Coach Youth Soccer

There’s been a healthy rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool FC for over 100 years…but is that a good thing or a bad thing.

Think about some of the biggest sporting rivalries in history.There was Muhammad Ali going toe-to-toe with Joe Frazier in the boxing ring, Martina Navratilova facing off with Chris Evert on the tennis court and Nick Faldo going head to head with Greg Norman on the golf course.A healthy cricket rivalry continues between India and Pakistan.Even the world of chess has seen its own classic rivalry with the many battles between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov over the years.

But can any of these admittedly classic face-offs hold a candle to the colossal confrontation that occurs whenever the Red Devils of Manchester United clash with the Liverpool Reds?  In what has to be the greatest rivalry in football, if not all sports, there is a way to look at things analytically to determine why it exists, and why it continues:

1. The Northwest Derby – Matchups between the two clubs are often referred to using this moniker.  Liverpool and Manchester (the cities) have maintained a healthy competition since industrial times, and that sense of one-upmanship has apparently spilled over into the football world.

2. “The Greatest English Football Club” – Manchester United and Liverpool both lay claim to the title of The Greatest English Football Club.  A similar number of trophies have been won by each club, and they are also the two most successful English teams in European competition.

3. Fans and Money – The two clubs are widely-supported throughout the world and boast some of the most devoted fans in any sport.  They also are two of the biggest earning clubs in the world.

4.  Player Haters – As with a lot of football clubs, the fans can be downright hostile to each other sometimes.  With Liverpool and Man U, though, the hostility spills over to the players too occasionally.Wayne Rooney, United striker, has publicly stated how much he hated Liverpool FC when he was growing up.Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, on the other hand, once told a television crew that even though he exchanges shirts regularly with opposing players, he would never have a Man U shirt in his house.

5. Transfers? What are Transfers? – Since 1964, no player has been directly transferred between the two clubs; the few who have played for both sides always played for a different city’s club in between. As recently as 2007, United left-back Gabriel Heinze expressed a desire to move to Liverpool, and a bid was made, but Man U rejected the bid and stated that Heinze would only join a foreign club if he chose to leave – all due to the age old rivalry.

In a way, it’s inspiring the way two rival football clubs can be so passionate about the sense of competition between them.I’m sure some people don’t understand how others can get so worked up about a game, and think the whole rigamarole is just silly.  So, who’s the best team in football?  That’s easy.  Everyone knows it’s Spurs.

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