Kenny Dalglish signed for Liverpool on August 13, 1977 for a then record British transfer fee of £440,000. The doubts that Liverpool fans had over his ability to replace the hole left by Kevin Keegan were quickly quashed. He scored on his debut at Middlesbrough and again on his home debut against Newcastle United. Significantly he was instrumental as the Merseysiders crushed Hamburg, the club Keegan had signed for, by a margin of 6-0 in the second leg of the Super Cup final.
His first season ended in style, as Liverpool overcame Bruges in the 1978 European Cup final by a solitary goal. Almost inevitably it was Dalglish who scored it, with a beautiful chip over the Belgian keeper. He ended the season having scored 31 goals in 62 games, a phenomenal rate for someone who was more creator than goalscorer.
The league title followed again the next year, Dalglish's second of six in his first eight seasons at the club. On a personal level, he was recognised by his peers with the PFA Player of the Year award for his performances in 1982-83.
Liverpool's dominance in Europe continued with a victory over AS Roma in the 1984 European Cup final. The match was drawn 1-1 at the end of full time, but the Merseysiders won a dramatic penalty shootout 4-2 in the Romans' own stadium. It is best remembered for the jelly legs antics of goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar during the shootout. In triumphing they became only the second team to win the trophy four times.
In 1985, Liverpool were aiming to win the great trophy for the fifth time. But tragedy struck during the final against Juventus when a wall collapsed, killing 39 Italian fans. Astonishingly the match was played to completion with the Turin side emerging 1-0 victors. Liverpool manager Joe Fagan resigned after the match, and the club turned to Dalglish as player-manager.
King Kenny was just as successful a manager as player and led the side to a double in his first season in charge, winning the title by a two-point margin over local rivals Everton. Appropriately, Dalglish wrapped up the title by scoring the only goal of a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Another league title followed in 1987-88 and the club were only denied a unique second double with a shock defeat to lowly Wimbledon in the FA Cup final.
The following season Liverpool were chasing the double again, when once again, tragedy struck. At the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, 96 fans were killed in the Hillsborough disaster. Dalglish won admiration on Merseyside and beyond for the dignity with which he led the club after the event, personally attending numerous funerals of the fans.
Although Liverpool won the FA Cup that year in an emotional final against Everton, the side blew the double in the final seconds of the season. Needing only a draw or defeat by margin of one goal in the last game of the season against Arsenal, the Anfield side went down 2-0 at home to George Graham's men, with Michael Thomas netting the winner in the dying seconds of the game.
The stress of the past few years had taken their toll on Dalglish, though, and he resigned from the job on February 22, 1991, after a breathtaking 4-4 draw with Everton. He had made 515 appearances and scored 172 goals.