Liverpool has been playing at Anfield since its inception in 1892. Anfield was built in 1884 on the land near Stanley Park, originally used by Everton. They left the estate in 1892, then Anfield owner John Houlding decided to set up a new team to play on this field. The capacity of the field was about 20,000 at that time, although only about 100 fans attended Liverpool’s first match at the field.
In 1906, the club hired architect Archibald Leitch to design the construction and refurbish Anfield. The grandstand at the back of the yard was renamed Spion Kop, after a hill in Natal, South Africa, this hill was the site of the Battle of Spion Kop during the Second Dutch War of South Africans.
About 300 Lancashire people died on January 24, 1900, most of them from Liverpool. Historically, the Kop has been able to accommodate about 28,000 seats and is one of the largest one in the world. Many other stadiums in the UK were also named their stands Spion Kop, but Anfield’s stands were the largest at the time, they were even able to accommodate more spectators than some stadiums.
This stand was reduced to ensure safety after the Hillsborough disaster. It was transformed into a full covered stand in 1994, and reduced the capacity to 12,390 seats.
Anfield Stadium is monumental and vibrant every game. Image via live football tructiepbongda.mobi
Anfield Road stands opposite The Kop, where the visitors and supporters sit. Rebuilt in 1998 with a capacity of 9,074 seats, it is Anfield’s new stand. The other two stands are, Main Stand with a capacity of 12,227 seats and Centenary Stand with a capacity of 11,762 seats. Main Stand is the oldest Anfield stadium completed in 1982.
It is the venue for the player’s locker room and the comment room. In the middle of this stands near the line there is the tunnel to the field and the technical area, the seat of the coach and the substitutes. The Centenary Stand formerly Kemlyn Road, was renamed after it was built one more floor and put into use on September 1, 1992, on the 100th anniversary of the formation of the team. The last major overhaul for Anfield was in 1998.
The stadium’s capacity is 45,522 seats, which is considered the UEFA 4-star standard stadium.
Due to Anfield capacity constraints, Liverpool announced plans to relocate to a new stadium at the adjacent Stanley Park in May 2002. On September 8, 2006, the City Council approved the construction of the pitch. They also agreed to grant Liverpool the right to use the land in Stanley Park for a period of 999 years. With co-chairs George Gillett and Tom Hicks taking over the team in February 2007, the design of the stadium was changed.
In November 2007, the new design was approved by the City Council, and was set to begin in June 2008. The HKS Group was commissioned to build the new yard, but none of the buildings built by George Gillett and Tom Hicks did not have enough money to finance the project.
In addition, Melwood at West Derby has been a Liverpool training ground since 1950. It is not related to the Academy at Kirkby. This property previously belonged to St Francis Xavier’s local school.
Overcome rivals to win the championship
The rival of Liverpool is the Everton neighbors, their rival in the Merseyside derby. This stems from the disputes of the Everton leadership and the Anfield boss. Merseyside derbies are always sold out. These derbies have the most red cards in Premier League history and are rated “The most undisciplined and explosive match in the English Premier League”.
This is one of the few “friendly derbies” because it is not compulsory to separate the two groups of supporters.
One of Liverpool’s arch rivals is Manchester United. Between the two teams there were many confrontations in the final to win.
In addition Liverpool also has a feud with Manchester United, the cause of this is mainly due to the success of the two teams and the commercial competition between the two cities of Liverpool and Manchester.
The rivalry between the two teams has increased since the 1960s, although Liverpool is the English team that won the most European championships, but Manchester United is the English team that won this trophy the earliest (in 1968), Manchester United also dominated English football in the 1990s. The hostility was so great that the last player to be transferred between the two clubs was Phil Chisnall, who moved to Liverpool from Manchester United in 1964.
As one of the most successful teams in English football history, Liverpool is a symbol of British cultural life when it comes to football and appears in many special events of the media. Therefore, information about this team is always welcome. Hopefully, with this article, you have a better look at the history as well as the process of survival and development of the team along with their ups and downs. Thank you for reading the article!