Ever heard the phrase “Never walk alone”? How about “This is Anfield”? Both phrases are synonymous with the most successful brand in British football. A brand with a cult-like-followership base; a club with the favorite come-backs in the history of football. Thinking of a club that foots such bill? It has to be the Liverpool Football Club.
With a distinguished logo characterized by the liver bird, which is symbolic with the city of Liverpool. The birth of Liverpool was born out of necessity. The relocation of Everton football club to Goodison park created a unique and golden opportunity for the creation of another club. In 1892, the split from Everton football club created a vacuum in vision and infrastructure – a gap that was quickly noticed by the then first president; John Houlding. As the first president, he quickly turned the vacant stadium back to full use after the split as he secured the rights to establish a new club – Liverpool Football Club.
Till date, the club enjoys success at top domestic and European level. The prominence of the club began with the appointment of Tom Watson as manager, a drive that ushered in the first success with two League Championship in 1920. The era of Bill Shankly as manager also returned fortunes and smiles to faces of the Reds and her supporters as the club returned back to top-tier football and laid the foundation for numerous success in 1970s and 1980 both at the domestic and continental level with League Championships and European cups in the bag.
The Reds unlike other top giants in football have had her share of problems and misfortunes including relegation battles, the Heysel and Hillsborough stadium disaster.
In 1985, the terrible disaster referred to as the heysel stadium disaster occurred. It was European Cup Final with Juventus and was a gory sight in footballing history as about 39 fans were crushed to death after a perimeter wall collapsed. The event resulted in banning of all English clubs from continental competition for five years as English fans were blamed for the misfortune.
Just when the club was focusing on domestic league as it was absent from continental tournament, another disaster occurred again. In 1989, the FA Cup semi-final between the Reds and Nottingham forest saw over 96 fatalities and 766 injuries recorded. It remains the worst casualty in the history of British football but despite the misfortunes the Reds remain true to their brand as they come back stronger and never walk alone.
With red jerseys as home kits, Anfield has played home and still does to many great names in the world of football and such include Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Mohamed Salah and many others. In total, the trophy rack in Antfield confidently sits about 41 trophies including 8 League Cups, 5 European cups, 3 UEFA Cups, 7 FA Cups and 18 League titles. Think you’re a fan of football? Do you know the Reds? I welcome you to take on this Liverpool quiz.
