LONDON
Anfield's Centenary Stand is to be renamed in honour of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, the club announced on Wednesday.
Dalglish,
66, won eight league titles, three European Cups, two FA Cups and five
League Cups during a glittering 13-year stint as a player and two
managerial tenures.
The Kenny Dalglish Stand will be officially opened in a ceremony later this year.
"It
is testament to Liverpool's history and status that we are not lacking
in truly great individuals, whose names could easily grace a stand at
Anfield," said principal owner John W Henry in a press release.
"But
in Kenny Dalglish we have a person who carries such immense
significance to the fabric of this club, so it feels somewhat incumbent
on us to recognise this in a manner that is befitting to the man.
"His name is synonymous with our club, with our home and the city of Liverpool. Now it will be as visible as it is palpable."
As
well as his role in Liverpool's golden era in the 1970s and 1980s,
Dalglish also received plaudits for supporting victims' families after
96 fans died in the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster.
Anfield
has two sets of gates dedicated to former managers — the (Bill) Shankly
Gates and (Bob) Paisley Gates — but none of its stands currently
carries the name of an individual.
"We recognise this
won't sit comfortably with Kenny's default position of humility and
self-deprecation, but as we approach the club's 125th anniversary year
now is the right time in the club's illustrious history to leave this
legacy," said chairman Tom Werner.
"For decades he has
served the club and the city with the steadfast attitude that the
collective always comes ahead of the individual."
The
Centenary Stand sits across the pitch from Anfield's giant Main Stand,
which was reopened last year after work to increase its capacity by
8,500 seats.
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