Manchester United V Liverpool - The World's Biggest Football Rivalry

For many years Liverpool FC have held the title as the most successful club in England thanks to their record breaking 18 First Division/Premier League titles. However in recent years Manchester United have had a long run of constant success and now tie with Liverpool's record of 18 League titles thanks to their Premier League title for the 2008/09 season.

Manchester and Liverpool are both in the North West of England and are situated approximately 34 miles apart, with the M62 motorway the easiest way to get between the two cities.

The rivalry between inhabitants of both cities transcends Football and is part of the culture, and originally stems from the Industrial revolution period of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Liverpool's port was large and brought in huge amounts of ships and cargo providing jobs and wealth to the area. As Manchester floundered they decided to build the Manchester ship canal that linked the city of Manchester with the Irish sea. Whilst this brought prosperity and jobs to Manchester it caused unemployment in Liverpool and much resentment.

On the footballing side Manchester United were the first team to lift the European Cup in 1968 under the stewardship of the legendary Scottish manager Sir Matt Busby. Liverpool did not win the European Cup until the 1970's but have now won the trophy 5 times to United's 3 times.

Whilst the 1970's and 1980's were most definitely Liverpools glory period of success, the 1990's and 2000's were Man Utd's glory period of success. Liverpool have now gone 19 years without winning the League title in England.

During the 2008/09 Premier League season Liverpool did the double over Man Utd, beating them 2-1 at Anfield and 4-1 at Old Trafford, it was Liverpool's best league campaign in years but they still came up short as United won the league by four points.

Games between the sides are fiercely fought occasions and tickets for these games are very hard to get hold of due to the extremely high demand, if you are not a season ticket holder the only way to get one is to use a reputable ticket agent.

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The Rivalry Between Liverpool and Manchester United

One of the fiercest rivalries in English football, and even in World football, is the rivalry between Liverpool football club and Manchester United football club.

There is no love lost between the fans, players or managers of the two giants of club football.

A Tale of Two Cities

The origins of this rivalry point towards the rivalries of the two cities since industrial times. Liverpool and Manchester were challenging for supremacy of the north west of England. Manchester was renowned for it's excellent manufacturing capabilities, whilst Liverpool had long been a major city due to it's port.

However, once the Manchester Ship Canal was built, ships were able to bypass Liverpool to carry goods directly to Manchester. The loss in jobs in Liverpool no doubt strengthened the hostilities between the two cities.

On the Pitch

The first match between the clubs was on 12 October 1895 which Liverpool won 7-1. There have been 152 league matches. Manchester United have won 58, Liverpool 51 and there have been 43 draws.

If anything the off field rivalries between the cities have been deepened by the great successes of the two clubs. Both clubs have had periods of dominance of English soccer and each of these periods has increased the rivalry between the clubs.

During the 1970's and 80's, Liverpool dominated English Football and to some extent European Football, winning 11 league titles and 4 European Cups.

The 1990's onwards have belonged to Manchester United who also won 11 league titles as well as 2 European Cups.

Significantly in 2009, Manchester United equalled Liverpool's long standing record of having won 18 League titles overall. The team that came second was...Liverpool. The competition between the two teams reached fever pitch during this season. No more proof of this was required than the 'War of Words' between the two club managers, Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez. The pair traded verbal blows as the season was heading to a thrilling climax.

Is this rivalry good or bad?

Well, in one sense the intensity of the rivalry spills over into deep hatred and irrational loathing not only from the fans, but from the players and managers too. Sometimes the personal insults that are thrown at each other seem to be going too far.

In another sense, however, you get the sense that it is this rivalry that really creates the massive amount of motivation to succeed. Both clubs are determined to be more successful than the other and this seeps through from the fans to the players to the manager to every person connected with the clubs. It could be argued that neither club would have been as successful as they have been without this fierce rivalry.

What of the future?

With both clubs on 18 league titles, the 2009/10 league season promises to be the most bitterly contested ever as neither team will want to live with the stigma of falling behind in the reckoning.

You can have your say on who is the greatest and also see what others think at the Football Duel.

As another season beckons, hold on to your seats and watch the next chapter of this fascinating rivalry unfold!

Hiten Shah is an NLP Coach as well as an informative writer on various different topics, including football. If you liked this article, be sure to visit What Really Matters.