciousness.
Ian Rush had rejoined Liverpool after one miserable season with Juventus, and scored twice in the 1989 FA Cup final. He helped them win their 18th league title in 1989-90, but nobody could have guessed at the time that it would be their last championship success to date. Liverpool have had some glorious moments during the years that followed the 1990 title glory, but life at Anfield has never been the same without the championship trophy in the club's boardroom.
Graeme Souness: FA Cup winners
Kenny Dalglish stunned the football world by resigning as Liverpool manager in February 1991. His Liverpool side looked well placed to win the domestic double, but he quit the club and blamed the pressures of management for his decision to leave. Long-serving coach Ronnie Moran spent two months in temporary charge of the team, but by the time his successor Graeme Souness arrived the league title and F.A. Cup had been whisked away by Arsenal and Tottenham respectively.
Souness had captained Liverpool during the glorious 1980s before taking the Rangers manager's job in 1986, and had brought a host of titles to Ibrox. But his only success as manager at Liverpool came with the FA Cup in 1992, and he was finally ousted in January 1994, parting by mutual consent, after a shock FA Cup defeat at home to Bristol City and three years of reckless spending on players who often failed to live up to expectations. Ian Rush was now the only player remaining from the Paisley era, and the current squad was mostly made up of unfashionable players who just a few seasons earlier would never have pulled on a red jersey. However, there was a promising young striker emerging in the shape of 18-year-old Robbie Fowler.
Roy Evans: The Nearly Men
Boot room veteran Roy Evans took over from Souness, and in his first full season (1994-95) they finished fourth in the Premiership and won the League Cup. Liverpool continued to progress the following season, being within a shout of the domestic double right up to the final few weeks of the season. But they finished third in the Premiership behind champions Manchester United and runners-up Newcastle, and lost 1-0 to Man United in the FA Cup final. Still, Liverpool were recognised as a top team once again, and were starting to attract top players once more. The club's youth system had produced two excellent players in Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman, and including Jamie Redknapp and Stan Collymore (all of whom went on to play for England), looked to be the most potent attacking force in the Premier League in the mid-late 1990s.
Liverpool led the Premiership at several stages during the 1996-97 season, but in the end they finished fourth and had to settle for a UEFA Cup place. They had been hoping to win the Cup Winners Cup for the first time, but defeat at the hands of Paris St Germain in the semi finals put paid to these hopes.
1997-98 saw Liverpool finish third in the Premiership, but the big news of the season was the emergence of brilliant young striker Michael Owen - the Premiership's equal top scorer with 18 goals who became the youngest full England international at the time and also won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award.
Gérard Houllier: Cup Kings
The Liverpool directors brought in Frenchman Gérard Houllier to work alongside Roy Evans for the 1998-99 season after Houllier had gained fame as the Technical Director of France's World Cup winning side in 1998. Evans quit in November after failing to settle into the partnership. The Reds finished eighth in the Premiership - their lowest finish since 1994 - and failed to qualify for the UEFA Cup despite Robbie Fowler's return from injury and Michael Owen's continued impressive showings. But 1999-2000 was a bit better, as Liverpool finished fourth and qualified for the UEFA Cup. They would have qualified for the Champions League had it not been for a 1-0 defeat at Bradford on the final day of the season.
2000-01 was Liverpool's best season for many years. The likes of Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard and Sami Hyypia contributed to an excellent season in which the Reds finished third in the Premiership (thus qualifying for the Champions League) as well as completing a unique treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup, followed by the FA Community Shield and European Super Cup later in 2001. Houllier at last won the faith of the club's fans, who were delighted at this triumph.
Liverpool finished Premiership runners-up in 2001-02, their best league finish since 1991, but suffered a humiliating defeat in the League Cup Third Round at the hands of Grimsby Town.
Houllier guided Liverpool to another League Cup triumph in 2003, but, at the end of the 2003-2004 season, Houllier became the first manager in the history of the club to be sacked, for failing to deliver the premiership title, and, ultimately, because the gap between the champions Arsenal and Liverpool that season was too large to be overlooked (30 points). This was despite having spent large sums of money on players who failed to live up to the potential that Houllier expected of them.
Rafael Benítez: Back on top of Europe
Spaniard Rafael Benítez took over from Houllier, but erratic league form put paid to their Premiership title hopes, in which Liverpool eventually finished fifth. However, the season had a glorious ending at the European Cup final in Istanbul. After eliminating hot favourites Juventus in the quarter finals and English rivals Chelsea F.C. in the semis, the Reds met Italian side AC Milan in the final. Liverpool, having trailed 0-3 at half time, scored three goals in a vibrant second half forcing extra time and then a penalty shoot out, which Liverpool won.
As the UEFA Champions League 2005 winners, Liverpool earned the right to represent UEFA in the FIFA Club World Championship 2005 held in Japan. Liverpool joined the competition at the semi-final stage, courtesy of a bye. The semi-final was played against Deportivo Saprissa, which Liverpool won 3-0 with the goals coming from Peter Crouch (2) and Steven Gerrard. Liverpool's opponent in the final were to be São Paulo. The game was decided by a single goal scored by São Paulo midfielder Mineiro.
On 27 January 2006, Benítez pleased the vast majority of Liverpool FC fans and re-signed the prominent former striker Robbie Fowler. He was signed on a free transfer from Manchester City until the end of the season, when an extension to his contract will be considered.
The Reds will soon be looking to mount a title challenge, although their chances for 2005-06 have been virtually ended by Chelsea's efficient form under Jose Mourinho. Benitez and his players will be looking to play their best football so far during 2006-07 in hope of ending the championship trophy's 17-year absence from Anfield.
On 18 February 2006, Benitez's side broke an 85-year jinx by beating Manchester United 1-0 in an F.A. Cup match at Anfield, their first victory over their arch-rivals in the competition since 1921.
New Stadium
On July 30 2004, Liverpool City Council granted the club planning permission to build a new 60,000 seat stadium, nearby at Stanley Park. Despite pressure from Governmental and funding bodies, Liverpool refused to share the new ground with their local rivals Everton and "final" talks on a groundshare failed in January 2005. At that time the club was hoping to start construction in summer 2005 and open the ground in 2007, but finance has not yet been obtained and the likely completion date is not currently known. The old stadium will become a public plaza surrounded by apartments, offices, bars, restaurants and a hotel, and possibly including a memorial garden. Treatment of the old stadium requires sensitivity as a number of deceased fans have had their ashes officially scattered on the pitch over the years.
Honours
- Football League 18¹
- 1901, 1906, 1922, 1923, 1947, 1964, 1966, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990
- Football League Second Division 4
- 1894, 1896, 1905, 1962
- Lancashire League 1
- 1893
- UEFA Champions League 5¹
- 1977 3-1 vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach
- 1978 1-0 vs. Club Brugge
- 1981 1-0 vs. Real Madrid
- 1984 1-1 (4-2 in penalty shootout) vs. AS Roma
- 2005 3-3 (3-2 in penalty shootout) vs. AC Milan
- UEFA Cup 3¹
- 1973, 1976, 2001
- FA Cup 6
- 1965, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1992, 2001
- FA Youth Cup 1
- 1996
- League Cup 7¹
- 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2001, 2003
- FA Community Shield 14
- 1964², 1965², 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977², 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986², 1988, 1989, 1990, 2001
- European Super Cup 3¹
- 1977, 2001, 2005
- Super Cup 1
- 1986
- Reserves Division One 16
- 1957, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1990, 2000
¹ More than any other English club
² Title shared
Miscellaneous Facts and Figures
Match statistics
- Liverpool's first ever competitive game was in the Lancashire League against Higher Walton. They won 8-0. Their side did not have one English player.
- FA Cup debut: September 1892 4-0 v Nantwich
- League debut: 2-0 v Middlesbrough Ironopolis F.C. on 2 September 1893 (Division 2)
- First Honour: in the 1893/94 season they became the Second Division champions.
- Liverpool played against Blackburn Rovers F.C. on September 5 1896. Rovers won 1-0, but six goals were disallowed during this game.
- December 1909 Newcastle United led 5-2 at Anfield, but the reds rallied to win 6-5.
- In 1910 Liverpool won the first match at Old Trafford beating Manchester United 4-3.
- Biggest defeat: 0-8 v Huddersfield in 1935 and 1-9 Birmingham City F.C. on 11 December 1954 in Football League Division 2.
- Roger Hunt has the most league goals for one season - in the 1961/62 season he scored 41 goals.
- First European match: on August 17 1964 they played against KR Reykjavik, Iceland, for the European Cup, and won 5-0 away.
- Only 14 first team players were used in the 1965/66 season, when Liverpool won the League.
- Biggest win: 11-0 v Strømsgodset I.F. on September 17 1974.
- Ian Rush holds the record in Liverpool FC for most goals in all competitions for one season - he scored 47 goals in the 1983/84 season.
- Biggest league win: 9-0 v Crystal Palace F.C. on September 12 1989.
- Only four people have scored 5 goals in one match. These are:
- Andy McGuigan, 1901/02
- John Evans, 1954/55
- Ian Rush, 1983/84
- Robbie Fowler, 1993/94
- Most career hat tricks: Gordon Hodgson 17 (1926-36)
- 3 consecutive hat tricks: Jack Balmer 1946-7 (his only hat tricks)
- Quickest Premiership hattrick: Robbie Fowler vs Arsenal F.C. 1994-5, 4 minutes, 32 seconds
- Liverpool's longest distance goal was scored by Xabi Alonso, 65 yards from goal
- Liverpool were the first team to negotiate all three rounds of qualification and reach the Champions League knockout phase (2005/2006)
See also Liverpool F.C. - Statistics
Club culture
- 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 Liverpool FC (and is included in their crest) and has been sung since the early 1960s. The song has since gained popularity among the fans of other clubs, most notably Celtic, Ajax and Milan. Other German, Dutch and Northern Irish clubs have also adopted the song. Claims that the singing of You'll Never Walk Alone was started by fans of other clubs before those of Liverpool are widely dismissed as untrue. [1]
- Liverpool fans, singing "You'll Never Walk Alone," were featured in the Pink Floyd song, "Fearless."
- Other popular chants include "Fields of Anfield Road" (to the tune of "The Fields of Athenry"), "Poor Scouser Tommy", "Liverbird Upon My Chest", "We've Won It Five Times", "Ring of Fire", and "Grand old Team (If you know your history)"
- Under Benitez, today's Liverpool F.C. has a strong Spanish influence. As well as having a Spanish manager, there are 5 Spaniards in the current squad and 10 players in total brought to Liverpool directly from La Liga. The six English players he has brought in are strikers Peter Crouch and Robbie Fowler, goalkeepers Scott Carson and David Martin, and youth players Jack Hobbs and Paul Anderson.
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Mark González (on loan to Real Sociedad)
Bruno Cheyrou (on loan to Bordeaux)
Salif Diao (on loan to Portsmouth)
Robbie Foy (on loan to Wrexham)
Chris Kirkland (on loan to West Brom)- Anthony Le Tallec (on loan to Sunderland)
- Carl Medjani (on loan to Metz)
- Neil Mellor (on loan to Wigan Athletic)
- David Raven (on loan to Tranmere Rovers)
- Florent Sinama-Pongolle (on loan to Blackburn Rovers)
Darren Potter (on loan to Southampton)
Zak Whitbread (on loan to Millwall)
Reserves
- Jack Hobbs
Godwin Antwi- Danny O'Donnell
Ramon Calliste- Charlie Barnett
- Paul Barrett
- James Frayne
- Adam Hammill
- Michael Burns
- Michael Nardiello
- Lee Peltier
- Conal Platt
- David Roberts
- James Smith
Paul Willis- Calum Woods
Liverpool's reserve team plays its home games at the Racecourse Ground, the home stadium of Wrexham A.F.C..
See Also List of Liverpool F.C. players
Staff
| Manager | Rafael Benítez |
| Assistant manager | Pako Ayesteran |
| First team coach | Alex Miller |
| Reserve team manager and coach | Paco Herrera, Hughie McAuley |
| Goalkeeping coach | Jose Ochotorena |
| Chief scout | Paco Herrera |
| Scout | Ron Yeats |
| Academy director | Steve Heighway |
| Assistant Physiotherapist | Mark Browes |
| Club Masseur | John Wright |
| Masseur | Paul Small, Stuart Welsh |
| Club Doctor | Mark Waller |
| Kit Manager | Graham Carter |
Famous Players
See also List of Liverpool FC players
Managers
| W. E. Barclay | 1892 - 1896 |
| Tom Watson | 1896 - 1915 |
| David Ashworth | 1920 - 1923 |
| Matt McQueen | 1923 - 1928 |
| George Patterson | 1928 - 1936 |
| George Kay | 1936 - 1951 |
| Don Welsh | 1951 - 1956 |
| Phil Taylor | 1956 - 1959 |
| Bill Shankly | 1959 - 1974 |
| Bob Paisley | 1974 - 1983 |
| Joe Fagan | 1983 - 1985 |
| Kenny Dalglish | 1985 - 1991 |
| Graeme Souness | 1991 - 1994 |
| Roy Evans | 1994 - 1998 |
| Gerard Houllier | 1998 - 2004 |
| Rafael Benítez | 2004 - Present |
External links
Official
UK & Ireland
Other
- Liverpool F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
- Liverpool clips/goals
- Liverpool stadium location
- Liverpool Football Chants
Template:Champions League 2005/06
