Manchester United and the Liverpool FC connects one of the most bitter hostilities in football. The authors speak in the interview Jim White and Phil McNulty about the origins of the rivalry between the two football clubs in the premier league and about Jurgen Klopp.
sports show: Celtic and rangers, Boca Juniors and Riverplate, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 – there are many fierce rivalries in world football. Why do you think the one between Manchester United and Liverpool is the biggest?
Jim White: Because it spans the globe. She has the greatest appeal, wows most TV viewers. Just look at what happened when the two clubs met in Thailand pre-season: Bangkok airport looked like the Beatles were coming.
You wrote a book about the rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool. It states that football is the motor for the animosity between the two cities. What do you mean by that?
Manchester United’s Arthur Albiston (centre) versus Liverpool’s Phil Neal (r) and Tommy Smith (l) at the 1977 FA Cup Final.
Competition in football greatest
Phil McNulty: Manchester and Liverpool have always competed in different fields, from business to fashion and music. But the biggest force behind the inter-city rivalry is football.
Incidentally, this only applies to Manchester United and Liverpool FC. Between Liverpool and Manchester City there isn’t that much of a rivalry, although the two clubs have dominated the Premier League for a couple of years. The real rivalry is still between United and Liverpool.
They say it: Liverpool is playing for the championship, Manchester United has been in a permanent crisis since leaving Sir Alex Ferguson 2013 and had even fallen to the last place in the table before the meeting on Monday. How does the opposing sporting development affect the rivalry?
White: It is interesting that while Manchester United and Liverpool FC are the clubs with the most titles in England, they have seldom directly competed for the championship. It was often like this: when one club dominated, the other was in decline.
There just isn’t enough oxygen in the English North West for both at the top at the same time. In the noughties, for example, Manchester United competed with the Arsenal FC and the Chelsea FC for the championship. Nevertheless, the players always looked at Liverpool back then.
The Liverpool team bus is greeted by fans before the game against Manchester United.
In 1977 the rivalry really took off
There was a time when there was great respect between Manchester United and Liverpool. Matt Busby and Bill Shankly, the builders of the two clubs in the 1960s, were good friends. When did the dislike begin?
White: In 1971 Manchester United were forced to play a home game in Anfield to unsubscribe. Can you imagine that? Of course, the Liverpool fans had a problem with that. They bought tickets, came by the thousands and drove United fans out of the Kop stand.
in the FA Cup In 1977, the clubs met in a grand final for the first time. That’s when the rivalry really started.
When was the hostility most intense?
McNulty: Around the semifinals of the FA Cup in 1985. After the first leg in Goodison Park of Everton FC the police held a press conference at which they presented the entire arsenal of weapons used by the enemy fan groups, including golf balls with nails.
We have for our book Jim Beglin spoken, the then full-back for Liverpool. He recounted how he had to get the ball from the front row for a throw-in and was covered in saliva in the process. It was animal football.
White: It was also extremely tough on the pitch. At that time, the referee once stopped the game after about 20 minutes and said: Boys, could we play some football now? On both sides there were players who gave each other nothing. I’m thinking of that Graeme Souness and Jimmy Case at Liverpool and Norman Whiteside and Bryan Robson at Manchester United.
A beer after the game – but only with the players
After the final whistle, however, the players were able to have a beer together. The fans continued the aggression in the streets. After the stadium disasters of Heysel and Hillsborough In 1985 and 1989 the violence decreased.
The top Premier League clubs are now coached by mainland European coaches, including Manchester United and Liverpool. Does someone like Jurgen Klopp understand the rivalry?
White: We spoke to Bill Shankly’s grandson for our book. He told us Klopp came to him in his early days at Liverpool and was very interested in the club’s history – and all that entails. Klopp is an honoraryScouser. He understands the people of Liverpool, their values and of course the importance of the rivalry with Manchester United.
Hodgson’s faux pas
McNulty: That was with the former Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson by the way different. Jamie Carragher told us that Hodgson once said in a team briefing that the team needed to be more like Manchester United. You can think that, but never say it! As a Liverpool player, you don’t want to be told you’re meant to be like Manchester United. For Carragher it was clear at that moment that Hodgson didn’t have what it takes to be a Liverpool coach.
At Manchester United, new coach Erik ten Hag got off to a devastating start with a 2-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion and the 0:4 against the Brentford FC. Liverpool threatens to lose touch with Manchester City in the title race early on after two draws. Who needs the win on Monday more?
White: Manchester United started the season so badly that even a point would be a huge relief. But Liverpool will also travel to Manchester with a certain uneasiness. Brighton and Brentford wiped the floor with Manchester United. You don’t want to stumble against such a laughing stock.
McNulty: Manchester City and Liverpool have set the bar so high in recent years that Liverpool are already under pressure. Draws are now treated like defeats. For Liverpool fans it is therefore clear that the game against United must be won in any case. The pressure is great on both sides.
Jim White is from Manchester and works as a columnist for the “DailyTelegraph”. Phil McNulty is from Liverpool and is Chief Football Writer the BBC. Her book “Red on Red” about the rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool just appeared in England.