Centenary Stand

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Domestically, the club has won a joint-record twenty league titles, eight FA Cups, a record ten League Cups and sixteen FA Community Shields. In international competitions, the club has won six European Cups, three UEFA Cups, four UEFA Super Cups—all English records—and one FIFA Club World Cup. Liverpool established itself as a major force in domestic football in the 1960s under Bill Shankly, before becoming perennial title challengers at home and abroad under Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish who led the club to a combined eleven league titles and four European Cups through the 1970s and 80s. Liverpool won two further European Cups in 2005 and 2019 under the management of Rafael Benítez and Jürgen Klopp, respectively; the latter led Liverpool to a nineteenth league title in 2020, the club's first during the Premier League era. Following Klopp's departure in 2024, the club continues to compete for honours under new management. Already nicknamed the Reds, it was under Shankly that the team first adopted the distinctive all-red home strip which has been used ever since. Also adopted under Shankly's tenure was the club's anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. The Reds compete in the local Merseyside derby against Everton, often referred as the Blues. As the two most decorated clubs in England, and inter-city rivals, Liverpool also has a long-standing rivalry with Manchester United. The club's supporters have been involved in two major tragedies. At the 1985 European Cup final in Brussels, the Heysel Stadium disaster saw 39 fans – mainly Italian supporters of opponents Juventus – die after they were crushed between onrushing Liverpool fans and a concrete wall that subsequently collapsed. As a result of persistent hooliganism, English teams were banned from European club competitions initially indefinitely, but ultimately for five years, and Liverpool for an additional year. In 1989, the Hillsborough disaster claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool supporters after grossly negligent policing led to a crowd crush; the disaster led to the elimination of fenced standing terraces in favour of all-seater stadiums in the top two tiers of English football. A decades-long campaign for justice in the case of Hillsborough saw further coroner's inquests, commissions and independent panels that ultimately exonerated the fans of all blame.

In Their Own Story

The rain lashes against the concrete overhangs as the evening light fades over Anfield. Inside the tunnel beneath the Centenary Stand, the air is thick with anticipation and the scent of deep heat. A young midfielder pauses, his hand brushing the brick wall where the famous sign hangs in the shadows. He can hear the muffled roar of the crowd above, a low rumble that vibrates through the soles of his boots. The steward nods toward the exit, and as the player steps out into the floodlit grass, the sheer scale of the stand looms overhead, a silent guardian of a hundred years of history, waiting for him to add another chapter.

Reader's Guide

Liverpool were founded following a dispute between the Everton committee and John Houlding, club president and owner of the land at Anfield. After eight years at the stadium, Everton relocated across Stanley Park to their new stadium of Goodison Park in 1892, and Houlding founded Liverpool F.C. to play at Anfield. Originally named 'Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd' (Everton Athletic for short), the club became Liverpool F.C. in March 1892 and gained official recognition three months later, after The Football Association refused to recognise the club as Everton. Liverpool played their first match on 1 September 1892: a pre-season friendly match against Rotherham Town which they won 7–1. The team Liverpool fielded against Rotherham was composed entirely of Scottish players; the players who came from Scotland to play in England in those days were known as the Scotch Professors. Manager John McKenna had recruited the players after a scouting trip to Scotland—so they became known as the 'team of Macs'. The team won the Lancashire League in its debut season and joined the Football League Second Division at the start of the 1893–94 season. After the club was promoted to the First Division in 1896, Tom Watson was appointed manager. He led Liverpool to its first league title in 1901, and won the league again in 1906. Liverpool reached their first FA Cup final in 1914, losing 1–0 to Burnley. It won consecutive league championships in 1922 and 1923, a team which featured goalkeeper Elisha Scott, the club's longest-serving player, but did not win another trophy until the 1946–47 season, when the club won the First Division for a fifth time under the control of George Kay. Liverpool suffered its second Cup Final defeat in 1950, playing against Arsenal. In 1952, Anfield recorded its biggest attendance ever when 61,905 spectators watched Liverpool beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 in an FA Cup match. After 49 uninterrupted years in the top division of English football the club was relegated to the Second Division in the 1953–54 season. Soon after Liverpool lost 2–1 to non-league Worcester City in the 1958–59 FA Cup, Bill Shankly was appointed manager. Upon his arrival he released 24 players and converted a boot storage room at Anfield into a room where the coaches could discuss strategy; here, Shankly and other 'Boot Room' members Joe Fagan, Reuben Bennett, and Bob Pai

Did You Know?

• Liverpool's first match was a 7–1 win against Rotherham Town on 1 September 1892, though the claim that the team was composed entirely of Scottish players is disputed; historical records show at least one player born in
• The club's all-red home strip and anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone' were both adopted under Bill Shankly.
• Liverpool became the first English side to win three trophies in a single season under Joe Fagan in 1983–84.
• The Hillsborough disaster led to the elimination of fenced standing terraces in favour of all-seater stadiums in the top two tiers of English football.