| Nickname : | The Reds |
| Established : | 3 June 1892 |
| Ground : | Anfield |
| Manager : | Jürgen Klopp |
| League : | Premier League |
Author : | Created : 2021-11-16 11:58:00
One of the football clubs that gathered the most fans all around the world, Liverpool Football Club remains one of the most valuable clubs in the history of football. That's perhaps what inspired its iconic anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone", as Liverpool fans are numerous and ready to stand behind their favourite club.
Its long history of victories since the days of its formation never ceases to impress. That's why Liverpool F.C. is, along with the Beatles, the top tourist attraction in Liverpool.
Traditionally wearing blue and white quartered shirts during the first year, Liverpool adopted the city colour red. The club used to wear a red shirt and white shorts until 1964 when Bill Shankly decided on an all-red kit. Since the day, the team has been referred to as The Reds. Shankly rightly recognised the psychological impact of the colour, symbol of power and danger, contributing to Liverpool F.C.'s unique reputation worldwide.
Liverpool was founded in 1892 after a dispute between the Everton committee and the club owner of the land at Anfield, John Houlding. Therefore, originally named the Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd, the club was baptised Liverpool F.C. aver Everton relocated.
Liverpool F.C. won its first match 7-1 against Rotherham Town in 1982. The team, entirely composed of Scottish players, joined the Football League Second Division during the next season, rapidly made its way to the First Division before the end of the century, after which the team won its first league titles in 1901 and 1906.
The period between the First and Second World Wars is marked by victory and close victories. After the Second World War, Liverpool F.C. was relegated to the Second Division in 1953-1954. Soon after, Bill Shankly was appointed manager and began reshaping the team. He also introduced the new home colour, all red, which promoted the club back to the First Division.
Liverpool began a long path of victories, winning league titles and league cups between 1965 and 1984. However, in 1985, Liverpool F.C. was hit by the first of two stadium tragedies: The Heysel Stadium disaster, during which Liverpool fans forced a fence and charged Juventus fans, causing a retaining wall to collapse and killing 39 individuals. As a result, English clubs were banned from participation in European competitions for 5 years, Liverpool F.C. received a 6-year ban. No less than 14 Liverpool fans received convictions for manslaughter. In 1989, during an FA Cup semi-final, a fatal crush occurred during a match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, killing 94 Liverpool fans on the spot. The repercussions of the Hillsborough disaster caused a change of management and overshadowed the club's success.
Between 1991 and 2015, management changes marked periods of high and league performances, managers changing after each major defeat. Despite changing ownership in 2010, the club did not find its way back to success until manager Jürgen Klopp was appointed in 2015. Klopp redressed Liverpool F.C., even bringing the team to win the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time in 2019.
The club's first owner was founder John Houlding, who maintained his position as chairman until 1904.
David Moores, who owned 51% of Liverpool Football Club, sought investment and expressed he would consider a bid for his shares. In 2007, Moores sold Liverpool F.C. to American businesses George Gillett and Tom Hicks for £218.9 million. However, internal disagreements and the lack of fan support led to the sale of the club to the current owner, Fenway Sports Group in 2010. At the time of the purchase, Liverpool was ranked as the 6th most valuable football team globally, valued at £532 million or $822m (excluding debt). In April 2020, Liverpool reached the rank of the 5th most valuable football club with a value of $4.1 billion, according to Forbes.
Liverpool F.C. stadium, Anfield, was first built in 1884, approximately 2 miles from Liverpool city centre. Initially used by Everton, the stadium marked the origin of the Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd, before Everton relocated. The stadium's owner, John Houlding, then founded Liverpool F.C. in Anfield Stadium. In 1892, the stadium capacity was 20,000. During its peak, Anfield could welcome over 60,000 spectators; however, the involvement of Liverpool in stadium tragedies encouraged a reduction in seat capacity to 45,276.
Under Gillet and Hicks, Liverpool briefly considered the construction of Stanley Park Stadium as a new ground. However, Fenway Sports Group preferred to expand Anfield stadium, boosting its capacity to 61,000 in time for the 2021-2022 Premier League season.
Liverpool Football Club has a long history as a successful team both in British and International football. The club has received more top-flight wins and points than any other club in English football. Liverpool has won no less than 44 cups and 19 league titles.
FA Cup winners: 1964-65, 1973-74, 1985-86, 1988-89, 1991-92, 2000-01, 2005-06
Football League Cup/EFL Cup winners: 19080-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1994-95, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2011-12
Football league Super Cup winners: 1985-86
FA Charity Shield / FA Community Shield: 1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 19990, 2001, 2006
European CUP/ UEFA Champions League winners: 1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1983-84, 2004-05, 2018-19
UEFA cup winners: 1972-73, 1975-76, 2000-01
UEFA Super Cup winners: 1977, 2001, 2005, 2019
FIFA Club World Cup: 2019
Liverpool's first-team squad counts 28 players, including 5 goalkeepers, 9 defenders, 8 midfielders, and 6 forwards.
Captain Jordan Henderson - England - Midfielder
Vice-captain James Milner - England - Midfielder
Goalkeepers
Alisson - Brazil
Adrián - Spain
Loris Karius - Germany
Caoimhín Kelleher - Republic of Ireland
Marcelo Pitaluga - Brazil
Defender
Virgil van Dijk - Nethelands
Ibrahima Konaté - France
Joe Gomez - England
Kostas Tsimikas - Greece
Andrew Robertson - Scotland
Joël Matip - Cameroun
Nathaniel Phillips - England
Trent Alexander-Arnold - England
Neco Williams - Wales
Midfielder
Fabinho - Brazil
Thiago Alcântara - Spain
Naby Keïta - Guinea
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - England
Curtis Jones - England
Harvey Elliott - England
Forwards
Roberto Firmino - Brazil
Sadio Mané - Senegal
Mohamed Salah - Egypt
Takumi Minamino - Japan
Diogo Jota - Portugal
Divock Origi - Belgium
The current squad counts many eyebrow-raising transfers, such as:
Roberto Firmino - £36.9m from Hoffenheim
Sadio Mané - £37m from Southampton
Mohamed Salah - £37.8m from Roma
Diogo Jota - £40m from Wolves
Fabinho - £40.5m from Monaco
Naby Keita - £54m from RB Leipzig
Alisson - £56.3m from Roma
Virgil van Dijk - £76.2m from Southampton
Some of the most prolific and accurate goalscorers of the season 2020-2021 for the squad are:
Mohamed Salah with 31 goals
Sadio Mané with 16 goals
Diogo Jota with 13 goals
Roberto Firmino with 9 goals
However, Liverpool F.C. has had many memorable goalscorers throughout the club's history, including Ian Rush, who scored 346 goals for Liverpool, Roger Hunt with 286 goals, Robbie Fowler with 183 goals, and Steven Gerrard, who holds the record of the highest-scoring Englishman in European competition.