Liverpool

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. More ››

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… More ››

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. More ››

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. More ››

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. More ››

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. More ››

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. More ››

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. More ››

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. More ››

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. More ››

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.. More ››

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... More ››

TORRES: I PLAYED THROUGH PAIN TO SINK UTD

Fernando Torres admitted he played through the pain barrier as Liverpool bounced back into the title hunt with a 2-0 victory over Manchester United on Sunday.
Watch our Torres chat plus highlights and analysis now>>

El Nino scored the opener on his return from an adductor injury on a day when the Reds were back to their best after four consecutive defeats.

But he confessed afterwards: "I wasn't really at my best. We knew before the game I couldn't play to 100 per cent because I had some pain in some actions, but in games like this the pain doesn't matter."

Torres took his tally for the season to nine midway through the second half after brushing off Rio Ferdinand and firing home at the near post.

He added: "I feel a bit of pain when I shoot across so I could only shoot towards the near post - it was the only thing I could do!"

The result leaves Liverpool just four points behind the champions and six adrift of league leaders Chelsea.

"I am really happy for the fans and the players and we will enjoy this," said Torres.

"We are in the race again. We knew before the game that we had to win and we did it. Now we have a bit of confidence but we have to keep it going on Wednesday in the Carling Cup against Arsenal.

"Then we have to be focused for Fulham. But we feel like a strong team again because we're working all together like in the past.

"We will see what happens and then look at things at the end."

Betting: Barnsley

From Anfield to Oakwell. That's life for United as Sir Alex's men travel to Barnsley on Tuesday night for a Carling Cup fourth round tie.

Worryingly, Barnsley's recent history includes cup wins over both Liverpool and Chelsea as the Tykes embarked on a memorbale run to the FA Cup semi-finals in 2007/08. But the Championship side haven't enjoyed the best of times since that magical stretch of games and United travel across the Pennines to take on a team who sit 20th in the league, just four points above the relegation spots.

Accordingly, Betfair’s layers aren’t taking any chances with the Reds – United are priced at just 1.5 (1/2) to win in 90 minutes. Barnsley can be backed at 8 (7/1) with the draw a 5 (4/1) chance.

Before diving in at that price on a United victory it’s worth considering the team Sir Alex is likely to play. Promising youngsters Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck played up front against Wolves last time out in this competition... at least until Fabio’s 31st minute red card forced a reshuffle. We can expect a few more fringe players to be given an outing in South Yorkshire, and when you make changes the result is never straightforward.

football

While it is widely believed that the word "football" (or "foot ball") originated in reference to the action of the foot kicking a ball, there is a rival explanation, which has it that football originally referred to a variety of games in medieval Europe, which were played on foot.[1] These games were usually played by peasants, as opposed to the horse-riding sports often played by aristocrats. While there is no conclusive evidence for this explanation, the word football has always implied a variety of games played on foot, not just those that involved kicking a ball. In some cases, the word football has even been applied to games which have specifically outlawed kicking the ball.
Present day codes and families
Association football and descendants
Main article: Variants of association football
An indoor soccer game at an open air venue in Mexico. The referee has just awarded the red team a free kick.

* Association football, also known as football, soccer, footy and footie
* Indoor/basketball court varieties of Football:
o Five-a-side football — played throughout the world under various rules including:
+ Futsal — the FIFA-approved five-a-side indoor game
+ Minivoetbal — the five-a-side indoor game played in East and West Flanders where it is hugely popular
+ Papi fut the five-a-side game played in outdoor basketball courts (built with goals) in Central America.
o Indoor soccer — the six-a-side indoor game, known in Latin America, where it is often played in open air venues, as fútbol rápido ("fast football")
o Masters Football six-a-side played in Europe by mature professionals (35 years and older)
* Paralympic football — modified Football for athletes with a disability.[2] Includes:
o Football 5-a-side — for visually impaired athletes
o Football 7-a-side — for athletes with cerebral palsy
o Amputee football — for athletes with amputations
o Deaf football — for athletes with hearing impairments
o Electric wheelchair soccer
* Beach soccer — football played on sand, also known as beach football and sand soccer
* Street football — encompasses a number of informal varieties of football
* Rush goalie — is a variation of football in which the role of the goalkeeper is more flexible than normal
* Headers and volleys — where the aim is to score goals against a goalkeeper using only headers and volleys
* Crab football — players stand on their hands and feet and move around on their backs whilst playing football as normal
* Swamp soccer — the game is played on a swamp or bog field