MAN UNITED Vs LIVERPOOL FC

Manchester United Vs Liverpool FC (A Brief History)

This match is arguably the biggest rivalry in English football. Tomorrow’s match at Anfield is going to be a really heated one given Liverpool’s current situation. Anyone who follows the game knows a thing or two about this rivalry. But what not many ignorant fans don’t know on both sides is the rich history in which this rivalry is steeped in. Liverpool and Manchester are the two most well known cities in the North-West of England. Liverpool being a port city, were one of the first cities to reap the benefits of the Industrial Revolution. Only 30 miles separate the two cities and Manchester wanted a slice of the action. To earn the benefits of the Industrial Revolution, the shipping canal was built in Novemeber 1893, which connected the city to the Irish sea. This canal was built in order to bypass the Liverpool docks and bring goods directly into Manchester. This construction brought about a certain suspicion between the two cities as Manchester became one of the epicenters of the England’s economic success. Football took this suspicion to another dimension and this has manifested into the bitter rivalry that exists today.
But what defines this rivalry more than anything is their respective football histories. United and Liverpool are without a shadow of a doubt the most successful clubs in English history. Liverpool have won 5 European Cups (now called the Champions League) and United have 3 European Cups. Both are level in terms of the most league titles (18 league titles). Living in such proximity is what exacerbates this rivalry further. Their great success is essentially down to the great managers both these clubs have had over the years. United have Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, whereas Liverpool have the great Bill Shankly, Bob Paisely, Joe Fagan and the irresistible Kenny Dalglish. Sir Matt (a Scotsman) was the first super manager of the lot as he lead the English sojourn into the European competition. With the tragic death of the “Busby Babes” in 1958, he rebuilt a team from scratch that won the European Cup in 1968. The spiritual will-power of the man who almost died from the crash himself, is what made Manchester United such a worldly acclaimed club. The extra-bit of charisma attached to Manchester United was I think borne out of that achievement along with players he raised such as Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Dennis Law.
As United’s star was one the decline in the mid ’70s, Liverpool’s star was on the rise. All of this was down to a certain Bill Shankly (another Scotsman) who laid the foundations for the future success of Liverpool FC. He created an aura of invincibility around the club which wasn’t broken until the early ’90s. The 1970s and ’80s were the glory days for Liverpool. After Shankly it was Bob Paisley who took over and took Liverpool into an age where he won three European Cups (consecutive titles in ’77 and ’78). They dominated the league and won a whole lot of other competitions. His team boasted of players with the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness. In 1977 however, it was United who stopped them from winning the unprecedented treble when they beat them in the finals of the FA Cup. Under Joe Fagan success continued as they won their 4th European Cup. In the league success carried on in the form of the charismatic player and then player-manager Kenny Dalglish. Their last league title came in 1990 under Dalglish and as Liverpool’s star began to decline United entered their golden generation under another Scot, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s main motive was to take over Liverpool as the premier club in England and I think he has achieved it to a very large extent. The two stadium disasters (Heysel and Hillsborough) added to Liverpool FC’s problems. The rest they say is history as United went on to win the unprecedented treble in 1999. One moment that echoes to my memory is the FA Cup 4th round in January 1999, when Liverpool could have stopped United winning the treble. Michael Owen took the lead for Liverpool in the first-half, and with 2 minutes to go Dwight Yorke equalized for United before Solskjaer won it for United in injury time. Final score 2-1 and it did feel like United were meant to win it that year.
The intensity of the rivalry however wasn’t too bad in the ’60s and early ’70s. In fact there was a great deal of mutual respect between the two sets of players as Sir Matt and Bill Shankly were great friends off the pitch. But with the rise of hooliganism in English football in the ’70s things started to heat up massively. Animosity came from both sides as United saw their neighbours taking on the world when they were lying about in mediocrity. Liverpool on the other hand couldn’t take the fact that even though they were the bench mark for football success, it was United who got more of the media attention. United have always been the glamour club, the club with a little more charisma and the Scousers hated that fact. As they say, United have 3 knighthoods going to Sir Alex, Sir Matt and Sir Bobby Charlton and Liverpool have none though they arguably have been the most successful English club in Europe. As Steven Gerrard (captain of Liverpool FC) says, “You are brought up to dislike Man Utd”. Need I say more.