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Earlier this season, Manchester United and Liverpool faced off in a drab and boring affair that ended 0-0 with Jose Mourinho parking the bus. The game was presented as ‘Red Monday’ and drummed up to be one of the games of the season. In a noticeable trend, the game itself disappointed but one thing remained clear- no matter what the condition of the clubs and no matter what their league position - Manchester United vs. Liverpool will always be a big, mouthwatering game.
From the halcyon days of Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish to Eric Cantona and Wayne Rooney, the times continued to change, as did the respective outlooks of the clubs; but the prestige remained. Liverpool dominated English and even European football in the 1970’s and 80’ in the aftermath of the great United team under Sir Matt Busby.
The 90’s would see United return to the top under Sir Alex Ferguson, but the joy that a derby win brought to the supporters never went away. Like all great rivalries, United v Liverpool has a rich and storied past.
Unlike most derby games, this one doesn’t see local teams facing off one another. In fact, both United and Liverpool have their own local rivals in what could be considered secondary derbies- Manchester City and Everton, respectively.
The reason behind this is the same as why El Classico is more important to Barcelona than the Catalunya derby; there is almost always more at stake. The rich history of the clubs - a combined 38 league titles, 8 Champions Leagues, 3 UEFA Cups, 4 UEFA Supercups, 19 FA Cups, 12 League Cups, 36 Community Shields and a FIFA Club World Cup and Intercontinental Cup apiece makes this one of the most decorated derbies in world football - certainly the most decorated in England.
Humble beginnings: Formation to World War II
As with most rivalries, this one goes beyond just the pitch. Mancunians and Scousers have bred contempt for each other ever since the early days of the Industrial Revolution. Liverpool became Britain’s most important port whilst Manchester became the manufacturing hub of the World’s Largest Empire.
The people of both cities were always in competition when it came to the economy and the industry. The building of a canal brought matters to the fore once more in 1894 as Newton Heath LYR (As United were known then) prepared to face upstarts Liverpool FC in a playoff to decide who would take their place in the first division.
Liverpool FC, which was formed due to a disagreement between the Everton president and board, had just completed its first season as a football club in the Second Division and went unbeaten throughout to win the title. Manchester United or Newton Heath meanwhile finished bottom of the First Division. This set up a so-called ‘test match’ between the two teams and saw Liverpool prevail 2-0 leading to their advance into the First Division.
Liverpool won the first of their 18 league titles in 1901 whilst United toiled in the Second Division whilst United’s first win came in the 1907-08 season by which time Liverpool had become a mid table club. This saw a United establish dominance in the domestic game winning the Cup and league one more time before World War 1 broke out. The resumption of football saw Liverpool win two more league titles and United got relegated.
In the early days, the teams crossed paths much less than they do today with relegation still a concern for United. The hatred and passion were already present, but it wasn’t the glittering spectacle it is today.
The Second World War served as a buffer but when play resumed, Liverpool again won the league ahead of United.
World War II- 1992
Then came Sir Matt Busby. The first sustained period of dominance followed and now it was Liverpool who were relegated to the Second Division. Ironically, Busby, a former Liverpool captain only made his dominance harder for the scousers to accept. Busby led United to multiple leagues, cups and European Cups triumphs, establishing the ‘Busby Babes’ as the elite group of footballers in the world alongside the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas.
Meanwhile, Liverpool had a new manager by the name Bill Shankly. Following their promotion in 1962, we saw them come into direct sustained competition for the league title for the first time. They shared 4 first division titles between them from 1964 to 1967 and even shared the FA Community Shield in 1965 due to a lack of a tiebreaker.
In what would be a pattern, this duopoly would not last. Their roles were reversed yet again as United’s league win in 1967 would be their last for 26 years. In the meantime, Liverpool dominated country and continent. 11 league titles, 19 domestic cups and 7 European trophies between 1972 and 1992 transformed them into a continental superpower.
Manchester United’s success in that period would be limited to nicking the odd cup competition.
The biggest game between the two sides was the 1977 FA Cup final. Despite all their dominance, Liverpool would come up short after a spirited performance from Tommy Docherty’s United. However, in a cruel twist of fate, Liverpool would win the league and UEFA Champions League in that season, which meant United, had stopped them from achieving an unprecedented treble; something they would themselves do in 1999.
The first sign of outright disgust between the clubs was seen as Liverpool fans were generally upset with the media giving United more attention than the port city club despite the fact that Liverpool were far more successful. This period of success led to an arrogance that some Liverpool fans still hold despite abject performances in the league off late.
In their manner of demonising United, Liverpool Fans gave them the nickname ‘the Glams’ as a derogatory means of describing them as sell-outs to the media who got the attention they didn’t deserve.
This lack of media attention to the Reds and love to the Red Devils hit right at home for Liverpudlians as they saw once again their own workmanlike teams being ignored for flashy Manchester and despite their success, still being in the shadow of Old Trafford.
The Premier League era
Then came the Premier League and the dominance of Sir Alex Ferguson. Manchester United plundered 13 Premier League titles out of a possible 24 to Liverpool’s zero, 22 Domestic Cups in 25 years and further six European trophies.
This was undoubtedly the greatest period enjoyed by either club and despite Liverpool winning their fair share of trophies, United took over their much vaunted 18 league titles. Their only cup final meeting saw Liverpool prevail to win the League Cup, which must have been little consolation if at all amongst a litany of disappointments.
The 2008/09 season was the last time the clubs truly came head to head for the league. Liverpool, on a rare occasion, beat United home and away and convincingly so, but were undone by some drab draws near the end of the season. That this drew United level with Liverpool on 18 league titles made it worse for the Liverpool fans. An enthralling season saw United beat Liverpool to the title by a mere four points with the title only secured on the penultimate weekend.
This marked the end of an era as Liverpool slumped before a recovery that saw them finish second yet again in 2013-14. That season, it was United’s local rivals Manchester City who won the title and it felt like a changing of the guard was taking place. Despite this, the tension remained and was always bubbling underneath the surface.
Following the many incidents of Hooliganism in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the atmosphere at most stadia has calmed down but not between these two rivals. Fans have chanted some truly offensive and insensitive chants- from the Munich air disaster to the Hillsborough Stadium collapse. The few players that have played for both clubs have also received massive amounts of abuse for being traitors - recent examples being Michael Owen and Paul Ince.
The buck doesn’t stop with the fans either as players have been involved in bust-ups multiple times. From Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra to Carragher and Neville to Keane and Fowler. The players have never backed down from a fight making this one of the most awaited fixtures on the calendar for a reason.
This season, Liverpool are challenging for the title but United cannot be counted out at either. Despite being in 6th place, they are in a rich vein of form and this rivalry is playing its path in a mouthwatering title race amongst the top 6. As a means of further spicing things up, United approached Klopp in 2013 to replace Sir Alex, but he refused- something scousers often brag about.
Despite Mourinho’s attempt at sabotaging the excitement for this derby, it will not work. As two of the most passionate fan bases in the world fill up Old Trafford this weekend, it is difficult not to be excited for the latest chapter in a 123-year long story that never ceases to amaze and excite.
