This is Anfield - The Documentary

This Is Anfield: The Documentary is the entire story of Liverpool’s iconic home.

As well as delving into the early days, the recent Main Stand expansion process is also covered in detail as we meet the people behind a stunning 18-month transformation.

The documentary goes back more than 150 years, to when what we now know as Anfield was farmland, soon to be inhabited by Everton Football Club.

Over the course of an hour, the film explains how a stadium rose from the ground to become the proud home of the Reds - one of the world’s finest footballing cathedrals.

Ours is the story of the people who have made Anfield - the founding members, the architects, the heroes - and most importantly, the fans.

Testimony from legends, former managers and academics intertwines with exclusive images and unseen footage to paint a vivid picture of the ground through the years.

The earliest known film of the Main Stand, the Kemlyn Road and the Walton Breck Road Stand transports fans back to 1901.

We show how Fred Perry came to star in front of the Kop and how boxing bouts drew the crowds during the 1930s, when an era of economic depression brought times of strife.

Icons such as Ian St John, Phil Thompson and Kenny Dalglish take up the story, steering us through Liverpool’s coming of age on the pitch and how Anfield helped fuel total domination.

“It has been a special place,” reflects Dalglish. “The atmosphere, the camaraderie, the friendship, the loyalty and respect the people have for each other in and around the place.

“It’s a special football club and a special stadium.”

But the documentary is not without poignant moments. The days following the Hillsborough disaster, when Anfield became a shrine, and the last stand of the mighty Spion Kop are remembered.

New heroes, including Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, emerge to bring the story up-to-date, as the days of the all-seater Anfield and its great European nights are relived.

“You feel that you’re safe at Anfield, you’re confident there,” explains Carragher. “Anfield is renowned for huge atmospheres. People always wish they had it at their clubs. I think that says it all.”

Then to the new Main Stand.

Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, explain the decision to remain at Anfield, London-based architects KSS talk through their designs and Carillion’s key players relive the construction process.

Chief executive officer Ian Ayre says: “Maintaining that unique Anfield feel and that unique heritage of Liverpool was always a key part of the planning process and the delivery process.

“I suppose at the heart of it, it should feel two things. One is that the new stand looks like it was always part of Anfield and secondly that it’s best in class that Liverpool supporters can feel proud of.”