Manchester United vs. Liverpool: Luis Suarez Offered Lead Role in Epic Rivalry

Manchester United and Liverpool share the pre-eminent rivalry in English football, a beast fed by a mutual animosity that will only be magnified by the appearance of Luis Suarez at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Should Suarez start as expected, he will find himself up against Patrice Evra, the man whose accusation of racist abuse ultimately led to a guilty verdict and an eight-match ban. That was back in October, but for those inside the ground, it will feel like yesterday.

*

Eric Cantona was a footballer with immaculate timing. Having won the French title with Marseille in 1991, he left to win one in England with Leeds in '92. The next season he joined Manchester United.

From there, Cantona began his rapid ascent to the Old Trafford throne—bringing to end a 26-year wait for a title as his first act, then propelling Sir Alex Ferguson's team to the Double for his second.

Ferguson would later reflect on his biggest challenge as "knocking Liverpool off their f**king perch." The enigmatic Cantona was right there beside him.

How fitting that when The King returned from his kung-fu-kick exile in October 1995, his first match back should be against Liverpool at Old Trafford? And how eminently predictable that he should set up the first goal, then score the second?

The following May he lined up against Liverpool at Wembley in an FA Cup Final that offered United another shot at the Double. Cantona duly volleyed home the winner.

With those two contributions, Cantona entered a war between two industrial cities that sparked with the building of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 and has raged on ever since.

*

But Cantona's legacy stretches far beyond the confines of two football matches. If it was Cantona who laid the foundations for the United dynasty that would follow, then it was he who shifted the balance of power in the northwest of England. It hasn't shifted since.

United arguably had the best of the 1960s, emerging from the tragedy of Munich to become the first English team to conquer Europe—and seducing the world along with the way. It was the age of Best, Law and Charlton, and United's romantic quest was undeniable.

But the dream turned sour, and as United slumped to relegation in the 1970s, Liverpool stole a march under first Bill Shankly and then Bob Paisley.

Liverpool won a gluttony of seven league titles between 1973 and 1983, with Joe Fagan leading them to another in 1984 and Kenny Dalglish adding three more in 1986, 1988 and 1990. In that time they also won four European Cups, two UEFA Cups, three FA Cups and four League Cups.

For 15 years Anfield was the football capital of Europe. Players like Souness, Keegan, Hansen, Dalglish and Rush made their legends, and Liverpool shirts soon filled playing fields up and down the country.

For a time, it felt like it would last forever. For a time, Liverpool ruled like the Romans. And then, just like that, they went away.

With Dalglish's departure in 1991, Liverpool lost its grip on the top of the mountain. They've been scrambling to get back up ever since. And right now, they're scrambling to stay where they are.

There have been bright spots along the way, not least their miraculous 2005 Champions League triumph in Istanbul, but no amount of cup success was worth suffering the re-emergence of their bitter neighbours down the M62.

The rivalry as we find it today is skewed as far United's way as it once was Liverpool's. Ferguson's Red Devils have not only dominated the Premier League era, but eclipsed Liverpool's haul of 18 league titles along the way.

Bragging rights belong firmly to Manchester, and fans of United will be chanting "19!" from the top of their lungs on Saturday lunchtime to bring home their point.

The sight of Suarez will no doubt help focus their fervor, and he will no doubt be in for a torrent of abuse from large sections of the 75,000 inside Old Trafford.

Liverpool's stance on the Suarez affair has been widely criticised, with Dalglish maintaining the Uruguayan should never have been banned in the first place. Such comments have only served to inflame what was already a potentially volatile coming together.

You could argue there are parallels to be drawn with Suarez's return and that of Cantona 17 years ago.

Both men returned from infamy to the highest profile rivalry in English football, albeit in Suarez's case via a substitute's appearance against Tottenham. Both wore their team's iconic No. 7 shirt. Both can be a law unto themselves. Both were made martyrs by the fans who loved them.

How Liverpool fans would love Suarez to be their Cantona.

With their team in danger of missing out on the Champions League for a second year running, they need him badly. And if Suarez brings them fourth place, he'll have paid back his transfer fee twice over.

If that happens, hope will be restored at Anfield. A new dawn promising new riches will arrive, and Suarez will be at the forefront of a Liverpool renaissance.

If it doesn't, Liverpool may be forced to sell the man they've pinned their future on, and maybe others too. Offers will flood in and the lure of Champions League football elsewhere may be too strong to ignore. The lure of a huge transfer fee could be even stronger.

For better or for worse, change is coming for the Merseysiders.

It's coming to United too, who soon enough will face losing the manager who's spent 25 years presiding over their trophy factory.

Who knows what the post-Ferguson era holds at Old Trafford, but Liverpool fans are increasingly eager to find out. Perhaps United will suffer the same fate their team did when Dalglish left in 1991? Perhaps worse?

Perhaps the unraveling will begin with United suffering a trophyless season in this very campaign.

Whatever happens, it's clear the United-Liverpool rivalry is set for a defining chapter over the next two or three years—one that could well set the tone for a generation.

It starts on Saturday. And with Suarez playing a leading role.