The Other Liverpool: Alive and Competing
Liverpool is out of Europe and the FA Cup, but is still right there in the thick of the battle for the English Premier League.
On the other hand, Liverpool is well down the table, but at least they are still playing for the cup.
The Copa Libertadores, to be precise.
The Liverpool we are referencing here is Liverpool Futbol Club of Montevideo. They play in the Uruguayan Primera Division and are currently also competing in the Copa Libertadores, the top international club competition in South America.
Much like their English doppelganger’s disappointment in Europe, the Copa Libertadores is not going well for Liverpool.
While Liverpool was crashing out of the Europa League quarter finals 3-1 on aggregate to Italy’s Atalanta, Liverpool was off to a 0-1-1 start in Copa Libertadores matches. They lost 3-1 to Brazil’s Palmeiras. That followed a 1-1 tie against Independiente del Valle of Ecuador.
Currently, Liverpool is sitting third in Pool F in group stage competition. It’s unlikely that they’ll be getting much action on them at the best soccer betting sites to win the competition.
How Did There Come To Be Two Liverpools?
Uruguay’s version of Liverpool originally began play in 1908. They chose to adopt the name Liverpool Futbol Club in 1915.
Certainly, there are stark similarities between Liverpool and Montevideo. Geographically, both cities are important seafaring ports. Maritime culture is dominant in both cities and each owns a history as a vital trading port. In fact, the majority of the coal ships that were arriving in Montevideo were setting out from Liverpool. That connection across the sea of the Atlantic Ocean would ultimately be extended to the football pitch.
Vast Gulf In Outcomes Between Two Liverpools
The trophy case is chock full of items when it comes to England’s Liverpool. On home soil, the club has won 19 league titles, eight FA Cups, a record 10 League Cups, including this year’s title, a Football League Super Cup and 16 FAC Community Shields. On the international stage, Liverpool has captured six European Cups or UEFA Champions League titles, three UEFA Cups, four UEFA Super Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup. The Liverpool squad is populated by some of the greatest players from around the world. There are players representing 16 different nations in the Liverpool side.
By contrast, success has not often attached itself to Montevideo’s version of Liverpool. This is just the third time the club has earned the right to play in the Copa Libertadores. They’ve never advanced beyond the Round of 16. And all but one of their players hail from Uruguay.
In 2022, Liverpool won its first-ever Uruguayan Primera League title, going 10-2-3 on the season. This season, they currently sit ninth in the table with a record of 2-5-2. Liverpool has finished better than fifth just twice over the past decade of play.
Some Similarities Between Liverpool Doppelgangers
They may not look the same on the pitch, but besides both playing in maritime port cities, Liverpool and Liverpool Montevideo share some further common traits.
Liverpool FC is known for their bright red home kit. Liverpool Montevideo’s home kit is blue and black in color. However, in 2006, they adopted an all-red away kit similar to the one worn by their English sister club.
Liverpool Montevideo plays their home games at the 9,500-seat capacity Estadio Belvedere. The stadium was originally home to Liverpool’s crosstown rivals the Montevideo Wanderers. However, Liverpool would eventually acquire the title to the facility and the Montevideo Wanderers would move to another field on the other side of Town.
In more recent years, though, the Montevideo Wanderers were moving back into the Estadio Belvedere. The two clubs now have a ground-sharing agreement.
Supporters of England’s Liverpool certainly know that from 1884-91 the club’s current Anfield Stadium was originally home to bitter crosstown rivals Everton, who eventually would relocate to Goodison Park. Left without a club to play at Anfield, a new one was formed in 1892. That would be Liverpool.
As Everton is preparing to leave Goodison Park and locate in a new stadium, it’s extremely doubtful that if they were in need of a temporary home during the transition, that Liverpool would be following the Liverpool-Montevideo Wanderers model and opening the doors to allow the original tenants to move back into Anfield. Liverpool supporters would rather chew on broken glass than see that happen. Interestingly, there is also an Everton club that plays in South America. The second Everton, known officially as Corporacion Deportiva Everton, play in the Chilean League and are located in the Chilean beach resort city of Vina del mar. Corporacion Deportiva Everton were Chilean champions in the 2008 season.
Both Liverpools Represented On Uruguay’s National Team
Each of the two Liverpools has a player on the roster of the Uruguayan national team and both are strikers.
Darwin Nunez is playing his second season for Liverpool in the EPL. The Uruguayan played his club soccer at home for Penarol before moving on to play in Spain and Portugal prior to arriving in Liverpool last year on a transfer from Benfica.
Nunez would represent Uruguay at both the U20 and U22 levels of football. He was called up to the national team for the first time in 2019, scoring against Peru on his international debut. Nunez has scored eight goals in 22 matches for Uruguay. He represented his country at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
With three goals this season, striker Luciano Rodriguez shares the team scoring lead for Liverpool Montevideo. He signed with the club in 2022 and scored nine goals for Liverpool Montevideo in 2023. Rodriguez played U20 and U23 football for Uruguay. He would earn his first full national team call up in 2024 for a pair of friendlies against Nicaragua and Cuba. Rodriguez has earned two caps with Uruguay. He’s also among the Uruguayan squad selected for the 2024 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament.
