Liverpool FC

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, Arne Slot guided Liverpool to a twentieth league title in 2025.

In Their Own Story

This team reshaped Liverpool, promoting them back to the First Division by 1962 and winning their first FA Cup in 1965. Shankly introduced the all-red home strip and the anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone', which has been used ever since. Joe Fagan followed, becoming the first English side to win a treble (League, Cup, European Cup) in 1983–84. The club faced another turning point under Rafael Benítez, winning the 2005 Champions League after a dramatic 3–3 draw and penalty shootout victory over AC Milan. In 2020, Jürgen Klopp led Liverpool to their nineteenth league title, the first in the Premier League era, before Arne Slot secured the twentieth title in 2025 following Klopp's departure.

Reader's Guide

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.

Did You Know?

• Liverpool were originally named 'Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd' (Everton Athletic for short) before becoming Liverpool F.C. in March 1892.
• The team's first match was a 7–1 pre-season friendly win against Rotherham Town on 1 September 1892, fielding an entirely Scottish lineup known as the 'Scotch Professors'.
• Bill Shankly converted a boot storage room at Anfield into a strategy room, where he and other 'Boot Room' members began reshaping the team.
• Liverpool won three trophies in a single season under Joe Fagan in 1983–84, the first English side to do so.
• 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.