The spirit of competition can bring out the best (or sometimes the worst) in the participants, and healthy rivalries exist throughout the sporting world.
Mention great sports rivalries and several could come to mind. There was Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier in boxing, Chris Evert versus Martina Navratilova in tennis and Greg Norman versus Nick Faldo in golf. India and Pakistan still have a healthy cricket rivalry going on.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.There’s been quite a rivalry between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester ever since industrial times, and that sense of competition is certainly not lacking in 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.Also, they 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. United striker Wayne Rooney has publicly stated how he grew up hating Liverpool.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 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 suppose some people don’t understand and think the whole thing is just silly. So, who’s the best team in football? That’s easy. Everyone knows it’s Spurs.
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