Liverpool FC: Legends of European Football

Athletic Club will take on Liverpool FC at Anfield on August 8 (kick-off at 17:00 CEST). It will be the sixth time the two teams have faced, with the most recent clash being a 3-1 pre-season friendly loss at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in 2017.

The Reds finished third in the Premier League last season, ensuring they will compete in the Champions League for a fifth consecutive campaign.

Liverpool FC are one of the most successful clubs in the history of the sport and below we’ve compiled a list of facts about the Jurgen Klopp’s men and the city itself:

• Liverpool Football Club was founded by John Houlding in 1892 after splitting from local rivals Everton FC.
• They play their home matches at Anfield. The stadium was built in 1884 and Liverpool FC have used it since their creation in 1892. Its current capacity is 53,394.
• Liverpool FC are known as the Reds due to the fact they play in all-red kits. However, they didn’t wear all-red until the 1964 season.
• The Reds are one of the most highly decorated clubs in Europe’s ‘Big Five’ league with a total of 69 trophies. In terms of major honours, Liverpool FC have won: 19 English First Division titles, six European Cups/Champions Leagues, three UEFA Cups and seven FA Cups.
• Only Real Madrid and AC Milan have won the European Cup/Champions League more times than the Reds.
• Their current manager is German Jurgen Klopp and their top scorer last season was Mohamed Salah with 22 Premier League goals.
• Former Athletic Club player Mikel San José spent three seasons with the Reds, but never made an official debut at the club.
• Athletic and Liverpool FC have played five previous matches. The first time they met was in the first round of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup back in 1968-69. The score was 2-1 in both legs and, curiously, the fixture was settled with the toss of a coin, which Athletic won.
• Citizens of Liverpool have a distinct accent and people from the city are known as Liverpudlians or Scousers. The latter nickname comes from a popular stew called scouse.
• The bird in the club’s crest is a ‘liver bird’, it’s the symbol of the city and can also be found in Liverpool’s coat of arms.