The Kop

Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England. Built in 1884, the stadium has been home to Liverpool F.C. since they were formed in 1892 as a result of the original tenants Everton F.C. leaving the ground.

The stadium currently comprises four stands: Spion Kop, Main Stand, Centenary Stand and Anfield Road, giving a total capacity of 45,276. The record attendance at the stadium is 61,905 which was set in a match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952. This record was set prior to the ground's conversion to an all-seater stadium in 1994; the changes, which were a result of the Taylor Report, greatly reduced capacity. Notable features of the stadium include two gates named after former Liverpool managers: the Bob Paisley gate and the Bill Shankly gate. In addition, a statue of Shankly is situated outside the stadium. Anfield's public transport links include rail and bus services but it lacks dedicated parking facilities.

Anfield is a UEFA elite stadium, and has hosted many international matches at the senior level, including England matches. The ground was also used as a venue during Euro 96. Earlier in its history the stadium was also used as a venue for different events, such as boxing and tennis matches. The ground is due to host matches during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, with pool matches taking place at the stadium. There are plans to replace Anfield with a new 60,000 capacity stadium in Stanley Park. The opening of the new stadium is scheduled for 2011 but the state of the financial market and disagreement between the club's American co-owners makes this doubtful.

Anfield is slightly more than a football stadium and the south step much more than a bottom from which to see to play Liverpool FC. Officially, The Spion Kop or, simply, The Kop for the history of the city especially and of the football in general, the goal where a woman did not enter in almost hundred years, represents the values of a singular and different team as none. The Kop represents a way of understanding the football so much for those who grew there as fans as for the football players who knew the years of glory of a place with capacity for 20.000 spectators of foot and which 37.000 managed to enter. After the remodeling of 1996, the appraisal diminished to 12.390, which means that for every seat of now before there were three fans. Even this way, it has not even lost either charisma or aptitude to intimidate the rivals and to thrill the local players.

Clean game or it dishonors. In The Kop, the rival is applauded by the goalkeeper and team if it wins with merit, the English flags are prohibited and thre are never insults to another interest ... except if the rival is Manchester.

"Whenever I hear the You'll never walk alone in Anfield it gives me goosebumps", admits Thierry Henry. "When I was playing the only thing I was afraid of in the life, the only thing, I was to trump a goal sung before the boys of The Kop", admitted the great Kevin Keegan. "In The Kop you had to be strong. I was 13 years old and I tried to go to where the whole evening party was ... to pushes almost they divide me in two ", the singer Elvis Costello recalls.

Thousands of people shouting, singing, applauding the opposite goalkeeper when he goes out to warm, applauding his own team to be furious even when they lose.

"The Kop is in crisis. It is not what it was". The whole world says it. They encourage as nobody, but for them it is not sufficient. Yes, it is a concept difficult to understand for interests more rested like, for example, that of the Barça. Anyone would give itself with a singing with the teeth with the digest of songs, the anthem, and with the education of the majority of its members. But they not. After the eruption of a different way of encouraging in 1962, going through its brilliance in the 70, the depression of the second half of the 80 (Heysel and Hillsborough) and the transformation of the step when the general of for localities offoot eliminating  seat (1994), the interest networ had an unusual explosion in Istanbul with the fifth one. But now it is immersed in an increasing debate of its loss of identity. Urgently, several groups of fans and the club they have put on hands to the work with the campaign Reclaim the Kop, born this year when the drop fulfilled the glass.

For a kopite it is sacred to come promptly to create environment; to recite the names of the holders; to applaud them to the rest and ultimately, they have done it well or not; to applaud the opposite goalkeeper, be the one who is; to take flags of the club, but not English; to applaud the rival if the victory has been deserved. For anyone that is not a fan of the Liverpool all these orders sound to joke. Certainly, the racist singings, the jeer are totally prohibited to the opposite interest, the booings to the own team. "Do not go away before the end of the game, it is the result that is. We are not spectators, but we take part in the game", they say the tables of The Kop's law, which they warn about a mortal sin of terrible consequences: " never buy The Sun ". It was the sensationalist tabloid the one that more criticized the Hillsborough's catastrophe."