Liverpool FC

For the Uruguayan football club, see Liverpool FC (Montevideo).

Liverpool

Full name
Liverpool Football Club
Nickname(s)
The Reds
Founded
15 March 1892(by John Houlding)
Ground
Anfield, Liverpool(Capacity: 45,362)
Co-chairmen
George Gillett Tom Hicks
Manager
Rafael Benítez
League
Premier League
2008–09
Premier League, 2nd

Home colours

Away colours

Third colours
Current season
Liverpool Football Club (pronounced /ˈlɪvərˌpul/) is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club plays in the Premier League, and has won more trophies than any other English club. Liverpool has won a joint-record eighteen league titles,[1] seven FA Cups, seven League Cups, and the European Cup five times, a record for an English club.
The club was founded in 1892, and quickly became a strong force in English football, winning five league championships between 1900 and 1947. However, Liverpool spent several years in the Second Division (level 2) during the late 1950s, and did not win promotion again until the appointment of Bill Shankly as manager in 1959. The club traditionally played in red and white, but this was changed to all red in the 1960s.
Under Shankly's management, Liverpool won three League Championship titles, two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup; the club's first European trophy. In the past 30 years, they have been one of the most successful clubs in English and European football; they won four European Cups between 1977 and 1984. The club experienced a lean period during the 1990s, but saw a revival when they won a cup treble in 2001 and the club's fifth European Cup in 2005.
The Heysel Stadium disaster made the club infamous in Europe; 39 Juventus fans died after a wall collapsed as they fled from charging Liverpool fans. The club was involved in another disaster four years later—the Hillsborough Disaster— which saw the death of 96 Liverpool fans in a crush against perimeter fencing. Flames were added to the club's crest in honour of the Liverpool fans who lost their lives at Hillsborough. Both disasters have had wide-ranging impacts on English and European football, and the club to this day.
Liverpool F.C. has played at Anfield since its formation, but plans to move to a new stadium in Stanley Park, which was due to be completed by 2011 but has been put on hold until economic conditions improve. Liverpool has a large and diverse fan base, which holds long-standing rivalries with several clubs. The most notable of these are their rivalries with Manchester United and Everton, with whom they regularly contest the Merseyside derby.

Liverpool Stadium Anfield

This article is about the football stadium. For the district, see Anfield, Liverpool.
Anfield
View from Anfield Road end UEFA Elite
Location
Liverpool, Merseyside, England
Opened
1884
Owner
Liverpool F.C.[1]
Operator
Liverpool F.C.
Surface
Grass
Capacity
45,276[2]
Field dimensions
111 yards (101 m) by 74 yards (68 m)[2]
Tenants
Everton F.C. (1884–92)Liverpool F.C. (1892–present)
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England. Built in 1884, the stadium has been home to Liverpool F.C. since they were formed in 1892 as a result of the original tenants Everton F.C. leaving the ground.
The stadium currently comprises four stands: Spion Kop, Main Stand, Centenary Stand and Anfield Road, giving a total capacity of 45,276. The record attendance at the stadium is 61,905 which was set in a match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952. This record was set prior to the ground's conversion to an all-seater stadium in 1994; the changes, which were a result of the Taylor Report, greatly reduced capacity. Notable features of the stadium include two gates named after former Liverpool managers: the Bob Paisley gate and the Bill Shankly gate. In addition, a statue of Shankly is situated outside the stadium. Anfield's public transport links include rail and bus services but it lacks dedicated parking facilities.
Anfield is a UEFA elite stadium,[3] and has hosted many international matches at the senior level, including England matches. The ground was also used as a venue during Euro 96. Earlier in its history the stadium was also used as a venue for different events, such as boxing and tennis matches. The ground is due to host matches during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, with pool matches taking place at the stadium. There are plans to replace Anfield with a new 60,000 capacity stadium in Stanley Park. The opening of the new stadium is scheduled for 2011 but the state of the financial market and disagreement between the club's American co-owners makes this doubtful

Pepe Reina (25)

This is a Spanish name; the first family name is Reina and the second is Páez.
José Manuel Reina Páez (born 31 August 1982), commonly known as Pepe Reina, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the English Premier League club Liverpool F.C. and the Spain national team.
The son of famed FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina, José Reina began his career with the FC Barcelona youth team and made his La Liga debut in the 2000–01 season. He was sent on loan to Villareal CF in 2002, becoming their first choice goalkeeper, and signed a permanent deal in 2004. However, he soon moved on to Merseyside club Liverpool, making his debut in 2005 and instantly becoming first choice goalkeeper. Reina won his first major honour in 2006, saving three out of four penalties in the final to help win the FA Cup. In 2007 he reached the Champions League Final, matching the feat achieved by his father in 1974, but the team lost to A.C. Milan. Reina has set a number of goalkeeping records for Liverpool and he won the Premier League Golden Glove award for clean sheets in his first three seasons at the club.
At international level, Reina played for Spain's youth team, winning the UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in 1999. He made his senior debut in 2005 and has generally been selected as the second choice keeper behind Iker Casillas. He was part of the Spain squad for the 2006 World Cup and made one appearance in their victorious Euro 2008 campaign, earning him his first international honour.

Javier Mascherano (20)

Javier Alejandro Mascherano ( pronunciation (help·info); born 8 June 1984 in San Lorenzo) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liverpool and captains the Argentine national team.
Mascherano began his career in at River Plate. He earned his first senior honours in 2003–04, winning the Primera División Argentina. He also won an Olympic gold medal with Argentina in the Athens Games and finished runner up in the Copa América 2004. He moved to Brazilian side Corinthians in 2005, winning the Brazilian Série A in his first season. Mascherano moved to Europe, signing for Premier League side West Ham United. However, unusual contract terms with Media Sports Investments blighted his brief time at the club and at the beginning of 2007 he joined Liverpool on loan.
He was runner up in the UEFA Champions League in his first season on Merseyside and again finished runner up in the Copa América with Argentina. He officially signed for Liverpool in February 2008 for £18.6 million, parting ways with Media Sports Investments. He won a second Olympic gold medal with Argentina in the Beijing 2008 Games, the first male footballer to achieve this since 1928. He was appointed captain of the national team by new head coach Diego Maradona in November 2008 whom has repeatedly stated that his Seleccion is Mascherano and 10 more.[2]
Mascherano's two most used nicknames (in Argentina) are Masche and El Jefecito (The little chief).[3][4] Former Argentine footballers Jorge Valdano and Jorge Solari regard him as possibly the best central midfielder in the world.

Albert Riera (11)

Albert Riera Ortega (born 15 April 1982 in Manacor, Balearic Islands) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Premier League side Liverpool, as a left winger. His younger brother Sito is also a footballer

Sami Hypia (4) [Stepped down/Retired]

Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (born 7 October 1973) is a Finnish footballer who plays in the centre back position. Currently, he plays for German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen and is the captain of the Finland national football team. He has recently joined Leverkusen, ending a ten year spell at Liverpool in the English Premier League .
Hyypiä began his career with Ykkönen side KuMu and soon moved to Veikkausliiga outfit MyPa. He spent four years at the club, helping them win the Finnish Cup in 1992 and 1995. He moved to Willem II Tilburg in 1995 and spent the following four years there. He became the team captain and was nominated their player of the year after helping them qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Hyypiä moved to Liverpool, the team he supported as a child, in a deal worth £2.6 million. He quickly established himself in the first team, partnering Stéphane Henchoz in defence. By 2001, he regularly captained the team and that season Liverpool won a slew of honours: completing a cup treble of the Football League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, in addition to winning the UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield. He became full-time captain in the 2001–02 season and was part of the Football League Cup winning team in 2003. Steven Gerrard superseded him as captain in 2003 but he occasionally captained the side in his absence. Hyypiä won his highest football honour in 2005 as a part of Liverpool's victorious 2004–05 Champions League campaign.
Hyypiä has been a prominent figure in the Finland national team and has been selected as the Finnish Sports' Journalists and Football Association Player of the Year numerous times. He made his debut in 1992 and since then has captained the team on various occasions, fulfilling the role of second choice captain. He is the third most capped Finnish player after Jari Litmanen and Ari Hjelm

Jamie Carragher (23)

James "Jamie" Carragher (born 28 January 1978) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool. He is the current vice-captain and is one of the club's longest-serving players; he made his 500th appearance for Liverpool in all competitions in January 2008.
Carragher started his career with the Liverpool youth team. He made his professional debut in the 1996–97 season and became a first team regular the following season. He gained his first senior honours in 2001, winning a cup treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup. Having initially played as a full back, the arrival of manager Rafael Benítez in 2004 saw Carragher move to the centre back position and that season he won his greatest honour to date—the UEFA Champions League. In the next season, he won the FA Cup and was selected in the PFA Team of the Year. Carragher set a record for the most appearances in European competition for Liverpool in 2007. In the span of his club career, he has scored 3 goals for Liverpool and 7 own goals, thus his contribution to Liverpool is minus 4 goals.
Internationally, Carragher held the national record for most caps at under-21 level and earned his senior debut in 1999. Although he competed at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, he failed to pin down a first team place in the England national team. Frustrated with being used as cover for the defensive positions, Carragher decided to retire from international football in 2007, finishing with 34 senior England caps. He released his autobiography, Carra, in 2008.