FACTS & HISTORY

Club Overview

Liverpool FC was founded in 1892 by John Houlding, the leaseholder of Anfield Stadium. This stadium is the only place in which Liverpool has played during its existence. Over the years the team had success and failures with English superstars such as Kevin Keegan and Steven Gerrard putting on its red uniform. Liverpool did worst in the twenties and best in the seventies and eighties, when they won titles on national and international levels. They got relegated in the fifties, but under the management of Bill Shankly where moved up the First Division. When Rafael Benítez took over in 2005, he continued the team’s streak of success and led them to a victory in the FA Cup and European Cup. Currently, Liverpool is playing in the Champions League, and is one of four English teams in the semi-finals.
Club History

Liverpool FC was founded in 1892 by John Houlding, the leaseholder of Anfield Stadium. After Everton FC refused to pay the lease of 250 and moved to another stadium, Houlding decided to start his own football club.

In 1896 Tom Watson was hired to be in charge of team and under his leadership Liverpool became successful. The team joined the First Division League in 1900 after having many successful seasons in Second Division, including one undefeated season in 1894. In the First Division they were immediately successful and became the English Football Champions in 1901 and in 1906. Liverpool was considered to have the best defence in whole division.

For the next 20 years the team was not doing too well. Their only success was in 1922 and 1923 when they had won back to back League titles before a long period of loses.

From the late 40’s till the mid 50’s the team became successful once again. In the 1946/1947 season the team won the League Title. In 1950 Liverpool went to its first FA Cup finally against Arsenal. There was a huge demand to go see the team play at Wembley for the first time. Unfortunately Liverpool FC ended up losing 2-0. In the 1953-54 seasons the team got relegated back to Second Division.

In 1959 Liverpool signed Bill Shankly to be the new manager of the organization in hopes of taking the team back to the First Division. He completely transformed the team and released 24 players. In his third season as the manager, Liverpool won the second division by eight points and ended up being promoted back to First Division, and have remained there ever since then.

During the 60’s the team once again became successful. They became First Division champions in 1963 and 1964 for the first time in 17 years. In 1965 they won the FA Cup for the very first time in team history under the captaining of Ron Yeats.

This victory was followed by many others in the 70s, even though Shakley retired and was replaced by his assistant Bob Paisley to the manager position. Liverpool won the FA Cup in 74 and the division in 72-73, 75-76, 76-77, 78-79, and 79-80 seasons. Their biggest victory of the decade was winning the European Cup in 1977 for the first time in the team’s history.

During the eighties the Liverpool continued to beat team records. Paisley retired and handed the managing position over to veteran coach Joe Fagan. In his first season, Fagan took Liverpool to its first ever double season, and became the first team In English Premier League to ever win two major trophies in a single season. In addition to that Liverpool went to the European Championship in 1985, but lost to Juventus in the final 1-0.

The success of the team in the eighties was overshadowed by the distastes which occurred at the European Championship and the FA Cup semi-finals. During the final against Juventus at Heysel Stadium, a retaining wall collapsed as Liverpool fans breached a fence separating the two groups of supporters, killing 39 fans, most of which were Italians. This resulted in Liverpool being banned from the competition for ten years, which was later reduced to six. During the FA Cup semi-final 96 fans were killed and they were crushed against perimeter fencing. These two tragic events helped create a closer bond between the organization and its supporters.

During the 90’s the team changed management several times, due a poor performance. In 1991 Graeme Souness was hired as the manager of the team, and aside from winning the FA Cup during his first season, he did not do well. He was replaced by Roy Evans in 1994, who did not take the team past third place during his five seasons with the club. His only trophy was in 1995, when he won the League Cup. Gérard Houllier, the French national team coach, was then hired by Liverpool to help coach the team. He and Evans did not get along well, so in 1998 Evans ended up resigning.

The decision to hire Houllier proved to be a positive one, as he coached the team to a Treble season in 2001. Liverpool FC won the FA Cup against Arsenal, League Cup, and UEFA Cup beating hard competitors such as Roma, Porto, and Barcelona. Houllier took the team to another League Cup in 2003, and then quite coaching due to heart problems.

Rafael Benítez took Houllier’s management spot for Liverpool during the 2004-05 seasons. In 2005 Liverpool finished fifth in the Premier League, but ended up winning the European Cup in Istanbul as they beat AC Milan. Under Benitez, the team continues to flourish. Currently they are one of four English Premier League teams to be in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.


Club Rivalries

Everton FC

The rivalry between Everton and Liverpool is the oldest rivalry in English Premier League soccer. The teams have been rivalries ever since Liverpool was promoted to the First Division in 1962. The reason for this rivalry is that they both play in Liverpool, Merseyside, and are successful football clubs. Each year the teams compete in the Merseyside derby in order to see who the better team from Merseyside is. This rivalry is also known as The Friendly Derby because of the large amounts of families that have both Everton and Liverpool fans in them.

Manchester United

The rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool is one of the oldest rivalries in football. The rivalry started against Everton, but evolved to include Liverpool, due to Everton’s lack of success and Liverpool becoming the dominate team in the Merseyside are of England. Both teams claim to the great’s football club in England, as they have won multiple titles and championships, and compete with each other this status. The other reason for the rivalry is the close distance between the two stadiums.


Stars of the Current Squad

Steve Gerrard --- Gerrard is the captain of Liverpool FC and England’s national team. He has captained the team ever since the 2003-04 season. He has played with Liverpool during his whole entire professional career. He was named the UEFA Most Valuable Player during the 2004/2005 season when Liverpool won the European Cup.

James "Jamie" Carragher- Carragher is the vice captain of Liverpool FC. He has played for the team ever since 1996. He was named the Player of the Year during the 2006-07 season by fans. He is best known for his great defensive abilities.

Fernando Torres- Torres signed with Liverpool during the 2007/2008 season. He has made a huge impact on the team, becoming an elite striker. One of his biggest accomplishments on the team was scoring a hat trick in a Middlesbrough at home.


Club Legends

Ephraim Longworth- Longworth started playing for Liverpool at the left back position on September 19th 1910. Only after his second game with Liverpool, he was chosen to be the captain of England, the first ever Liverpool player to do so. After playing with the team for 17 years and not scored a single goal, Longworth retired from playing, and took on a coaching role.

Gordon Hodgon- Hodgon played for the Liverpool from 1925 through 1936. He scored a record of 17 hat tricks while playing for the club. He made three appearances on England’s national team.

Ian Callaghan- Callaghan has the most appearances on Liverpool FC. He helped them come back from being relegated in 1962. In 1974 he won the FWA Footballer of the Year Award.

Kevin Keegan- Keegan made his debut against Nottingham Forest and scored just after 12 minutes. During his time with the team, Keegan was never made into a reserve player. He helped Liverpool FC reach the UEFA Cup Championship. After retiring from playing soccer, he became a highly rated manager, even leading England’s National team at one point.


Player Recognition & Awards

PFA Young Player of the year:

* 1983 Ian Rush
* 1995 Robbie Fowler
* 1996 Robbie Fowler
* 1998 Michael Owen
* 2001 Steven Gerrard


PFA Player of the year:

* 1980 Terry McDermott
* 1983 Kenny Dalglish
* 1984 Ian Rush
* 1988 John Barnes
* 2006 Steven Gerrard


Football writers' Footballer of the year:

* 1974 Ian Callaghan
* 1976 Kevin Keegan
* 1977 Emlyn Hughes
* 1979 Kenny Dalglish
* 1980 Terry McDermott
* 1983 Kenny Dalglish
* 1984 Ian Rush
* 1988 John Barnes
* 1989 Steve Nicol
* 1990 John Barnes


European Footballer of the year:

* 2001 Michael Owen


Team Honours

1st division: 1900-01, 1905-06, 1921-22, 1922-23, 1946-47, 1963-64, 1965-66, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90.

FA Cup: 1965, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1992, 2001, 2006

League Cup: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2001, 2003

European Cup: 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005

Charity Shield: 1964 (shared), 1965 (shared), 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977 (shared), 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986 (shared),1988, 1989, 1990 (shared), 2001, 2006.

Screen Sport Super Cup: 1987

2nd division champions: 1893-94, 1895-96, 1904-05, 1961-62

Lancashire-league champions: 1892-93.


Club Management

George G Gillet JR - Owner

George bought the club on February 6th 2007 for a fee of 435 million pounds. He also owns Gillet Communications, through which he made his fortune, and was able to purchase other sports teams such as the Montreal Canadiens.

Ralph Benítez - Manager

Benitez is one of the most successful managers in the Liverpool FC’s history. He started coaching Liverpool in 2005. Under his management the team won many championships including: UEFA Champions League, European Super Cup, FA Cup, and FA Community Shield.

Alex Miller - First team coach

Miller is a Scottish coach and former football player. He started coaching for Liverpool in 1999 under manager Gerard Houllier.


Stadium

Liverpool FC’s stadium Anfield is located in Liverpool, Merseyside. It has played host to a number of different events including the English National Team’s international matches. Liverpool FC has played there ever since the team was founded in 1892. The stadium was originally home to Everton FC, however the team decided to move since the landlord was charging to high for rent.

The stadium is composed of four stands: Spion Kop, Main Stand, Centenery Stand and Anfield Road. Outside the stadium there is a memorial for the Hillsborough disaster, which holds an eternal flame, and a statue of Bill Shankly.

A new stadium named Stanley Park is being built in Liverpool, England for the team to play in. It is supposed to be ready by 2011.


Sponsors

* Carlsberg