There are many bitter rivalries in the world of football, and in England there are several cities that have derby matches between city rivals. Manchester has the derby between United and City while Liverpool has the Liverpool-Everton derby.
However, the bitterest of rivalries in English football is perhaps that between two rivals who are not within the same city but are near neighbours and who both claim to be the most successful and most dominant clubs in English football, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Domestic bliss
Liverpool has been champion of England a record eighteen times compared to United’s sixteen but Red Devils’ fans will tell you that the Liverpudlians have never won the English Premier League (EPL) and haven’t been champions since 1990 while the Mancunians have won the EPL nine times including a very rare hat-trick of triumphs between 1999 and 2001.
Liverpool has also achieved that feat but that was a long time ago, between 1982 and 1984. Liverpool was also the first to be crowned champion, way back in 1901, while United had to wait another eight years for its first Championship. Liverpool has also been runners-up eleven times.
United has the upper hand in the FA Cup, with eleven trophies and eighteen appearances in the final compared to Liverpool’s seven wins in thirteen finals. The Merseysiders have, however, won the League Cup a record seven times and appeared in ten finals and can therefore claim to have won fourteen domestic knockout competitions, while United has only won League Cup trophies in 1992 and 2006 and been losing finalists on four occasions.
Liverpool has also won a knockout trophy most recently, winning the FA Cup in 2006, while United last won the FA Cup in 1999. Additionally, Man U has won twelve Charity Shield or Community Shield matches and shared four trophies while Liverpool has won ten and also shared five trophies.
Europe’s finest
Liverpool has the edge in Europe, having been champions of Europe five times compared to United’s two triumphs in 1968 and 1999. And again, Liverpool can claim more recent success after its Champions League victory in 2005. Liverpool also has a greater collection of minor European trophies, having won the UEFA Cup in 1973, 1976 and 2001 and the European Super Cup in 1977, 2001 and 2005 while United has only collected a single European Cup Winners Cup trophy and one European Super Cup, both in 1991.
United also won the Intercontinental Cup in 1999- a feat that the Scousers have never achieved, having been runners-up on three occasions. Liverpool has played in eleven European finals in all, having been twice runners-up in the European Cup or Champions League and a losing finalist in the European Cup Winners Cup in 1966. United has never lost a European final but has lost nine semi-finals.
Liverpool has won the double of the League title and the FA Cup once, in 1986, and has won two trebles: the League title, League Cup and European Cup in 1984 and the ‘Cup treble’ in 2001 when it won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup. United won the domestic double in 1994 and 1996 and then in 1999 did one better by winning the most prestigious treble of all- the League title, FA Cup and the Champions League.
The here and now
When it comes to size, United has the money, the fan-base and the stadium. United has the largest sponsorship deal in football history, collecting over fifty-six million pounds over four years from shirt sponsors, AIG. United also has the largest club stadium in British football, Old Trafford, which currently holds a little over 76 000 people. Anfield, by comparison, holds around 45 000 and so the club has plans to relocate and build a new, bigger stadium to generate more much-needed income.
For many Stretford Enders, the present day is what’s most important and so Man U is clearly at the top of the tree, being the current EPL Champions. Liverpool, meanwhile, finished 3rd in the EPL last season and looks unlikely to equal that this season while United is several points ahead of them and is in the running to retain the title.
To add to that, United has also progressed further in the FA Cup, with Liverpool being eliminated in the fifth round. Both teams reached the knockout stage in the Champions League this season but Liverpool fared better in the event last season, losing in the final while United went out in the semi-finals.
The two teams have met 174 times in all, with United winning 67, Liverpool 57 and 50 matches drawn. However United has won four of the last five meetings, including the last three with Liverpool’s last win being a 1-0 victory at Anfield in the FA Cup in February 2006. The clubs will renew the bitterest of rivalries at Old Trafford on March 23.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_F.C. (retrieved 24 February, 2008)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C. (retrieved 24 February, 2008)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_F.C._and_Manchester_United_football_rivalry (retrieved 24 February, 2008)
http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/competitions/europeancup.html (retrieved 26 February, 2008)
Understanding the story
1. Which two football teams are described in the story?
2. Do the two teams play in the same city?
3. Are the two teams from places that are near to each other?
4. When will these two teams play against each other next?
5. What are the names of the stadiums of the two teams?
6. Who is the current EPL champion?
Find the information
1. Which team has been champion of England most often?
2. Which team has been EPL champion most often?
3. How many times has Liverpool won the EPL?
4. How many times has Manchester United lost a European final?
5. Which team has won the most matches between the two clubs?
6. Which team won the last match between the two clubs?
Who are they?
Find words in the story to match these meanings.
1. The nickname for Manchester United.
2. Official name for people from Liverpool.
3. People from Manchester.
4. People from beside the River Mersey (i.e. Liverpool)
5. Nickname for people from Liverpool.
6. Fans in the main home section at Old Trafford supporting Manchester United.
What do you think?
Who will win the next match between Manchester United and Liverpool?
Understanding the story
1. Manchester United and Liverpool
2. No
3. Yes, they are near neighbours.
4. March 23
5. Old Trafford (Manchester United) and Anfield (Liverpool)
6. Manchester United
Find the information
1. Liverpool (18 compared to 16)
2. Manchester United (eight compared to none)
3. None
4. None
5. Manchester United (67 wins compared to 57)
6. Manchester United
Who are they?
Find words in the story to match these meanings.
1. The Red Devils
2. Liverpudlians
3. Mancunians
4. Merseysiders
5. Scousers
6. Stretford Enders
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