total football: Liverpool

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Monday, April 13, 2009

Club Profile:Liverpool

Overview
Liverpool have maintained their status as a domestic and European force since the Premier League began in 1992, rarely finishing outside the top positions. The club have won seven major trophies since then, including the Champions League, Uefa Cup, two FA Cups and three League Cups.

Indeed, 2001 saw the Reds claim an unprecedented League Cup, FA Cup and Uefa Cup treble. Having won more domestic and European trophies than any other English club, Liverpool's status as giants of the domestic game is undisputed.

Under Rafa Benitez, Liverpool have secured Champions League football in each of the last four seasons. The Spaniard guided them to third place in the 2006/07 season and an appearance in the Champions League final where they were beaten 2-1 by AC Milan. They lost to Chelsea in the semi-finals of the competition last season and secured a fourth place finish in the league.

Club Heritage
In 1891, John Houlding purchased Anfield after Everton left the ground for Goodison Park following a seven-year tenancy. With an empty stadium and only three players remaining, Houlding formed Liverpool Football Club on 15th March 1892. Everton FC and Athletic Grounds, Ltd, or Everton Athletic was to be the name, but the Football Association refused to recognise the team as Everton. Liverpool's first-ever competitive match was in the Lancashire League, where a predominantly Scottish team defeated Higher Walton 8-0 on 23rd September 1892. Liverpool won their first title in 1901 after gaining promotion to the First Division in 1894.

The appointment of Bill Shankly in 1959 was the beginning of a golden era for Liverpool. He led the club to promotion to the First Division in 1962 and they have stayed there ever since. The title was secured in 1964 and 1966, with a first-ever FA Cup final victory sandwiched in between. A year after winning the Uefa Cup, Shankly retired and was replaced by his assistant Bob Paisley.

Within two seasons, the Reds had won the league, and the Uefa Cup for a second time. Paisley's nine-year reign saw Liverpool win 21 trophies, including three European Cups, six league titles, a Uefa Cup, and three League Cups. Joe Fagan took over in 1983 and inspired the club to the European Cup, League title, and League Cup in his first season.

Premier League History
1993/94 - Roy Evans replaces Graeme Souness
1994/95 - Win League Cup
1998/99 - Gerard Houllier joins Evans as joint-manager
1998/99 - Houllier takes sole charge in November 1998
2000/01 - Win FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup
2002/03 - Win League Cup
2003/04 - Houllier departs by mutual consent in May 2004
2004/05 - Rafa Benitez takes over
2004/05 - Djibril Cisse joins from Auxerre for a club record £14m
2004/05 - Win Champions League
2005/06 - Win FA Cup
2006/07 - American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks become owners in a deal worth £470m.
2007/08 - Fernando Torres becomes Liverpool's record signing at an initial fee of around £20.2m from Atletico Madrid.
2008/09 - Benitez ends widespread specualtion about his future by signing a new five-year contract.