Adidas x Liverpool: a season-by-season history

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Despite these thrilling moments and Fowler’s brilliance, the team ended the season without lifting a trophy, leaving memories of exhilarating football but also of what might have been.

Standout player: Robbie Fowler – a goalscoring phenomenon.
Historical game: Liverpool 4–3 Newcastle United, 3 Apr 1996 (Collymore’s stoppage-time winner in a Premier League classic).

Despite Rush’s influence and the excitement of a new era in English football, the season ultimately brought no trophies, as the club adjusted to the changing landscape of the modern game.

Standout player: Ian Rush – leading the line in the inaugural Premier League.
Historical game: Nottingham Forest 1–0 Liverpool, 16 Aug 1992 – the club’s first Premier League match (Sheringham the scorer).

It was a season that capped an era of domestic supremacy, with Barnes leading the charge in what remains one of the most celebrated campaigns in Liverpool’s proud history.

Standout player: John Barnes – the creative force of a title-winning side.
Historical game: The decisive run-in as Liverpool clinched their 18th league championship under Kenny Dalglish.

Though the league title heartbreakingly slipped away on the final day, the FA Cup win stood as a poignant and powerful achievement in one of the club’s most challenging seasons.

Standout player: Ian Rush – extra-time Wembley match-winner.
Historical game: FA Cup Final, Liverpool 3–2 Everton (a.e.t.), 20 May 1989 – an emotional all-Merseyside final played five weeks after Hillsborough.

However, despite moments of brilliance and Rush’s consistency, the season ended without silverware, marking a rare year of frustration for a club so accustomed to success.

Standout player: Ian Rush – prolific in his final pre-Italy campaign.
Historical game: Liverpool 4–0 Man United, 16 Sep 1990 is often recalled with this core, but from this season, a memorable benchmark is the League Cup final run (lost to Arsenal) and league near-miss; a transitional year under Dalglish with Rush still starring.
Trophies: None.

1985–1986 Season

Liverpool’s 1985–1986 season was one of the most glorious in the club’s history, played in their iconic Adidas kit, a red strip with white pinstripes and the Crown Paints sponsor that became synonymous with success.


Historical game: FA Cup Final, Liverpool 3–1 Everton, 10 May 1986 (Rush x2, Johnston) to complete the club’s only League-and-FA-Cup “Double.”
Trophies: First Division champions; FA Cup winners.

The First spell of the Adidas era (1985–1996): began with Dalglish’s player-manager revolution and produced two league titles (1987–88, 1989–90), two FA Cups (1986, 1989), plus that unique 1985–86 Double.

The Second spell (2006–2012): opened with a Community Shield win and bookended with the 2012 League Cup under Kenny Dalglish’s second coming, alongside European nights to savour.

What does the third coming of Adidas have to offer….