Liverpool Football Club 红军利物浦

轻松地带 足球专区
1

LFC Story

If it wasn’t for one man, Liverpool Football Club would never have been born. When Everton left Anfield in a dispute over rent in 1892, club chairman John Houlding stayed behind along with a handful of supporters and just three first-team players. But he was determined to see football continue at the ground. He formed a new club from scratch, chose the name Liverpool… and created a legend.
Even John Houlding couldn’t have predicted how successful it would become. More than 100 years on, no English club can match the LiverpoolFC roll of honour; League Champions 18 times, FA Cup winners seven times, League Cup winners seven times, European Cup winners five times and UEFA Cup winners three times.

When it is completed, the History channel will chart the rise and rise of Liverpool FC to the very summit of the England game, from the struggles of the early years right up to Gerard Houllier’s historic treble in 2001. This channel will recall glorious domestic victories and European triumphs and reflect on the tragedies of Heysel and Hillsborough.

We’ve focused on 10 key dates in Liverpool Football Club’s history to begin with but over time, we’ll have over 100 chapters in this section alone as we present the ultimate history of England’s greatest ever football club. This is a story of incredible passion and pride - a story that not only inspires Liverpool fans but football supporters the world over.

1892 – Liverpool Football Club formed
The history of Liverpool Football Club begins with our greatest rivals and neighbours, Everton, for it was from a dispute with Everton that Liverpool Football Club was born.

1901 - Our first title win
In mid-February of the 1900-01 season, Liverpool had lost eight games and conceded 31 goals and the championship looked a pipe-dream. Twelve games later and after nine wins and three draws, the title was ours. Here’s how we did it

1950 - First Wembley appearance
Arsenal provided the opposition when Liverpool made their first appearance at Wembley. It should have been a momentous occasion in the club’s history but a 2-0 defeat prolonged the Reds’ wait for FA Cup glory.

1959 - Shankly appointed manager
December 1st 1959 is a date that will forever be etched in the annals of Anfield history. For it was on this day that Liverpool Football Club announced Huddersfield Town boss Bill Shankly would be their new manager in succession to Phil Taylor.

1965 - Winning the FA Cup for first time
There was a feeling of quiet optimism around Anfield that this could, at last, be Liverpool’s year in the competition we so desperately craved success in. After all, we were the reigning league champions and, under Bill Shankly, anything seemed possible.

1977 - European Champions
If winning the FA Cup for the first time in 1965 is regarded as the greatest day in the history of Liverpool Football Club, then there is no doubt that winning the European Cup for the first time in 1977 was the greatest night.

1985 - Heysel Disaster
No one will ever forget the tragic events at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels on May 29 1985. Liverpool were playing Juventus in the European Cup Final and what should have been one of the greatest nights in the club’s history turned into the lowest.

1986 - Doing the Double
Liverpool Football Club kicked off the 1985/86 under a giant cloud. The events of Heysel just four months previous had heaped shame on Anfield but that grey cloud was to have a glorious silver lining.

1989 – Hillsborough
On April 15th 1989, over 25,000 Liverpool supporters travelled down to Hillsborough to watch the FA Cup semi-final match with Nottingham Forest. 96 of them never returned.

2001 - Clinching the cup treble
Just four days after dramatically snatching the FA Cup from Arsenal’s grasp in Cardiff, and with the Worthington Cup already safely tucked away in the Anfield trophy cabinet, Liverpool’s class of 2001 completed an unprecedented cup treble.

2005 - Champions League Winners 2005
On what will go down as THE most incredible night in this club’s illustrious history Liverpool reclaimed their crown as Kings of Europe after miraculously overcoming a 3-0 half-time deficit to defeat AC Milan at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul

2006 - FA CUP WINNERS 2006
The 2006 FA Cup Final will be remembered in Anfield folklore as the Gerrard final as captain fantastic Steven Gerrard rescued Liverpool with a stunning last minute equaliser to break West Ham’s hearts and force extra-time

2

1ST TEAM SQUAD PROFILESLiverpool FC Squad - 2008-2009

  1. Diego Cavalieri
  2. Andrea Dossena
  3. Sami Hyypia
  4. Daniel Agger
  5. Robbie Keane
  6. Steven Gerrard
  7. Fernando Torres
  8. Andriy Voronin
  9. Albert Riera
  10. Fabio Aurelio
  11. Xabi Alonso
  12. Yossi Benayoun
  13. Jermaine Pennant
  14. Alvaro Arbeloa
  15. Dirk Kuyt
  16. Ryan Babel
  17. Javier Mascherano
  18. Lucas Leiva
  19. Emiliano Insua
  20. Jamie Carragher
  21. David Ngog
  22. Pepe Reina
  23. Jay Spearing
  24. Philipp Degen
  25. Damien Plessis
  26. Krisztian Nemeth
  27. Charles Itandje
  28. Nabil El Zhar
  29. Stephen Darby
  30. Martin Kelly
  31. Ryan Flynn
  32. Steven Irwin
  33. Martin Skrtel
  34. Craig Lindfield
  35. Nathan Eccleston
  36. Martin Hansen
  37. Peter Gulacsi
3

Liverpool FC Staff
Rafael Benitez - Manager
Sammy Lee - Assistant Manager
Gary Ablett - Reserve Team Manager
Mauricio Pellegrino - First-team Coach
Angel Vales - Reserve Coach and Head of Technical Analysis
Dave McDonough - Technical Analyst
Paco De Miguel - Fitness Coach
Gonzalo Rodriguez - Fitness Coach
Gerard Nus - Fitness Coach
Xavi Valero - Goalkeeping Coach
Eduardo Macia - Chief Scout
Mike McGlynn - Assistant Chief Scout
Mark Waller - Club Doctor
Rob Price - Senior Physiotherapist
Louise Fawcett - Physiotherapist
Victor Salinas - Physiotherapist
Chris Morgan - Physiotherapist
Felix Fernandez Ledesma - Sports Therapist
Paul Small - Masseur
Graham Carter - Kit Manager
John Wright - Kit Man

4

利物蒲训练基地！！！！
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5

Domestic

League
Football League First Division / Premier League (level 1)
Winners (18): 1900–01, 1905–06, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1946–47, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90
Runners-up (11): 1898–89, 1909–10, 1968–69, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1990–91, 2001–02
Second Division (level 2)
Winners (4): 1893–94, 1895–96, 1904–05, 1961–62
Lancashire League
Winners (1): 1892–93

Cups
FA Cup
Winners (7): 1965, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1992, 2001, 2006
Runners-up (6): 1914, 1950, 1971, 1977, 1988, 1996
League Cup
Winners (7): 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2001, 2003
Runners-up (3): 1978, 1987, 2005
FA Charity Shield / FA Community Shield
Winners (15, 10 outright and 5 shared):[A] 1964 (shared), 1965 (shared), 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977 (shared), 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986 (shared), 1988, 1989, 1990 (shared), 2001, 2006
Runners-up (6): 1922, 1971, 1983, 1984, 1992, 2002
Super Cup
Winners (1): 1986

International
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

6

[编辑] 歷史
主条目：利物浦足球俱樂部歷史

[编辑] 成立早期(1892-1960)
利物浦足球會由約翰賀定(John Houlding)於1892年創立，在空著的晏菲路球場作賽。在前七年，這個球場一直被愛華頓足球會使用。但是，在1881年，晏菲路球場的租賃人賀定購回球場，並決定將租金由每年100鎊提升到250鎊。愛華頓的成員反對，離開晏菲路並搬到葛迪遜公園。

最後球場只剩下3名球員， 賀定於1892年3月15日決定組織自己的足球會。利物浦足球會成立，但本身的名字是愛華頓體育會(Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds, Ltd.)，因為足總不肯承認這名字，所以最後改做利物浦足球會。他僱用了約翰麥堅拿並簽下13名蘇格蘭職業球員。

利物浦在一開始的賽季就贏了蘭開夏郡聯賽，並在1893-94賽季提升至乙組聯賽。他們以不敗身份成為乙組聯賽的冠軍並升至英格蘭足球最高級的聯賽——甲組聯賽。

在1901年，利物浦贏了第一個聯賽冠軍，並在1906年再一次奪冠。他們於1914年首次晉身足總盃決賽，但以0-1輸給般尼。

在1922年及1923年，利物浦首次連續兩屆奪冠，隊長是英格蘭後衛伊弗雷姆·朗沃斯。隨後就是球會歷史上最長沒有冠軍的低潮。直至第二次世界大戰也未試過成為頭四名。在戰後第一個賽季，利物浦贏得第五個聯賽冠軍，但光明沒有繼續來臨，接下來成為聯賽的中游分子，於1954年降班，連績7個賽季成為頭4名，但始終未能得到兩個升班席位之一，直至1962年才再次升班。在期間得到了最大敗仗的紀錄——於1954年12月以9-1敗給伯明翰。

[编辑] 輝煌時期(1960-1985)
在1959年12月，比尔·香克利被委任為領隊，在接下來的15年，他使利物浦成為歐洲強隊之一。在他上任的第一年，他與24名球員解約並重建球隊。在1962年，他上任的第三年，利物浦拋離第二位8分，贏得乙組聯賽冠軍，重新升上甲組，從此再沒有降班。

自從1960年代，他們告別乙組年代並為英格蘭球壇的強大勢力。在1964年，利物浦自17年來再奪得聯賽冠軍，在其後的賽季首次贏得足總盃，以2-1擊敗列斯聯。並在1966年贏得第8次聯賽冠軍。 利物浦於1973年贏得他們首個歐洲冠軍——歐洲足協盃，兩回合以3-2擊敗慕遜加柏。可惜的是，在一年後第二次奪得足總盃後，比尔·香克利退休了，他的助手鮑勃·佩斯利繼承他在利物浦的事業。

在鮑勃·佩斯利帶領的9個賽季，利物浦總共贏得21個獎盃，包括3個歐洲盃賽冠軍盃、1個歐洲足協盃、6個聯賽冠軍及連續三年的聯賽盃。

在1976年，利物浦成為冠軍，但只能僅僅好過女王公园巡游者，但也奪得了歐洲足協盃。在接下來的一年，利物浦成功衛冕聯賽冠軍，輸了足總盃，但贏得首個歐洲盃賽冠軍盃。決賽在羅馬舉行，以3-1擊敗门兴格拉德巴赫。在1978年，利物浦衛冕成功，在溫布萊球場以1-0擊敗布魯日。利物浦在1979年打破英格蘭本土紀錄，以68分奪得聯賽冠軍並在42場球賽中只失16球。

在1980年，利物浦又贏得冠軍，五年內第四次，可惜在足總盃準決賽三次重賽仍沒法勝利，以0-1輸給阿仙奴，雙冠夢幻滅。 皮士利的第三個歐洲盃賽冠軍盃勝利來自1981年，在巴黎以1-0擊敗皇家馬德里。在接下來的兩季，利物浦成為聯賽聯賽盃雙冠王。當皮士利於1983年退休時，本土盃賽中只曾未奪過足總盃。

值得注意的是接任的領隊將會在球會職員中選擇。這是領隊通常稱為"the boot room boys"（boot room是利物浦在晏菲路討論戰術的地方）。因為鮑勃·佩斯利當初也是比尔·香克利的助手，所以鮑勃·佩斯利也將帥位傳給他的助手——經驗豐富的乔·费根。當他於1983年成為領隊時他已是63歲。在他上任的第一季，利物浦成為首間英格蘭球會一季內奪得重大冠軍（聯賽、聯賽盃及歐洲盃賽冠軍盃），成為三冠王。隊中一眾人物像伊恩·拉什、格雷姆·索内斯、肯尼·達格利什等，都成為英格蘭球壇的經典人物[3]。但乔·费根於一季後就辭職了，因為在下一季發生了一單驚人的悲劇。

[编辑] 兩次球場慘劇(1985-1991)
主条目：希素球場慘劇
主条目：希斯堡慘劇
在1985年利物浦再次進入歐洲盃賽冠軍盃的決賽，在希素球場對著祖雲達斯。但在距離原定比賽開始時間還有半小時，在利物浦球迷區的球迷開始鬧事，甚至縱火，防暴警察衝入欲制止暴徒，有些球迷為逃避追捕，災難發生了。利物浦球迷破壞了阻隔雙方球迷的圍欄並挑釁祖雲達斯的球迷，最後引致牆壁倒塌，殺死39個球迷，大部分是意大利人。後來比賽仍不受注意地繼續，最終利物浦以0-1敗陣。結果英格蘭球會被禁止參加5年歐洲賽（利物浦停賽10年，但最後改為6年），14名利物浦球迷被控誤殺。這個事件稱為希素慘劇。

在1985年5月，已經成為利物浦球迷心目中最偉大球員的杜格利殊成為利物浦史上首位兼任球員的領隊。他在位時，再為利物浦奪得3個聯賽冠軍、兩次足總盃並在1985-96賽季成為雙冠王。但是，利物浦的成功卻因為希斯堡慘劇而留下陰影。在1989年4月15日，當利物浦在足總盃準決賽與諾定咸森林對賽時，過百名利物浦球迷被壓在圍欄上，94名球迷在現場死亡，第95名球迷在醫院治療4日後死去，第96名球迷則在4年沒有知覺後下死去。

在希斯堡慘劇後，政府開始檢討球場安全，泰萊報告(Taylor Report)立例要求所有甲組聯賽球場都要定為全座位。報告稱災難發生的最大原因是因為警察未能控制太過擠迫的場面。

[编辑] 英超成立(1991-2004)
1991年桑拿士成為新領隊。由於隊中拉什、達格利什等球星相繼退役，利物浦實力大不如前。除了在足總盃勝出，他在位時期並不成功。在足總盃驚訝地被布里斯托尔城擯出局後，伊雲斯接替了他。在他的5年任期內，將球隊賴以成功的傳球走位（pass & move）戰術注入隊中，並重用新星史蒂夫·麦克马纳曼、斯坦·科利莫尔、羅比·福勒以及杰米·雷德克纳普，令球隊成績有一點進步，但仍未曾高過第三位，只贏過1995年的聯賽盃。前法國國家隊教練侯利亞於1998-99賽季加入利物浦，與伊雲斯一起執教，但雙領隊卻未能顯是效果，最終伊雲斯在1998年11月辭職。

2000–01賽季是利物浦很多年來的最好賽季，在主將英格蘭球星迈克尔·欧文帶領下，利物浦奪得了足總盃、聯賽盃及歐洲足協盃。雖然侯利亞在2002年受到心臟病的困擾，並因心臟手術使到他錯過對列斯聯的比賽，但利物浦仍然在2002年奪得亞軍。 外界認為利物浦好像已經重新振作了，但侯利亞只能在任期內再取得一次冠軍——2003年的聯賽盃。利物浦的支持者開始愈來愈焦急，最終侯利亞在2003-04賽季後與利物浦解除合約。

[编辑] 歐洲霸主(2004-2005)

杜德克
芬南
卡拉格
海皮亚
特劳雷
加西亚
阿隆索
杰拉德
里瑟
巴罗什
科维尔

2005年歐洲聯賽冠軍盃決賽正選陣容
此後，利物浦由西班牙人贝尼特斯執教。賓尼迪斯在西班牙時已取得輝煌成績，在2001年-02年賽季帶領西班牙足球甲級聯賽球隊華倫西亞首賽季即贏得西甲聯賽冠軍，並在2004年離任華倫西亞前一個賽季贏取聯賽和歐洲足協盃雙料冠軍。2004年6月16日利物浦宣佈委任賓尼迪斯為新領隊[4]，賓尼迪斯上任後大量引進西班牙球員，令球隊注入更充實的陣容[5][6][7][8]。

利物浦在2004年至2005年歐洲聯賽冠軍盃決賽中擊敗AC米蘭，成為歐洲足球的霸主。

在05-06賽季，利物浦以82分排在聯賽第三名，只在91分的車路士及83分的曼聯之下。而英格蘭足總盃中，在中立場奧脫福球場以2-1擊敗車路士，打入決賽，2006年5月13日，在威爾士加的夫千年球场舉行的第125屆足總杯決賽上，利物浦以点球大战擊敗韋斯咸，捧得球會歷史上的第七座足總盃。

在2006年的英格蘭社區盾賽事中，利物浦將謝拉特及哈維·阿隆索等主將先放在後備席，結果卻爆冷以2-1戰勝賽前表明派遣副選，最終卻全力出擊的車路士。利物浦全場控制戰局，開場8分鐘即由懷斯奔走六十碼後先開紀錄，其後舒夫真高在上半場前迎應林柏特妙傳追成平手。戰至第八十分鐘，替補上場的比拿美左路傳中，克劳奇在無人看管下頭球鎖定勝局。利物浦第十五次捧走社區盾，而車路士則再次在盃賽敗於利物浦腳下。

利物浦在賓尼迪斯執教下成績穩步上揚，亦再次引起商業贊助商的留意。世界著名體育用品公司阿迪达斯決定，在2006/07球季開始再次贊助利物浦；雙方的合作曾經有美好回憶，利物浦雄霸八十年代歐洲球壇時便是穿著阿迪达斯球衣四處征戰，直至在十年前雙方才終止合作關係。

[编辑] 2006-07年
早於2004年已有傳聞當時泰國的總理他信有意收購利物浦部分股權[9]，但最終因資金問題告吹。2006年12月利物浦宣佈「杜拜國際基金」（Dubai International Capital，簡稱DIC）考慮全盤收購。DIC是杜拜政府的投資機構，提出四億五千萬英鎊收購價並獲准審閱利物浦的賬目，公眾曾一度相信交易接近完成[10]。

這時候一直表示有興趣收購利物浦的美國大亨佐治吉列（George Gillett Jr）及湯姆·希克斯（Tom Hicks）突然將建議收購價提高到四億七千萬鎊，吃了一記悶棍的DIC立即退出[11]。於2007年2月6日利物浦接納兩名美國大亨收購建議[12]，成為繼曼聯及阿士東維拉後第三間被美國富商收購的英超球會。

在06-07年賽季，利物浦因為季初表現強差人意，被曼聯及車路士大幅拋離，可是在歐洲聯賽冠軍盃裡表現卻差天共地，他們在1/4準決賽已以2比2憑著2個作客入球，擊敗上屆盟主巴塞隆拿。在半準決賽更在客場以3-0擊敗對手燕豪芬，總比數4-0打入準決賽。他們繼05年後再次在準決賽擊敗車路士，三年內兩度晉身決賽，而決賽對手也是跟05年5奪歐冠盃時一樣，也是AC米蘭。決賽將於5月23日在雅典舉行，可是在歐冠盃決賽以一比二被AC米蘭打敗。此決賽AC米蘭由恩沙基轟入兩球，利物浦在八十九分鐘以古治破蛋，可惜無法重演05年歐冠盃決賽反勝AC米蘭的美夢。

[编辑] 主場球場
主条目：安菲爾德球場

安菲爾德球場安菲尔德球場（Anfield Road，簡稱Anfield）建於1884年，原為利物浦同城的埃弗顿主場球場，但因租金爭議埃弗顿在1892年遷往附近新建的古迪逊公园球场。晏菲路的業主約翰·霍爾丁另外成立了一支球隊，這就是以晏菲路為基地的利物浦足球俱樂部。於是，兩支球隊成為傳統死敵，分別在英格蘭足球歷史上發光發熱。

晏菲路球場四面看臺分別為：

斯皮温山看臺（Kop 或 Spion Kop）：1906年，球會把「轉彎看臺」（Banked Stand）改名為斯皮温山以紀念當時有大量利物浦士兵死亡的第二次布爾戰爭（史派安·高普是第二次布尔战争其中一场战役的名字）[13]。该看台是球场容量最多的看台，可以容纳28000位观众，它亦是全球容量最大的单看台之一。斯皮温山看台在1989年希斯堡惨剧后因安全理由而缩小，最后在1994年转为全座位的看台，现时的容量是12,409人。
主看台（Main Stand）：在1973年重建，曾经增加及减少座位，现在的容量是12,277人。
百周年看台（Centenary Stand）：在球会於1992年百周年纪念前称为「临科林路看台」。在重建时，临科林路的屋子被拆卸来扩建看台。
晏菲路看台（Anfield Road Stand）：於1998年重建，容量为9,074人，包括供作客球迷的区域。
兴建新球场
晏菲路如今为全座席可容纳45,362名观众，由於不能再扩建，利物浦计划在附近的斯坦利公園興建60,000座的斯坦利公園球場（Stanley Park Stadium），在2004年7月30日獲得利物浦市議會發出計劃許可，雖然政府及資助基金團體要求利物浦與埃弗顿共用新球場，但遭球隊雙方及球迷激烈反對，共用球場的最後一次談判在2005年1月宣佈失敗。2006年9月8日，利物浦市議會通過方案，容許利物浦獨自使用新球場[14]。

[编辑] 球會文化

最早的主場球衣（1892-1894年）

其後的主場球衣（1894-1964年）

[编辑] 球衣
利物浦传统的球衣颜色是红色和白色，但在成立初期，当球会从爱华顿手上取得晏菲路球场时，他们亦都以爱华顿的蓝色和白色作为主场颜色。直至1894年开始采用利物浦市的红色[15]。在其后的71年，利物浦的球衣就是红衫白裤。（袜子经常转变，有时是红、黑、白等等颜色。）

在1964年，利物浦的领队辛奇利决定以全红作为主场球衣，伊恩·圣约翰曾在他的自传有这段回亿：

“ 他把球衣的颜色带上精神上的影响——红色是危险、红色是力量。有一天他来到更衣室，并扔了一条红裤给朗尼·耶斯。他说：「穿这条红裤来看看。」「你们着得十分有威严并可怕！就像有七尺高呢！」在这时我提议：「为什么我们不整套也使用红色？我们不如全身红色吧！」辛奇利赞成我的意见，终於这套传奇性的球衣就诞生了。[16] ”
Image:Kit left arm white stripes2.svg Image:Kit body adidas snake red white shoulder stripes.svg Image:Kit right arm white stripes2.svg

利物浦2007/08赛季的第三作客球衣
利物浦的客场球衣最早是白衫黑裤，或是全黄色的。直到1987年，全灰色的作客球衣面世。这款球衣一直使用到1991-92的百周年赛季才被绿衫白裤取代。自此以后全灰色的作客球衣就再没有被采用了，在1990年代，利物浦着过金色加蓝色的、黄色的、黑色和灰色的作客球衣，进入2000年代后，利物浦每一年都会轮流穿上黄色与白色的作客球衣。而欧冠作客球衣則主要是黑色，再加上白色和紅色的線條，[17]。

现在利物浦的球衣由爱迪达(1985-1996,2006-)负责设计，除了阿迪达外，茵宝(1985年之前)及锐步(1996-2006]]也曾负责设计。利物浦亦是英国首间球会在球衣上印上赞助商的标志，於1979年与日立达成协议，在后来的日子，利物浦也很少更换球衣上的广告标志，只是曾转为皇冠漆、及由1992年至今的嘉士伯。

[编辑] 徽章

辛奇利闸1901年，球队选用利物浦市的象徵利物鸟作为球队的徽章。现在的徽章在基本的利物鸟上加上球会着名的格言「你永远不会独行」（You’ll Never Walk Alone） 。两边的火焰则是对希尔斯伯勒惨案的纪念[18]。

[编辑] 会歌
利物浦足球俱乐部的会歌是《You’ll Never Walk Alone》（你永远不会独行）[19]，由哈马斯甸（Oscar Hammerstein）填词，罗渣士（Richard Rodgers）作曲。此曲原是一套百老汇音乐剧中的音乐，在60年代由利物浦球迷开始在球场中颂唱起。在每场比赛之前及之后，利物浦球迷都会一起唱一遍《You’ll Never Walk Alone》[20]。为了纪念去世的领队辛奇利，会方於1982年8月26日把歌名刻上辛奇利闸上。其后还把歌名印在会徽上。

於2005年5月2日为支援患上罕见「肌肉萎缩症」（Amyotropische Lateralsklerose，简称ALS）的波兰及沃尔夫斯堡中场心脏诺瓦克（Krzysztof Nowak）而成立的「诺瓦克基金会」（Krzysztof Nowak Foundation），亦以《您永远不会独行》为首的励志歌曲录制成CD推出发售，收入拨归基金会[21]。

[编辑] 主要競爭對手

[编辑] 曼聯
兩隊之間的對碰被稱之為「英格蘭德比」。曼聯跟利物浦的競爭關係早於六十年代開始，兩隊分別在马特·巴斯比和辛奇利的帶領下成為歐洲的強隊，曼聯當時贏得兩屆甲組聯賽和一次歐冠盃冠軍。而利物浦亦奪得了1964年和1966年的甲組聯賽冠軍。七十年代曼聯實力倒退，曾降班收場，變成利物浦一支獨秀。這時利物浦橫掃整個歐洲球壇，憑著杜格利殊、魯殊及约翰·巴恩斯等球星的支撐，這個形勢一直維持至九十年代，甲組聯賽被英超取代才停止。

九十年代隨著一眾球星轉會或’退役，利物浦成績已有所退步，反觀曼聯在亚历克斯·弗格森的执教下，几乎年年都赢得英超联冠军，1999年更创下联赛、足总杯和欧冠杯「三冠王」的成绩，在这年利物浦在联赛仅排第七，连参加欧洲赛的资格也没有。即使及后利物浦能赢得2001年欧洲足协杯，但始终无法在联赛威胁曼联。

[编辑] 爱华顿
主条目：利物浦市打吡
两队之间的比赛被称之为「默西賽德郡德比」。愛華頓與利物浦同屬一市，不論在地理上或歷史上都是死敵。利物浦本來就是從愛華頓分裂出來的，晏菲路球場其實最初是愛華頓的主場，但因租金爭議，愛華頓在1892年遷往附近新建的古迪遜公園球場。晏菲路的業主約翰·霍爾丁成立了利物浦。爱华顿是联赛十二支始创成员之一，在顶级联赛作赛超过100个球季，只曾两次降级，共夺得9次联赛冠军、5次足总盃冠军及1次欧洲盃赛冠军盃冠军。而利物浦更是18次联赛冠军，夺标次数最多纪录保持者及5次欧洲冠军杯冠军得主[22]。

爱华顿昔日也与利物浦一样拥有争霸实力，在利物浦雄霸英格兰联赛期间，爱华顿一度被利物浦比下去，故二支球会每逢对头都增添了不少火药味。直至80年代，两队德比战的激烈和重要程度达到高峰，在英超成立之前的十年甲组联赛，利物浦夺得6次冠军，爱华顿亦夺得两次冠军。随着英超成立爱华顿成绩大倒退，两支球会打比战的火药味才有所减弱。近年来都是利物浦排在联赛前列位置，而爱华顿列长期处於下游，其中2005-06年球季更一度排在榜末。 但06-07球季首场打比战，利物浦以3球败阵爱华顿手上。

截至2006-07年球季，两队共进行210次大战，利物浦76胜（主场37、作客33及中立6）、61和（主场31、作客28及中立2）及63负（主场24、作客38及中立1）[23]。

[编辑] 球會榮譽
主条目：利物浦足球俱樂部球會榮譽
利物浦曾夺得全英格兰最多的18次甲组联赛（顶级）冠军是，第二名则是17次的曼联。在1984年，利物浦夺得联赛、联赛盃及欧洲盃，成为首支在一季内取得三个主要比赛冠军的英格兰球会；2001年则夺得足总盃、联赛冠及欧协盃。利物浦在随后又赢得慈善盾及欧洲超级盃，使得利物浦在一年内夺得五个盃赛冠军。利物浦於1984年几乎夺取「三冠王」称誉，惟国内最重要的盃赛 - 英格兰足总盃被爱华顿取走冠军，故此至今亦未能完成「三冠王」美梦。

利物浦所夺得的五次欧冠盃[24]，是英格兰球会中最多的。除此以外亦在全欧洲排第三，仅次於皇家马德里（9次）和AC米兰（7次）。2005年的第五次胜出使得利物浦可以永久保存冠军奖盃。

利物浦三夺欧协盃亦是英格兰球会中最多的。并和巴塞罗那、國際米蘭、華倫西亞及祖雲達斯保持著全歐洲最多的紀錄。另外，他們所奪得的7次聯賽盃及3次歐洲超級盃仍是英格蘭的紀錄。

7

[编辑] 历任领队
更新日期：2008年06月22日

名称 国籍 开始任期 完结任期 纪录
场数 赢 和 输
W.E.巴克莱（W. E. Barclay）及約翰麥堅拿（John McKenna） 1892.8 1896.7 101 58 17 26
湯·屈臣（Tom Watson） 1896.8 1915.5 740 327 141 272
大衛·艾殊和夫（David Ashworth） 1920.12 1923.2 58 25 24 9
馬特·麥昆（Matt McQueen） 1923.2 1928.2 229 94 61 74
佐治·柏達臣（George Patterson） 1928.2 1936.3 370 139 86 145
佐治·基爾（George Kay） 1936.3 1951.2 359 143 93 123
唐·華殊（Don Welsh） 1951.3 1956.5 234 82 60 92
菲尔·泰勒（Phil Taylor） 1956.5 1959.11 153 77 32 44
比尔·香克利（Bill Shankly） 1959.12 1974.7 753 393 185 175
鲍勃·佩斯利（Bob Paisley） 1974.7 1983.5 490 275 124 91
乔·费根（Joe Fagan） 1983.5 1985.5 122 65 34 23
肯尼·达格利什（Kenny Dalglish） 1985.5 1991.2 297 180 76 41
格雷姆·索内斯（Graeme Souness） 1991.4 1994.1 157 65 47 45
罗伊·埃文斯（Roy Evans） 1994.1 1998.7 226 116 57 53
罗伊·埃文斯（Roy Evans）及热拉尔·乌利耶（Gerard Houllier） / 1998.7 1998.11 18 7 6 5
热拉尔·乌利耶（Gerard Houllier） 1998.11 2004.3 306 157 75 74
拉法埃尔·贝尼特斯（Rafael Benitez） 2004.6 现在 239 134 50 55

8

SOCCER SCHOOL

The first purpose-built complex for the development of young footballers in Britain opens its doors and you could be lacing your boots and joining the action! During the school holidays, boys can take part in a series of three day coaching courses with the Academy’s expert training staff, responsible for developing such stars as Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler. And who knows? If our coaches spot your talent you could be the next Academy protégé to make it through to the first team.

Our team of dedicated coaches encourage technical footballing excellence and help nurture youngsters in attributes of balance, speed, attitude and skill, and as our past record has demonstrated, we’ve developed top class payers for the Liverpool first team.

The Soccer School at the Academy includes:

Quality coaching from Academy staff in all areas of the game
World Cup competition
Penalty shoot-out
Certificate of Attendance

Tel: +44 0151 477 1201 (Heather Maguire)
Academy Soccer School, The Academy, Liverpool Football Club, The Liverpool Way, Knowsley L33 7ED.

9

School Soccer Programme 2008/09
Unless otherwise noted the soccer schools have the following details:

Age: Boys 5-14 Years
Time: 10am to 3pm
Cost: Includes certificate of attendance and an Academy skills football - prices vary
Details: Packed lunch required for all three days, football boots and suitable indoor footwear, football kit including waterproofs.

Date Venue Type Age Range Time Price
October 2008
20-22nd LFC Academy SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
23-24th LFC Academy Goalkeepers GK 5-14 10am-2pm £45
27-29th LFC Academy SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
30-31st LFC Academy Goalkeepers GK 5-14 10am-2pm £45
27-29th Ridgeway High School, Wirral SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
February 2009
16-18th LFC Academy SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
19-20th LFC Academy Goalkeepers GK 5-14 10am-2pm £45
23-25th Isle Of Man Queen Elizabeth II High School SS/GK 5-14 10am-3pm £70
April 2009
7-9th LFC Academy SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
7-9th Myerscough College, Preston SS/GK 5-14 10am-3pm £70
14-16th LFC Academy SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
14-16th Whitehaven FC, Cumbria SS/GK 5-14 10am-3pm £70
May 2009
26-28th LFC Academy SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
26-28th Christleton High School, Chester SS/GK 5-14 10am-3pm £70
July 2009
27-29th LFC Academy SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
30-31st LFC Academy Goalkeepers GK 5-14 10am-2pm £45
August 2009
3-5th LFC Academy SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
10-12th LFC Academy SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
11-13th Stormont Estate, Belfast SS/GK 5-14 10am-3pm £70
17-19th LFC Academy SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
25-27th LFC Academy SS 5-14 10am-3pm £70
27-28th LFC Academy Goalkeepers GK 5-14 10am-2pm £45
SS = Outfield soccer school
GK = Goalkeeping soccer school

10

PUBLIC RELATIONS
PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

The Public Relations Department deals with the reputation of the Club in the local, national and international community. The entire workforce at the Club are acutely aware of their responsibilities, but it is the PR Department which carries out the specific task of promoting the image of the Club and enhancing its Worldwide appeal and reputation. The following articles show some of the PR activities:

LIVERPOOL FC PLAYERS VISIT ALDER HEY HOSPITAL

All the players from Liverpool Football Club paid their anual visit to Alder Hey Childrens Hospital on the 13th December 2007. Every patient received LFC Gifts from the players on the day which brought smiles all round.

SUDAN KINGS KIT DONATION

The Sudan Kings are extremely grateful to LFC for the donation of a new strip and play with pride against other teams in the Kakuma region. The players have the desire to play, and the commitment to succeed, but the skills of their coaches are limited because they have only learnt what is available in Kakuma.

The team themselves lack exposure to competition with other teams who are playing at the same level as they are. They play friendly matches with other Kakuma teams, but they are already the best in Kakuma, and now need to be competing at district, provincial and regional level within Kenya. At the moment they lack the funds to enable them to travel and participate in these tournaments.

At a more basic level, they have difficulty buying balls (they don 't survive very long on the thorny Kakuma ground), boots and football kit. They are so grateful for Liverpool FC 's assistance with this final problem. They can now compete proudly in their LFC strip, and would love to make LFC proud in return by becoming one of the most successful teams in 'new Sudan

11

SUDAN LADIES FOOTBALL TEAM RECIEVE KIT FROM LIVERPOOL FC

Sudan Future Girls is a girls’ football team in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Northern Kenya. Most of the 26 members are Sudanese but there are also Somali and Ethiopian refugees and some members of the local Kenyan community. All are aged between 15 and 20.

Unfortunately, they will be playing without boots, because, as you can see from the photograph, they don’t have any and normally play in bare feet. This is a disadvantage when they are playing against better-equipped Kenyan teams, but the Sudan Future Girls have the motivation, the drive, and, most of all, the Liverpool FC team strip, which can propel them towards success.

Kit donation to Malawi

The Malawian Armed Forces College play in the Lilongwe and District League in Malawi there is at present 18 teams in the league. The team are all serving and retired members of the college. The kit as enabled them to have a new strip and a away strip using there old red and green strip.

12

Kit Donation To South Africa

We recieved the following e mail from Roger Inglis, Pendle District Youth Council, who vistied South Africa with A kit donated from Liverpool Football Club. “We decided to give your donation to a high school close to where we stayed for the first few nights, this school was called Kairos which was in a town called Heidelburg. The school had around 500 children and were aged between 15 and 18. We also gave a presentation to the children on the reasons why were had come to South Africa and what we had to offer them. We asked the school if they had heard of Liverpool Football Club they all said that they had and where really pleased that you had provided them with some football kit”.

Jesters Charity

Here is the donation of a kit by Liverpool FC to Jesters Care for Kids Charity, who are busy helping children in Thailand in the Pattaya Orphanage. Susan and baby Katie came to collect the kit from the Public Relations Department. The event was organised by Steve Ponter and was a huge success throughout 2006 raising over 6 million baht, which translates roughly to £86000. Jesters charity will be celebrating their 10 year anniversary drive throughout 2007.

Omar and Habitha

The Public Relations Department sent out some goodies to Omar and his sister Habitha in Egypt late last year. They dressed up in their best clothes to pose for the photographs and show off their new toys.

If you would like to contact the Public Relations Department please call us on 0151 260 1433 or fax us on 0151 264 2918.

The PR team produce a brochure which outlines the history, honours and achievements of the club and which answers many of the questions the fans ask. If you would like to obtain the brochure please forward an A4 SAE to the PR Department at:

LFC PR Department
Liverpool Football Club
Anfield Road
Liverpool
L4 OTH

13

SPONSORS OF LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB

Carlsberg is a premium Danish lager created in 1892 by Jacob Jacobsen and is dedicated to producing quality lager refreshment. Carlsberg and Liverpool Football Club have the most enduring brand sponsorship at top level World Club football.

adidas, the world’s number one football brand, has returned to Anfield and is once again proud to supply the new kit for Liverpool Football Club. adidas becomes the official kit and sportswear supplier in a sponsorship agreement that takes effect from July 2006, in time for the start of the 06/07 season. Previously, adidas produced Liverpool’s kit between 1985 and 1996 and the new strips hark back to the glory days when adidas first supplied Liverpool FC.

Paddy Power - Official Liverpoolfc.tv Online Betting

Pioneers of the Money-Back Special, Paddy Power are Ireland’s leading bookmaker. With more match day markets on all top flight football matches than any other bookmaker, Paddy Power is the best place to bet on Liverpool FC. Paddy Power offers a complete gaming service of online Poker, Casino, Games, Lotteries, Bingo and most recently Financial Trader.

MBNA is the largest independent credit card lender in the world and also the world’s leading issuer of affinity credit cards.

MBNA Europe is committed to providing its Customers with the finest products backed by consistent, top-quality service. For this reason, MBNA is delighted to be the official credit card partner of Liverpool Football Club both in the UK and the rest of the world.

THOMAS COOK SPORT

Thomas Cook Sport is very proud to be the Official Travel Partner of Liverpool Football Club. As the number one name in travel and a leading Sports Travel operator, we are delighted to be providing a full range of travel services as well as being able to offer a wide selection of travel products to Liverpool fans of all ages.

As a Liverpool Football Club Member, you will receive a great range of travel benefits when booking with Thomas Cook. We offer official supporters travel packages for all UEFA Champions League away matches, official Match Break packages for games at Anfield, and great holiday discounts through our Reds holiday club on a wide selection of Thomas Cook holidays.

Click here for up to the minute offers ››

Getty Images is the largest provider of high quality sports photography and related services in the world, delivering the content our clients need to bring their communications to life. Whether it is the editorial imagery requirements of the world’s press or the specialist commercial imagery needs of premier sports rights-holders and corporations, our world-class photographers capture the action and the atmosphere like no one else. We cover all major sports and work with some of the biggest organisations behind them, such as the International Olympic Committee, UEFA, the International Cricket Council, the International Rugby Board and many more.

Since its launch in 1990, Lucozade Sport has been the UK’s number 1 sports drink, working with leading sporting bodies and athletes throughout the country. We have worked with Liverpool FC since 1991 to ensure the players arrive fully fuelled and hydrated on matchday.

For more information and to purchase Lucozade Sport products on line visit www.lucozadesport.com

The Lucozade Sport Science Academy (LSSA) was founded in 2003 to further understanding of sports nutrition and share expertise to help improve athletes’ sporting performance. The LSSA works closely with leading coaches, elite athletes, academics and sports professionals to advance knowledge in sports nutrition and to translate this expertise into high performance products to benefit serious and elite athletes. It is also working at a grassroots level to educate coaches and young sports participants about sports nutrition.

14

THE ACADEMY
Liverpool may have the financial wealth to compete for the best players from around the globe, but their decision to fund and build a multi-million pound Academy five years ago demonstrated their desire to continue to nurture and develop their own young talent.

The Academy is a world-class facility designed to give every young boy on the club’s books the best possible chance of following in the footsteps of some of the club’s greatest players.

Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Jamie Carragher all came through the youth ranks of Liverpool FC to prove that locally produced players can develop into world class stars having been groomed by the Reds from an early age. Hopefully there will be many more on the way over the coming years.

Frank Skelly, the former Academy Operations Director, takes us on an exclusive tour behind the scenes and explains the facilities on offer to the potential future stars of Liverpool FC.

Tom Saunders Lecture Theatre
Frank Skelly: The Tom Saunders Lecture Theatre has only been named in the last two years, but we were very proud and honoured to be friends and acquaintances and colleagues of Tom Saunders’, whose contribution to the football club is quite unique. He was a mentor to every manager since Bill Shankly and being an ex-headmaster, he was also the first youth development officer in England really.

It’s an education room. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings our boys can use this partly as a classroom and a lecture hall. Dave Shannon and John Owens have their games videotaped and they will come in on a Monday afternoon and they will go through and discuss and analyse, with the boys, certain aspects of their game.

Legend wall
Frank Skelly: Our legends wall celebrates the achievements of the likes of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and obviously Steve Heighway, who played over 300 times for the first team and is one of the most famous legends that we have.

We never forget where we’ve been because these guys were the start of the regeneration of Liverpool Football Club. We’re doing well and we’re playing in a difficult environment and a difficult time for football, but we’ll make it.

Education
Frank Skelly: It’s useful to see the degree in which the football club have invested in the facilities. Our education room has changed in the last eighteen months into a very high-tech room with computers and both our education and welfare managers have made a significant contribution education in terms of good accreditation.

The boys do a lot of subjects, it is very well managed and an awful lot of good work takes place and I’d say that they boys really enjoy the work. A lot of it is sports-related in terms of Sports science and it sets them on a good career path after they have finished playing football. It certainly makes them a rounded person in terms of what we are trying to do, not only as a footballer but to deal with the media at a very young age and to be able to use their finances in the right sort of way.

The education side of things is a large part of the infrastructure of the development of an Academy player and as such a lot of emphasis is placed on it.

Pool Room
Frank Skelly: This is essentially a classroom area, but as you can imagine, you can’t have the boys having to always concentrate on the football side, so this is where they relax. We’ve developed it with a pool table and a little footy table and table tennis. It’s important that during their lunch times they can relax because it’s hard work. People think it’s easy coming from Monday-Friday and playing on a Saturday, but it is actually quite hard physically and mentally. This is provided for them so they can chill-out for the hours in between the hard work and concentration.

Cafeteria
Frank Skelly: All the boys will eat in the cafeteria have a breakfast here and will eat at lunchtime all together. There is no top table. They have a very healthy diet organised by John, Di and Joe, our fitness coach, to make sure that the boys are getting good nutrition and not eating fat.

John and Di work up at Liverpool University and they helped us for three years and when they came here, we enjoyed their bacon butties so much that we decided we’d bring them with us.

Pitches
Frank Skelly: We have 10 grass pitches altogether, of which four are full size. Two are intermediate and three are junior pitches as well as the front pitch. The quality and the work that Neil Holden and his boys put in is tremendous.

The water is pumped out of bore holes, which are 300 feet underground and we have 200 sprinklers to make sure the pitches are always being watered and fed. They’re basically sand based, so they do need water in order to stay healthy.

The standard that we’re working to is second to none and it’s a credit to the lads that they’re able to do it. I’ve worked out that we need eight playing surfaces a week to meet our commitments and if you put that in perspective it tells you the amount of work that’s necessary to keep us going and maintain those standards.

Match pitch
Frank Skelly: We’re very proud of our main match pitch. This is where all the boys from 9-year olds and upwards aspire to play because then they will be playing for the U18s team or U16s team, which ultimately means they might be of the standard necessary to join up with the Melwood squad.

Every Saturday morning some of the staff from Melwood will be here watching our games, so that they can see how our boys are developing. Then they can have friendly matches down at Melwood, where our boys can go down and mingle with the boys down there, which will help their development. It gives them a good awareness of what they have to do in order to meet the standards necessary for us to take them through and basically earn a living from the game.

Gymnasium
Frank Skelly: The gymnasium is well equipped and well set out. Each boy has his own programme as they each require different things. It might be upper body strength, or it might be abdominal strength, but essentially it’s providing a fitness programme and a strength programme to meet the requirements. First and foremost, the boys have got to be athletes these days because the rules of the game have made it faster and so the boys have got to be able to cope with that as well as the skill side of things.

The emphasis on technique work is because we’ve been behind other countries such as the Spanish or Italians. I’m not saying we’ve actually achieved those levels, but in my view if you look at the England set-up, the technique is much better than it used to be.

Medical Centre
Frank Skelly: We have a hydrotherapy pool, two full-time chartered physios and a doctor. We have a very quick fast track to getting the boys up and running and going again.

Even though we’re on the youth side of things, these facilities are probably better than a lot of league clubs and those are Liverpool Football Club’s standards shining through again.

We thought at one time that we’d be getting money from the lottery and the sports council, which never materialised, so everything that has been put into it has been a result of Liverpool Football Club’s commitment to the youth side of things. It’s been paid back as we haven’t done badly in terms of what has come out of the hard work of the Academy director and the coaches here.

Laundry
Frank Skelly: When our laundry lady comes in on a Monday there will be somewhere in the region of ten kits ready to wash. She’ll have to come in on Saturday and Sunday to do work that’s been left over from Friday. Then she has to prepare all the kits for the boys to go out and train in. Its quite considerable in the winter because there’s winter clothing and winter tops.

Very similar to any club, part of her work is doing some sewing and putting some numbers on. Each boy has his own number and has all his own kit which is renewed every year. All the junior boys from 7-8 years upwards get a full kit as well to train and play in, the same as the first team.

Dressing Rooms
Frank Skelly: We have 10 dressing rooms at The Academy. The youngsters have got their own showers, hairdryers, washbasins and it’s always maintained immaculately. Whether it’s the away teams that we play or whether it’s our own youngsters in the evenings, we set the standards in terms of hygiene, cleanliness and the way it’s looked after. If it’s allowed to drop, then very quickly you can get into bad habits.

We can play six games in one day with the facilities that we have. Invariably we don’t because generally four is a good amount to cope with.

15

ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL BRANCHES
Currently, there are just over 200 official supporters clubs in the world. These range from the local Merseyside branch to places as far away as Azerbaijan, Mauritius, Tokyo and Toronto. These supporter clubs are affiliated to Liverpool Football Club and enjoy a close working relationship with both the Club and their local Reds fans. If you would like to contact your local branch, please click the relevant link below.

Due to the huge demand for tickets, it is not possible to offer a ticket allocation to new branches. However, new branches can still obtain tickets for Cup (Carling, FA and Champions League) games by qualifying in line with the selling arrangements released by the Ticket Office.

If you would like to set up a branch in your area, please email [email protected] or write to:

Membership Department,
Liverpool Football Club,
Anfield Road,
Liverpool,
L4 0TH.

Please include your full name and postal address. Please be aware that new branches will not be affiliated in close proximity to an existing branch in the area.

Association Of International Branches Branch Lists
England
Europe
Ireland
Northern Ireland
Scotland
USA
Canada
Africa
Australia
Wales
Rest of the World

16

HEATHCOTES AT ANFIELD
The qualities needed to be successful in both football and the conference industry are remarkably similar. And because we excel at both what better reason is there for hosting your next conference, seminar or meeting at Anfield?

We know what’s needed to stage a successful conference. Experience has shown that there’s no substitute for all-round quality of service and meeting the needs of our customers.

And when you add our world-famous stadium into the mix, you can see why hosting a conference at Anfield will be a unique event that will help you achieve your business goal.

We offer a comprehensive range of conference formats with a choice of six superbly appointed suites, each capable of accommodating over 200 delegates in air-conditioned comfort. Additionally, we have 31 syndicate rooms - multi-functional and versatile enough for any boardroom or client meetings. Many of our suites have been recently refurbished and decorated with imagery showcasing Liverpool’s achievements, as yet unsurpassed in the history of English football.

17

RAFA CONFIDENT AHEAD OF TESTING WEEK
Paul Eaton 20 October 2008
Rafael Benitez believes the character his side has displayed this season will serve them well for this week’s testing away double header with Atletico Madrid and Chelsea.
The Reds are unbeaten in their last 15 games and go into Wednesday night’s clash in the Spanish capital on the back of another heroic weekend comeback, when they recovered from 2-1 down with ten minutes to play to run out 3-2 winners.

Victory in the Vicente Calderon will all but secure Liverpool’s progress into the knock-out stages of the Champions League, before they face the challenge of trying to end Chelsea’s 86 match unbeaten home record in the Premier League.

“I am confident that my players can produce the right performances this week,” said the Liverpool boss.

"We are showing character and the right mentality you need for a winning team. We have Atletico next, and then Chelsea, two very tough away matches.

"But with games like that to come, how can we start talking about what we can win this season?

"It is too early to be talking of titles and cups. We must just keep going the way we are.

“It has to be a case of concentrating on each game, not looking to the future. But our players are showing great character.”

Benitez added: "The team showed great character to beat Wigan on Saturday, and we are showing the belief that we can win every game.

"The Premier League is very tough. To show the mental strength we have displayed this season is very positive.

"We did that again against Wigan and we must maintain it for the next games, particularly this week.

“My priority is now Atletico, not Chelsea just yet. But the games are very close together and we will see whether we can continue to show the character we have been showing.”

18

XABI: WE’RE SUFFERING MORE THAN WE SHOULD
Paul Eaton 20 October 2008
Xabi Alonso today spoke of his delight at seeing Liverpool joint top of the Premier League table - but insisted there is work to do if they are to remain among the title chasers.
The Reds are tied with Chelsea on 20 points after another heroic comeback against Wigan at the weekend as they twice recovered from falling behind to eventually take all three points.

It’s the fifth time this season Liverpool have won after going behind during the match and although it’s a quality Alonso says cannot be understated, he believes it’s a fact which shows there is still room for improvement.

“We’re not controlling games from the start at the moment and that is why we are suffering more than we should be doing,” he told Liverpoolfc.tv.

"Of course the most important thing is winning the three points but we know we have to improve in certain areas if we want to stop having problems.

"We can’t rest on our laurels though. We have to be criticial of ourselves and look to improve. We need to be getting in front in matches because we’re not always going to have the luck to come from behind.

“It’s great to be towards the top of the table and not a few points behind. We’ve had a good start to the season but we have to carry that on and not look at the table too much. We just want to keep winning games and keep picking up points.”

Three points looked a remote possibility with just ten minutes to play at Anfield on Saturday as Wigan were holding onto a 2-1 lead given to them by Egyptian striker Amir Zaki.

But the Reds never-say-die spirit again saw them prevail thanks to strikes from Albert Riera and Dirk Kuyt.

“We were worried at half time because they were causing us too many problems and we had to correct that,” he added. "We were much better in the second half, we had more possession and created more chances.

“When Albert scored we knew we had enough time to go on and win the game. We just had to stay patient and take our chance when it came.”

Liverpool’s job was made somewhat easier when Wigan were reduced to ten men after Antonio Valencia was sent off for a late challenge on Alonso.

Incredibly, Valencia became the fourth opposing player to be dismissed this season after a foul on Alonso with Nemanja Vidic, Pablo Zabaleta and Tim Cahill also seeing red.

“I think it was a clear second yellow card on Saturday,” he added. "He didn’t completely catch my leg but it was close enough and could have been a lot worse.

"It’s strange that this has happened three games in a row against the same player, but it’s not something I’m looking for. Football sometimes goes like that.

“Most of them have been fair enough. Referees are being rigorous with the rules and we have to welcome these measures.”

19

TORRES MISSES MADRID TRIP
Fernando Torres will not be travelling to Madrid with the Liverpool squad this week to watch Liverpool face his former club at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.
Torres has been ruled out of the match with a hamstring injury but had been offered a VIP seat at the ground by the Atletico president.

But the Reds - in conjunction with the player - have decided his time will be better spent at Melwood continuing with his rehabilitation programme.

“We talked with the doctor and physios, and with the player himself, and we decided it was important for him to stay here and continue with his recovery,” manager Rafael Benitez said today.

The Liverpool squad for tomorrow morning’s flight to the Spanish capital will be boosted by the returns of Javier Mascherano and Ryan Babel, both of whom missed Saturday’s victory over Wigan.

20

Healthy Stadia

Liverpool Football Club are delighted to have pledged their support to the ‘Healthy Stadia’ programme – a newly launched initiative aimed at using our Anfield stadium to improve the health of supporters, staff, and the community.

Anfield is one of six Merseyside stadia forging ahead with plans to promote fruit and vegetables to staff, improve the availability of healthy food for staff and visitors, look at the exercise patterns of staff and work towards smoke-free environments.

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry said: “All the work we are doing with the local community is aimed at improving quality of life, and particularly health. This includes our sports programmes, school assemblies, and wider projects with voluntary groups and the city council.”

Heart of Mersey, England’s largest coronary heart disease prevention charity, recently visited Merseyside stadia to commend them for the work undertaken under the regional Healthy Stadia project during its first six months.

Robin Ireland, Chief Executive of Heart of Mersey added: "This project is a great opportunity to improve the health of supporters, staff and the wider communities that live around stadia. It will also enable health professionals to forge links with stadia and work in partnership. I am delighted in the work undertaken so far, there are some real successes to celebrate - projects like this are key to the future of Greater Merseyside’s health. I am sure it will be a real winner!”