Liverpool F.C. in Europe

Liverpool Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who currently play in the Premier League. They have played at their current home ground, Anfield, since their foundation in 1892. They first participated in European football during 1964, when they competed in the European Cup. Their first match in Europe was against KR Rekjavik of Iceland. They have subsequently won this competition five times, the most recent being in 2005. The club has won the UEFA Cup three times, which is the joint-record along with four other clubs. Liverpool have also won the UEFA Super Cup three times, been to the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and have competed in the Intercontinental Cup. Liverpool are one of only five teams to have the right to wear the UEFA Badge of Honour. Liverpool's last participation in a European final was in 2007, in the UEFA Champions League. They lost the final 2–1 to AC Milan.

Liverpool were suspended from European football in 1985, following the Heysel stadium disaster, in which 39 Juventus fans were killed by a collapsing wall. The ban was supposed to last for ten years, however Liverpool only served seven years of this, the ban also applied to other English teams. Liverpool's first match in Europe after the ban, was in 1992.

History

Entry in Europe under Shankly (1965–74)

Liverpool first competed in Europe during the 1964–65 season, after they qualified for the European Cup by winning the First Division the previous season. Their first opponent in European competition was KR Reykjavík of Iceland in the preliminary round of the European Cup. Liverpool won 11–1 on aggregate. They progressed to the semi-finals were they faced Internazionale of Italy. Before the first leg at Anfield, the then manager Bill Shankly decided to parade the FA Cup they had won the previous week to intimidate the Italians. It paid off as they won the match 3–0, however Internazionale won the second leg 3–0, although there were complaints of dubious refereeing decisions from Liverpool who felt the referee Jose Maria Ortiz de Mendibel showed bias towards the Italian club on a number of key decisions. The following season Liverpool went one better and reached the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup during the 1965–66 season, were they faced Borussia Dortmund of Germany. Dortmund won the final 2–1 at Hampden Park after Reinhard Libuda scored during extra time after the match finished 1–1 during regulation play.

The following seasons saw Liverpool competing in the European Cup and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, albeit without much success as they failed to get past the third round in any of the four seasons after reaching the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final. However during the 1970–71 season the club reached the semi finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup the forerunner of the UEFA Cup. They faced faced fellow English club Leeds United who went on to win the competition that season, beating Liverpool 1–0 on aggregate en route to winning the competition. However success finally came for Liverpool and manager Bill Shankly during the 1972–73 season when they defeated German side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–2 on aggregate to win the UEFA Cup, their first European trophy. The following season was Bill Shankly's last as manager, as he resigned at the end of the season. Liverpool participated in the European Cup, but were beaten in the second round 4–2 on aggregate by Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia.

European Cup success under Paisley (1974–83)

When Bill Shankly retired he was replaced by his assistant Bob Paisley. Paisley's first season in charge of Liverpool in Europe saw the team compete in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In Paisley's first European match in charge Liverpool beat Strømsgodset of Norway 11–0 at Anfield, this win represents Liverpool's record victory. Success was short-lived however, as the club lost in the next round to Hungarian side Ferencváros on the away goals rule. The following season Liverpool entered the UEFA Cup after finishing second in the First Division. They were paired with Scottish side Hibernian in the first round, winning 3–2 over two-legs. A 9–1 aggregate victory over Real Sociedad ensured the club progressed to the third round were they beat Śląsk Wrocław of Poland 5–1. Dynamo Dresden and FC Barcelona were beaten as Liverpool progressed to their third European final. Their opponents in the final were Club Brugge of Belgium, Liverpool won the first leg at Anfield 3–2, after the Belgian side went 2–0 up after 15 minutes, however Liverpool recovered to win, thanks to three goals in six minutes by Ray Kennedy, Jimmy Case and Kevin Keegan respectively. The second leg at the Olympiastadion in Bruges ended 1–1 ensuring Liverpool won their second UEFA Cup after a 4–1 aggregate triumph.

Liverpool entered the European Cup in the 1976–77 season, after winning the First Division in the previous season. They faced Crusaders FC of Northern Ireland in the first round, beating them 7–0 on aggregate. Victory over Trabzonspor ensured Liverpool went into the quarter finals to face the previous season's runners-up Saint-Étienne. The French team won the first leg 1–0, the second leg at Anfield started well for Liverpool with them scoring inside the first two minutes courtesy of Kevin Keegan. Saint-Étienne went ahead again to make it 2–1 on aggreagte in the French tem's favour, they levelled the score up through Ray Kennedy, however Liverpool needed another goal due to the away goals rule. With six minutes remaining David Fairclough was brought on to replace John Toshack, and within seconds of replacing Toshack he had scored to make it 3–2 on aggregate to Liverpool and ensure their passage to the semi-finals. The semi-final opposition was FC Zurich of Switzerland, who were beaten 6–1 to set up a final with Borussia Mönchengladbach whom Liverpool had previously faced in the 1973 UEFA Cup Final. The final held in Rome, cam four days after Liverpool had lost the FA Cup final to Manchester United, thus dispelling any chance of the club claiming a unique treble. This did not deter Liverpool who won 3–1 to become European champions for the first time.

The following season, Liverpool entered the European Cup again, aiming to retain the trophy. The received a bye in the first round due to them being champions. Dynamo Dresden were their opposition in the second round, the East Germans were beaten 6–3 on aggregate, with a quarter-final against two-time champions Benfica awaiting. A 2–1 victory in the first leg was followed up by a 4–1 victory at Anfield, to see Liverpool progress to the semi-final. Their opponents were the team they beat the previous season to become European champions, Borussia Mönchengladbach. The German side won the first leg 2–1, however Liverpool fought back to win the second leg 3–0 to progress to the inal to face Club Brugge the team they beat in the 1976 UEFA Cup Final. The final played at Wembley was a largely drab affair until the 65th minute when Kenny Dalglish scored from a Graeme Souness pass to secure a 1–0 victory for Liverpool, and the retention of the European Cup. The 1978–79 season saw Liverpool unble to replicate their feats of the two previous season's, they were drawn against English champions Nottingham Forest in the first round, and were subsequently beaten 2–0 on aggregate by the eventual champions. The 1979–80 season again proved to be a disappointment, Liverpool again entered the European Cup courtesy of winning their domestic league, and were again eliminated in the first round this time by Dinamo Tbilisi of the Soviet Union, after losing 4–2 on aggregate.

Honours

*European Cup:Winners (5): 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005:Runners-up (2): 1985, 2007

*UEFA Cup:Winners (3): 1973, 1976, 2001

*UEFA Super Cup:Winners (3): 1977, 2001, 2005:Runners-up (2): 1978, 1984

*UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:Runners-up (1): 1966

*Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup:Runners-up (3): 1981, 1984, 2005

Records

Jamie Carragher holds the record for the most appearances in Europe, making 100 during his career. The most goals scored in European competition by a Liverpool player is 24, which is held by Steven Gerrard. [cite web|url=http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/lfc_story/records/ |title=LFC Records |publisher=Liverpool F.C |accessdate=2008-03-25 ] The 8–0 home win against Beşiktaş on 7 November 2007 represents the biggest ever win in the UEFA Champions League. [cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=15105/match=301215/report=rp.html|title=Liverpool revived by record triumph|publisher=UEFA|date=2007-11-06|accessdate=2008-02-14 ] Liverpool's first match in European competition was against KR Reykjavik in the first round of the European Cup on 17 August 1964. Liverpool won the match 5–0. The first goal scored by Liverpool in European competition occurred during this match it was scored by Gordon Wallace. [cite web|url=http://www.lfchistory.net/stats_goal_milestones.asp?Cid=4 |title=Europe:Milestone goals |publisher= LFC history |accessdate=2008-09-07 ] The club's biggest win in Europe was 11–0 which came against Strømsgodset in the first round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup on 17 September 1974. This victory also represents Liverpool's record victory. Liverpool's highest European attendance was 55,104, which came against FC Barcelona during the 1975–76 season. Liverpool's match against Dundalk during the 1982–83 season, in which 12,021 spectators attended the match represents Liverpool's lowest European attendance.cite web |url=http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/lfc_story/records |title=LFC Records |publisher=Liverpool F.C |accessdate=2007-12-24 ]

Record by season

;Key
* PR = Preliminary round
* QR1 = First qualifying round
* QR2 = Second qualifying round
* QR3 = Third qualifying round
* Grp = Group stage
* Grp1 = First group stage
* Grp2 = Second group stage
* R1 = First round
* R2 = Second round
* R3 = Third round
* R4 = Fourth round
* QF = Quarter final
* SF = Semi final
* F = Final

Record by competition

ee also

*Heysel Stadium disaster
*Liverpool F.C. - Statistics
*Liverpool F.C.'s European Cup triumphs

References

External links

* [http://www.uefa.com/ Official UEFA site]
* [http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/ Offical Liverpool FC website]
* [http://www.liverweb.org.uk/euroall.htm Fansite with Liverpool's European Statistics]
* [http://www.kassiesa.com/uefaclubs/search/fm.php?search=Liverpool List of all Liverpool's European Results]
* [http://www.lfcineurope.com/ Liverpool in Europe website]