5 reasons behind the Manchester United-Liverpool rivalry

The last 2 and a half decades have seen an utter domination of the domestic scene by the Red Devils, winning 13 Premier League titles and a host of FA Cups and League Cups. Alex Ferguson’s retirement saw United uncharacteristically struggle these past few seasons, but with a serial winner like Jose Mourinho at the helm and an immense war chest, it’s only a matter of time before they reach the peak once again.

United’s rapid rise saw Liverpool relegated to the shadows, constantly underachieving, with the infamous ‘spice boys’ tag of the late 90’s still haunting them to this day.

While the trophies haven’t actually dried up completely, they will feel a club of their stature should have much loftier ambitions. The early part of this decade were some of the darkest times a Liverpool fan will ever have to recall, with an ominous threat of administration hanging over their heads, but with Jürgen Klopp managing the Reds, their trajectory can only go upward.

It is a rivalry that has always been about one-upmanship, and more importantly one that places heavy importance on having the last word. The antipathy is always there. It is unshakeable, tribalistic and has been around the block for one hundred and twenty-two years.

While there is always a sense of begrudging respect between the two sides for all the success they achieved in their history, what is the reason behind this unbridled animosity?

Here, we take a look at 5 reasons that have been central to establishing one of the fiercest rivalries in modern football.

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#5 The close proximity of both cities

Manchester United vs Liverpool has always been a deeply rooted rivalry. While every season sees some relatively ‘friendly’ Merseyside derbies Liverpool have against Everton, their noisy neighbours on the opposite end of Stanley Park, or the more recent competitive rivalry United have against Manchester City, both sets of Reds look 35 miles down the M62 for their biggest rivals. This close proximity ensures that when the 2 clubs do face each other in a competition, sparks fly.

There is a certain ignominy for a Red having to go to work the next morning after a loss and having to face a Blues-supporting co-worker; a heritage of footballing culture within the city has also ensured that even families might be split down the middle in allegiances. The situation is somewhat similar in Manchester, though to a far lesser extent.

Therefore, these matches have come to represent matters of immense pride for both clubs, with both sets of players putting everything on the line. The clashes between the 2 historic clubs are often swathed by crunching tackles, heated exchanges and a permeating tension that always threatens to erupt.

#4 A rivalry forged in the ashes of the industrial revolution

The construction of the Manchester ship canal saw animosity rise between the 2 cities

Both the cities of Liverpool and Manchester were 19th-century powerhouses. The Merseyside city was acclaimed to be one of the world’s greatest ports. Manchester, on the other hand, was a booming trade centre for cotton, with Piccadilly Basin central to the textile industry in the United Kingdom.

Back then, however, it was a relationship of cooperation and understanding; Liverpool would trade what Manchester had made. Strong allies for many years, they became enemies during the fallout from the great depression. To sustain a faltering economy, Manchester built their own ship canal all the way to the sea, thereby cutting the Liverpudlians out of the process.

Eventually, both the cities ended up suffering massively as their traditional industries went into terminal decline. The animosity bred during these times eventually boiled on to the football pitch, with both clubs consistently challenging for top honours.

#3 A rivalry bred out of mutual resentment

Incredible success for both clubs saw a sense of resentment rise

Liverpool F.C and Manchester United are the 2 most successful clubs in the history of English football. Through all the hardships that their respective cities faced, the 2 clubs consistently punched above their weights in footballing terms.

Manchester United won 5 league titles in the 1950’s and 1960’s. They also won the prestigious European Cup in 1968, becoming the first ever English club to achieve the feat.

Liverpool arguably went on to achieve greater successes, winning 11 league titles and an astounding 4 European Cups and dominating the 70’s and 80’s. They followed it up with a 5th after a remarkable final in Istanbul in 2005, still well clear of United’s tally of 3.

Liverpool’s success bred resentment in Manchester. Likewise, the fact that United managed to retain such a high profile and glamorous reputation despite their supposed inferiority on the pitch irritated the Liverpool fan base.

This is where we can pinpoint the birth of the rivalry and during this period the tensions between both sets of fans began to rise, eventually developing into the one we know today, leading to the feverish, often war-like atmosphere during match days between the 2 clubs.

#2 Alex Ferguson’s appointment as Manchester United manager

Alex Ferguson’s United surpassed Liverpool's tally of 18 league titles

In 1986, Manchester United hired a new young Scottish manager who had experienced considerable success with Aberdeen and he would come to define the relationship between the 2 clubs for the next 2 and half decades.

From the moment he arrived in Manchester, he was determined to make the Red Devils the best team in the country and continent; at the expense of Liverpool. He continuously stoked the fires of the rivalry, studying the geographical and historical antagonism between the 2 cities to be able to rile the Liverpool supporters. He famously claimed that ‘his greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f****** perch,’ and boy, he did deliver.

In his 27 years in charge of United, he guided them to 13 league titles – surpassing Liverpool’s overall tally of 19 – added 4 FA Cups and won a further 2 Champions Leagues. His glittering career saw him crowned as one of the most decorated managers in world football, further enhancing Liverpool fans’ sense of disillusionment with their own underachievement on the pitch.

#1 The sense of enmity was drilled into both sets of players

Both sets of players had the sense of animosity drilled into them

A defeat at Liverpool saw United lose out on the title in April 1992, stretching their title drought to 25 years. One of the certainties from that day is that Ferguson never forgot the chants of ‘f*** you’ emanating from the Liverpool dressing room. The following season, he pinned a picture of Dante’s ‘Inferno’ on the dressing room wall, showing the distraught faces of the players on the bench and swore he would never let it happen again.

The incredibly successful generation of Manchester United players that delivered all those trophies had one common theme; Ferguson drilled a hatred of Liverpool into them right from the start. Gary Neville once said, ‘I can’t stand Liverpool, I can’t stand Liverpool people, I can’t stand anything to do with them.’

A young Steven Gerrard was instilled with the same hatred by his dad, learning the hard way after he’d apparently tried on a Bryan Robson shirt. Gerrard could be quoted as having said, ‘My dad looked out and went ballistic, he wasn’t having his kid drag the Gerrard name through the gutter, and I thought I would have to move.’ Of course, the Liverpool icon took this to heart and has never swapped shirts with a Manchester United player in his career.