A brief history of Liverpool FC

A brief history of Liverpool FC

Liverpool Football Club has a long and glorious history stretching back over 130 years.  Here we take a look at the key moments that have shaped the club.

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Liverpool Football Club was founded by John Houlding on the 3rd June 1892.  On the 30th April 1901, Liverpool win the first of 19 league titles.

Despite winning a further four league titles before and after the war, on the 24th April 1953, Liverpool are relegated to the Second Division, after finishing bottom of the league.

After spending 6 years in the Second Division, Liverpool appoint Bill Shankly as Manager, on 14th December 1959. Under Shankly's guidance, Liverpool win the Second Division title, and promotion back the First Division, on 4th May 1962.

Three years later, on the 1st May 1965, Shankly leads Liverpool to their first ever FA Cup victory, beating Leeds United 1 - 0 in the Final.  It will be the first of 8 FA Cup triumphs.  Over the next 9 years, Shankly leads Liverpool to further titles, creating a team that is stil talked about to this day.  However, On the 12th July 1974, Bill Shankly shocks Liverpool, and the footballing world, by announcing his retirement.  His assistant, Bob Paisley becomes Manager.  Although few thought it possible to surpass Shankly's achievements, Bob Paisley would go on to create one of the greatest club sides the world would ever see.

By the end of the 1970's Liverpool were the greatest club side in England, but they had yet to taste European success. All that changed however, on the 25th May 1977, as Liverpool won the first of 6 European Cups, beating Borussia Monchengladbach 3 - 1 in the Final, at the Stadio Olimpico, in Rome.  That famous night is still remembered by Reds fans, with chants and songs sung about the game at matches today.

Liverpool's domination of English football continued into the 1980's, and on the 1st April 1981, Liverpool won their first League Cup, beating West Ham United 2 - 1, in a replay.  The Reds would go on to win a further 8 League Cups, giving them 9 in total - the most any club has ever won.

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During the 1980's Liverpool won an astonishing 6 league titles, giving them 18 in total.  However, the decade would sadly be remembered for tragedy as well as triumph.  On the 29th May 1985, during the European Cup Final, fighting between Liverpool and Juventus fans led to the collapse of a secion of wall at the Heysel Stadium.  The disaster claimed the lives of 39 Italian fans.  Just four years later, on the 15th April 1989, the Hilssborough Disaster claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans.  In the aftermath of the tragedy, legendary player and manager, Kenny Dalglish, would resign from the club.

If the 70's and 80's had been Liverpool's glory years, the 1990's saw a steady decline in the clubs fortunes.  Despite the introduction of the Premier League, the club failed to win a league title, and the decade ended with just 1 FA Cup and 1 League Cup triumph.

With the club needing a new direction, Gerard Houllier was appointed as joint Liverpool Manager, alongside Roy Evans.  When Evans resigned from his role on 10th November 1998, Houllier became Liverpool's first ever foreign manager.  After several years of re-building, Houllier lead Liverpool to an historic Cup Treble during the 2000 - 01 season, winning the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.  At the start of the following season Livepool also won the Charity Shield and UEFA Super Cup, meaning they had won 5 cups in one calender year.

Further European success arrived on the 25th May 2005, when Liverpool won a fifth European Cup / Champions League, under the guidance of Rafa Benitez.  The game is remembered as the 'Miracle of Istanbul', because Liverpool came from 3 - 0 down at half time to win the match on Penalties.

On the 6th February 2007, Liverpool was sold to American businessmen, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.  Although the pair promised to spend £millions on new players and a new stadium, within 3 years the club was close to bankrupcy.  Thankfully, on October 15th 2010, Hicks and Gillett were forced to sell the club to New England Sports Ventures (now called FSG, and still current owners of LFC).  The club had been just days away from being placed into administration.  The three years Hicks and Gillett were in charge, is often cited as one of Liverpool's darkest periods.

Bespite an improvement in the teams performances, Liverpool were still not winning silverware, so on the 8th October 2015, Jurgen Klopp was appointed as Manager.  Over the following years, Klopp created a team to rival the great Liverpool teams of the 1970's and 80's.  On the 1st June 2019 Liverpool won a 6th Champions League, beating Tottenham 2 - 0.  Then in the following season, on the 25th June 2020, Liverpool won their first league title for 30 years.  On the 21st December 2019, Liverpool won the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time.  Klopp has also led Liverpool to the FA Cup, League Cup and FA Charity Shield.

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... About The Author ...

Peter Farrell :: LFC - Back On Our Perch Author and Editor

Peter Farrell - Editor and Chief Article Writer, LFC - Back On Our Perch
Articles written by Author :: 570

Lifelong fan with a passion for all things Liverpool. First memory of football is watching John Barnes score a dramatic last minute equaliser in the FA Cup when he was 4. Feels lucky to be a part of the 'Klopp' era.

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