Liverpool FC: a club that never walks alone

The pre-season continues and on Monday Athletic Club face a tough test against Liverpool FC, the reigning Premier League champions and one of the giants of European football.

The double-header friendlies at Anfield kick off at 17:00 and 20:00 BST.

After accumulating one win and three losses in their four friendly matches so far this summer, Ernesto Valverde's side are preparing to take on the Premier League's two top teams as we conclude our preparations against Arsenal in the Emirates Cup on August 9 at 17:00 BST.

Liverpool Football Club was founded by John Houlding in 1892 after they split from local rival, Everton FC. The Reds play their home games at Anfield. The stadium was built in 1884 and Liverpool FC has used it since they were founded. The ground's current capacity is 53,394 spectators.

Liverpool are known as The Reds due to their all-red kits. But they didn't actually wear all-red until 1964.

Liverpool's pre-match anthem is another of the club's trademarks. ‘You'll Never Walk Alone’ is an intangible part of football's heritage. However, its origins lie in a very different sphere, as it was first composed by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for the Broadway musical Carousel in 1945.

The song became even more popular in 1963 when Scouse group Gerry & The Peacemakers released a hit cover version. It was adopted by Liverpool FC and has been sung before every home game ever since. Other teams such as Celtic, Borussia Dortmund, Feyenoord, FC Twente, Kaiserslautern, Mainz 05, FC St. Pauli and FC Tokyo also sing this song in their stadiums, although the Reds use it as their official anthem and have it incorporated into their crest. 

The bird on their badge is a liver bird, a symbol of the city, and it's also found on the city's coat of arms.

Liverpool are one of the most decorated clubs in Europe's top five leagues, with a total of 72 trophies. In terms of major titles, the Reds have won: 20 English First Division titles, six European Cups/Champions Leagues, three UEFA Cups, eight FA Cups, four European Super Cups and one Club World Cup. Only Real Madrid and AC Milan have won more European Cup/Champions League titles than the English club.
 

Marked by tragedy

On 15 April 1989, an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest turned into tragedy when 96 people died and hundreds were injured during a mass crush at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England.

Large crowds began to mass outside the stadium as kick-off approached. Entry was via two tunnels, and everyone began to pile into the main tunnel. When the gates were opened to allow fans into the stadium, a large number of people began to rush towards the tunnel, causing a crush.

The incident left hundreds injured and resulted in the deaths of 96 people. Many of the deceased were young people, including children and teenagers. Most of the victims died from suffocation or being crushed.

Liverpool are also in mourning this summer. On 3 July, just before pre-season training was set to begin, first-team player Diogo Jota was involved in a traffic accident in Zamora, Spain that claimed his life and that of his brother, André. There will be tribute to the late Portuguese footballer before the match.
 

Previous meetings

This will be the seventh encounter between the two teams. The first came in the first round of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1968/69. Both legs ended 2-1 and, curiously, the tie was decided by a coin toss, which Athletic's captain, Koldo Aguirre, won.

They also faced each other in the 1983/84 European Cup round of 16, with the English side winning 1–0 in the second leg at San Mamés after a 0–0 draw in Liverpool. 

Monday' clashes will be our third and fourth friendlies. On 5 August 2017, the Zurigorri lost 3-1 at Dublin's Aviva Stadium with our goal scored by current captain Iñaki Williams. Four years later, on 8 August 2021, we drew 1-1 at Anfield, with Alex Berenguer and Jota getting on the scoresheet.
 

Liverpool's current squad

The Reds won the Premier League at a canter last season. In large part that came down to the talented and experienced squad at Arne Slot's disposal.

Almost every player represents their respective national team. The standout players are Alisson Becker (Brazil), Ibrahima Konaté (France), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands), Andy Robertson (Scotland), Ryan Gravenberch (Netherlands), Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Dominik Szoboszlai (Hungary) and Mo Salah (Egypt), among many others.

Some important players have moved to new clubs, such as Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid) and Caoimhín Kelleher (Brentford).

However, Slot has brought in some quality reinforcements: Giorgi Mamardashvili (who spent last season back on loan at Valencia CF), Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth), Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz (both from Bayer Leverkusen) and Hugo Ekitike (Eintracht Frankfurt).
 

The Scouse spirit

The citizens of Liverpool are known as Liverpudlians or, more colloquially, Scousers. The latter term comes from a popular stew called scouse.

One of England's most working-class cities, Liverpudlians pride themselves on their work ethic, sense of humour, creativity and distinct dialect, which was much influenced by historical Irish immigration to the city.

Liverpool has long had a connection with the performing arts and has produced plenty of influential musicians/bands and actors like The Beatles, The La's, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Coral, Elvis Costello, Jodie Comer, Jason Isaacs, Kim Catrall and Stephen Graham.