⭐️ Onefootball's greatest ever teams: In 2nd place is ... 🥈 | OneFootball

The Onefootball countdown of the 20 greatest ever club sides is reaching its climax.

We’re down to the final two teams.

Our runner-up is …

Liverpool 1976-1984

Why are they here?

The stars

Liverpool fans sing about conquering all of Europe.

This was the period where the club ensured there would be substance behind those words.

Bill Shankly spoke of building Liverpool into a “bastion of invincibility,” and it was under Bob Paisley that they achieved that.

Liverpool’s style was built on the ‘pass-and-move’ mantra pushed by Shankly and Paisley but the teams plying their trade at Anfield over this era knew how to win in many different ways.

The 1975/76 side won the league title on the last day of the season by scoring three goals in the final 15 minutes to come from behind to beat Wolves.

Five more titles followed under Paisley before Joe Fagan stepped into the dugout in 1983.

Paisley’s teams knew where the onion bag was, scoring over 80 goals in four of the title-winning campaigns.

A telepathic partnership between Kevin Keegan and John Toshack dominated the early years, with both players ending as top goalscorer in consecutive seasons – Toshack with 23 in 1975/76 and Keegan (20) a year later.

However, it was the emergence of the next group of players that enabled Liverpool to write their place in history.

Alan Hansen was practically unbeatable at the back, with the Reds conceding just 16 goals in the 1977-78 campaign. The Scot was also a crucial cog in the team’s appetite for attacking football, bringing the ball out of defence in the mould of Franz Beckenbauer.

Liverpool often set up in a 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 formation with the role of Kenny Dalglish pivotal.

Dalglish would operate as a ‘number 10’, dropping deep to collect the ball and dictating play off the striker.

His ability to hold the ball up to allow the team to get up the pitch was akin to a target man striker.

141 goals in his Liverpool career suggested he knew how to find the back of the net as well.

Graeme Souness was the heartbeat of the side in midfield.

He had the aggression and dominance of a Roy Keane, and the passing ability of a Toni Kroos. The Scot was the complete midfielder.

Paisley was never short of quality options up front but it the arrival of Ian Rush from Chester for £300k in 1980 changed the face of Liverpool.

The Welshman remains the club’s all-time top goalscorer with 346 goals in all competitions for the club. His nous to make runs off the shoulder of the last defender was the perfect compliment to the trademark Dalglish through-ball.

Liverpool won three league titles and two European Cups with Rush as their spearhead.

Celtic and Manchester United may have won the European Cup before Liverpool but no British side had quite dominated the continent in the way this team did.

Their successful retention of the title in 1977 and 1978 is a feat that has only been achieved by Nottingham Forest, AC Milan and Real Madrid since.

Paisley also became the first manager to win three European Cups after the 1981 victory over Real.

Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley created a dynasty, Joe Fagan continued it.

Liverpool had achieved a status in world football which stands to this day.