Liverpool vs. Manchester United: 5 Reasons They Hate Each Other

Sunday sees the 157th league meeting between Liverpool and Manchester United. Of the previous 156 United have the upper hand, winning 60 to Liverpool's 53.

The fixture is, put simply, one of the most iconic club matches in world football. Watched as avidly in Malaysia as it is on Merseyside, viewed as fervently in Bangkok as in Burnage.

These two clubs, separated by little more than 30 miles across the North West of England, share between them 37 league titles and eight European Cups. United fans have spent a great deal of time over the last five months reminding their Scouse rivals that their club now holds a narrow majority of that championship count, while Liverpudlians can still respond with their superior haul of Europe's most prestigious trophy.

But the enmity between these two clubs runs so much deeper than simply whose trophy cabinet is the most full. The very history of the two cities, memorable matches between them and tragic disasters which have befallen both clubs are at the heart of one of football's oldest rivalries.

Industrial Rivalries

Many of English football's rivalries go well beyond mere geography or the events that happen on the pitch. 

The bad blood between Tottenham and Arsenal arose from the latter club's relocation from Woolwich in southeast London, to just three miles from Spurs' homeland across the river, in 1913. Southampton and Portsmouth's intense hatred stems from historical rows between those men working in the Merchant Navy and the Royal Navy. 

Liverpool and Manchester United's rivalry is no exception. 

At the turn of the 19th century Liverpool, then a part of Lancashire, was well-established as a major port and a key international trading post. It was the focal point for commerce in the North West and a vital cog in the function of the British economy as a whole.

Within decades, however, that status was under threat due the unprecedented growth of Manchester, a small town 30 miles or so to the east. The Industrial Revolution saw Manchester thrive and expand as a result of the burgeoning textiles industry at such an alarming rate that it was granted city status in 1853.

The influx of workers to this prosperous new metropolis right on Liverpool's doorstep did not sit well. When the Manchester Ship Canal was completed in 1894, effectively establishing Manchester as a port in its own right, Liverpool's shipping industry suffered irreparable damage and the economy of the city as a whole was substantially affected.

The seeds of this fierce inter-city rivalry were sown.

Tasteless Taunts over Munich and Hillsborough

Both of these have been touched by truly tragic events, which always add a tinge of poignancy to their many successes on the field.

On Feb. 6 1958, a plane carrying Manchester United players, staff and supporters as well as journalists who reported on the team crashed trying to takeoff from Munich-Riem airport, after a refuelling stop on the way back from a match in Belgrade. The crash claimed the lives of 23 of the 44 people on board, including eight United players.

Some three decades later, two stadium disasters would affect Liverpool Football Club. First was the Heysel Disaster in 1985, when crowd disturbances at the 1985 European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus resulted in the deaths of 39 Juve fans. UEFA initially placed all the blame on Liverpool fans, resulting in a five year ban from European competition for all English clubs. However, a Belgian court ruled that the host nation's police and football authorities were ultimately responsible.

Four years after Heysel, Liverpool was again involved in a horrendous crush at a football ground. A total of 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives as a result of the Hillsborough Disaster, causing the FA cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest to be abandoned after just six minutes. Despite almost constant campaigning and numerous inquests and inquiries, no one has ever been held legally responsible for the disaster.

Despite the terrible human cost of each of these tragedies, they have not been off-limits for certain sections of both United and Liverpool fans in order to goad and taunt each other. 

While the game has made great strides to eradicate widespread hooliganism at matches over the past 30 years—partly as a result of the Taylor Report which followed in the wake Hillsborough—it is far more difficult to act against the sort of tasteless jibes and chants that do little else other than to trivialise the many lives lost and ruined by these incidents and only increase the animosity between two sets of football fans.

Wembley Showdowns

Plenty has happened on the pitch between these two sides as it is, without fans having to resort to such external factors.

The tone was set for what has often been a thrilling and epic rivalry in their first ever league meetings. In October of 1895 Liverpool thumped United 7-1 at home—still the record winning margin in this fixture today—while the following month United responded with a 5-2 victory on their patch.

Despite their respective trophy-laden histories it was not until 1977 that met in a major final.

Goals from Stuart Pearson and Jimmy Greenhoff secured a 2-1 win for United in the FA Cup final at Wembley. The result was about so much more than just winning the competition for the fourth time and gaining local bragging rights; it also ended league champions Liverpool's hopes of winning the treble.Liverpool won the European Cup final just a few days later, and it was left up to United to reach that particular milestone first.

Liverpool gained a measure of revenge six years later when they beat United 2-1 at Wembley, courtesy of strikes from Alan Kennedy and Ronnie Whelan, to complete a hat-trick of League Cup triumphs. It was the last of Bob Paisley's 13 major trophies won in an exceptional nine seasons in charge, which included three European Cups.

However, the most meeting between these old foes in a final saw United once again come out on top. The 1996 FA Cup final was as awful a spectacle as Liverpool's cream pre-match suits, and it was settled by Eric Cantona's goal five minutes from time which sealed United's second league and cup double in three years. 

Eras of Dominance

As you would expect from the two most dominant clubs in the history of English football, Liverpool and United both have eras that they can conclusively claim as their own.

While Liverpool was crowned champions five times in the first half of the 20th century, it was the 1970s which saw them emerge as the biggest club in both domestic and European terms. Between 1972 and 1990, the Reds won an incredible 11 league titles and four European Cups.

For United it is a similar story. Having won their first title in 1907-08 and 1910-11, a fallow 40-year period was ended when they claimed three championships in six years during the 1950s.That great side featuring many of 'Busby's Babes' had looked set to take Europe by storm in the early years of the European Cup, only for the Munich Air Disaster to decimate that team in the most horrific fashion. A decade later, however, they would finally win the trophy having won two titles in the mid-60s.

Between 1963 and 67, both Liverpool and United won the title twice, though United's continental triumph is perhaps the most oft-recalled club moment of that era.

There is not doubt who emerged as the new force following the end of Liverpool's reign at the turn of the 1990s.

Since Alex Ferguson led United to the top of the tree for the first time in 26 years in 1993, the Red Evils have brought 12 titles, two European Cups, four FA Cups and three League Cups back to Old Trafford. The FA Cup win in 1990 was Fergie's first trophy at United, and the following year the club won the Cup Winners' Cup in the first season English clubs were allowed back into Europe post-Heysel.

As has been proved so often, all dynasties must come to an end some day, and Liverpool will be hoping that their multi-million investment from Fenway Sports Group leaves them best placed to capitalise whenever United's tight grip on English football finally loosens. 

The Fight for International Supremacy

The hegemony that United have shared for so much of the history of the English game is reflected in their huge international appeal.

Despite being located less than an hour's drive from each other—traffic on the M62 permitting—their appeal extends to locations all over the globe.

Liverpool's own official website boasts of chapters of their supporters club in Azerbaijan and Mauritius, while United's equivalent has offices in South Africa and Indonesia.

These two clubs set the standard for international marketing, which is now a prerequisite for any team with designs on maintaining their place at the top of their respective leagues. United went on a summer tour of the USA for their most recent pre-season, while at the same time Liverpool were taking in matches in China, Malaysia and Korea. 

United have benefited greatly from their dominance coming just as the formation of the Premier League began pumping unprecedented amounts of money into the game, and Liverpool are one of the only clubs who have been able to compete financially without resorting to a takeover from a billionaire benefactor.

With fans across the globe tuning in to watch the North-West derby live at all times of day or night, the rivalry has truly become a global one. If either Liverpool or United can gain a significant majority share of international support and revenue, then the other club might as well give up.