Anfield is a special place to visit—and there’s no need to wait for match days. The stadium and museum tour is a great experience for fans to connect with the past and present stories of the club.
Heading to Anfield from any direction, the Main Stand looms large in the distance.
And, as soon as you arrive, the tour isn’t only inside: right from the outside, visitors are served with an eternal reminder of the club’s emotional past.
The Hillsbrough memorial and 96 Avenue show what will always be part of the club—but the same can be said for the players who have brought glory to Anfield.
Indeed, the culture and history of the club is everywhere to be seen. Several players have their own story, now inscribed outside the stadium itself.
Heading inside, though, the tour’s story truly begins.
A long climb up several floors—escalators rather than stairs, if you prefer—brings supporters an immediate sense of the majesty and history of the club, in the form of the famous flags and banners seen on the Kop throughout the years.
The tour itself is guided these days, not by club officials but by handheld devices with branded club earphones.
Along the way, point the device’s camera at a range of posters, pictures or areas of the stadium and the appropriate stories are recounted, images displayed and facts portrayed.
It’s more than just a voice; clever overlays and augmented reality comes in particularly useful when what we really want is to take in the authentic Anfield experience.
Throughout the tour, nods to the past everywhere: wall plaques with notable dates, players of yesteryear, key figures throughout Liverpool’s storied history and photos of times gone by can be seen in every direction.
Scattered throughout, from the concourse to the lower levels and later in the museum, the different badges and club crests from different eras evoke memories, songs, heroes.
There’s no shortage of history in a club like Liverpool—but for the younger fan, or those who want to appreciate the modern-day team, there’s plenty on offer too.
Everything is on show: go behind the familiar scenes from post-game television interviews, pose with the stars up close for photos—well, with life-size cardboard cut-outs of them, anyway—or admire the halls festooned with rare images.
There is everything you’d expect to see and touch up close—the pitch, the view, the stadium structure itself—but other surprising elements are also impressive: the brilliant red turnstiles, the attention to detail.
Everything screams professionalism, quality, perfectionism.
That’s all the pieces which perhaps come to mind when thinking of the match-day experience, but there are others which fans wouldn’t necessarily think of, yet know in some intuitive, vaguely heard-of way, must exist.
Intriguing, less-expected gems are seen throughout: the players’ drug testing room, Jurgen Klopp‘s Anfield office, the away team dressing room which is adorned with classic shirts chosen by Jamie Carragher: opposition greats who have played at Anfield including Cafu, Marcel Desailly, Leo Messi and others.
The home dressing room is viewable too, of course, much grander, more splendid…and with red shirts, signed and named.
Before the end of the stadium tour comes the greatest moment for many: touching the sign, This Is Anfield. Iconic.
The other part of the tour comes in the shape of the club museum.
Here, there’s a specific room devoted entirely to Steven Gerrard, housing his shirts, medal collections, the story of his career and more.
Being Liverpool is about more than players, though, and here again there are historical references throughout, from the haunting and devastating…
…to the unforgettable and joyous.
It’s not always the biggest or most brilliant pieces of the museum which makes the trip personal, though, but the surprising items on show throughout.
Will it be John Barnes‘ shirt which yields the biggest smile? Philippe Coutinho‘s pair of boots? A story of Robbie Fowler on the wall, accompanied by a video showing his strike against Aston Villa?
Or maybe the scarves of opposing teams, hanging overhead…or the coins, the programmes, the donated trinkets—or the piece of the standing Spion Kop, metalwork covered in stickers?
And, before we leave, a nod to the centre-piece of the museum and Liverpool’s most incredible haul: five European Cups, with the 2005 edition at its centre.
Who knows, maybe there will be another piece of silverware coming to join them before long.
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