25th May

The glory of Istanbul
2005 - We claimed the European Cup for the fifth time as we came from 3-0 down against the mighty AC Milan in Istanbul to triumph after a penalty shoot-out. Paolo Maldini scored before Hernan Crespo bagged a brace, with the reds having a strong penalty claim for handball turned down as well as losing Harry Kewell to injury half-way through the first period. The fans and team inspired each other in the second half as we began our comeback through skipper Steven Gerrard, whose goal was the only header of that season’s victorious European campaign. Vladimír Šmicer then struck his nineteenth reds goal in his 184th and final game for the club, before Xabi Alonso saw his penalty saved but tucked away the rebound, just six minutes after Gerrard’s goal.

We hung on to the 3-3 scoreline through the rest of normal and extra time, with Jerzy Dudek making an incredible double save from Andriy Shevchenko. An amazing night was completed as we won the penalty shoot-out 3-2, with Dietmar Hamann, Djibril Cissé and Šmicer converting their spot-kicks and Dudek dancing on the goal-line.

The glory that was Rome
1977 – This day brought one of only a couple of other days that can vie with Istanbul as the most glorious day in our history, as we claimed the European Cup for the first time. Our opponents were Borussia Mönchengladbach, who we had beaten in the UEFA Cup Final four years earlier. Rainer Bonhof hit the post for the Germans before Terry McDermott opened the scoring after half an hour, although Alan Simonsen equalised shortly after half-time, capitalising on a loose Jimmy Case back-pass.

After sustaining heavy German pressure, we regained the lead when Tommy Smith rose to head in magnificently from a corner, in what was then assumed to be his final outing. Seven minutes from time, Kevin Keegan, playing in his 323rd and last reds match, was felled by Berti Vogts in the area, and Phil Neal stepped up to convert from the spot. Then the party could really start. This game remains our only other first-class game on this day in history.

Heading off
2006 - Fernando Morientes was sold to Valencia for a reported £3m after twelve goals in 61 reds games. He had joined for £6.3m from Real Madrid in January 2005, but failed to fully convince in a reds shirt. However, he did help us to claim the FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in his time at Anfield.
1954 – Utility player Bill Jones’s contract with the reds expired. He signed from Hayfield St. Matthews in September 1938 and scored seventeen times in 277 games for us, with his appearances including the 1950 FA Cup Final when he was preferred to Bob Paisley. Bill won two significant medals in the 1940’s - first he was awarded a Military Medal for his part in the crossing of the Rhine in the Second World War, and then he won a League title medal in 1947 on his return to Anfield. He later scouted for the reds while his grandson Rob represented the club in defence on 243 occasions in the 1990’s.

Mighty Mouse starts out
1971 - Kevin Keegan played his first reds game as we lost 3-2 at Danish side AGF Århus, with Bobby Graham and Jack Whitham netting our goals.

Births and deaths
1999 – Centre-half Ibrahima Konaté was born in Paris. He signed from RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. for £36m in July 2021, so far notching three times in 53 outings, already helping us to claim the FA Cup and League Cup.
1994 – Reserves forward Samed Yeşil was born in Dusseldorf. He signed for a reported £1m from Bayer 04 Leverkusen in August 2012, making two senior reds appearances before being released in June 2016.
1974 – Former sub keeper Robbie Holcroft was born in Skelmersdale. He sat on our bench five times in the early 1990’s.
1948 – Inside-forward Charlie Satterthwaite died. He signed from Burton Swifts in December 1899, bagging thirteen goals in 45 outings before moving to New Brompton in 1902 after helping us to claim the League title the year before.

1899 – Scottish left-half Jim McBride died in Manchester, aged just 25. He struck seven times in 56 games, helping us to the Second Division title in 1894 after signing from Renton in June 1892. He moved on to Ardwick in December 1894.
1890 – Scottish keeper Frank Mitchell was born in Elgin, Morayshire. He signed from Everton for £1,250 in February 1921, playing eighteen times before joining Tranmere Rovers in June 1923 after failing to permanently displace the great Elisha Scott.

Thumped in Blackpool
1942 - We were trounced 8-2 at Blackpool in a Wartime League game. Billy Liddell converted a penalty, with Cyril Done also netting.

Friendly scorers
2001 - Robbie Fowler was on target in England’s 4-0 friendly defeat of Mexico at Pride Park as future red Joe Cole won his first cap. Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Emile Heskey and Michael Owen all also featured, while David James made his last appearance as an Aston Villa player. Future red Djibril Cissé and ex-red Rigobert Song also played for their countries that day.
2008 – Future red Luis Suárez bagged a brace, including a penalty, as Uruguay beat Turkey 3-2 in a friendly in Germany.
2016 - Marko Grujić won his first senior cap for Serbia as they beat Cyprus 2-1 in a friendly in Užice. On the same day, future red Takumi Minamino netted for Japan Under-23’s as they beat Guinea 2-1 in a friendly in France.

Digger for England
John Barnes twice played for his country on this day in history.
1985 – England lost 1-0 to Scotland in the Rous Cup at Hampden Park, while he was still a Watford player. Ex-red Graeme Souness captained the victors.
1991 - He played alongside future reds Nigel Clough and Mark Wright in a 2-2 friendly draw with Argentina at Wembley.

Defensive signings
1979 - Centre-back Dave Watson signed as an apprentice. Unlike his brother Alex, he never played a senior reds game, and found greater success across the park.
1903 – Full-back Joseph Hoare arrived from Southampton for £75, playing just seven times before returning to the Saints a year later.
1894 - Full-back Abel Hughes signed for the reds. He too never made a first-team appearance. On the same day, Scottish keeper Bill McCann arrived from Abercorn, playing seventeen times before moving on the following March.

Flo on target
2006 - Florent Sinama-Pongolle netted for France Under-21’s in their 3-0 defeat of Germany in a European Championships Finals group game in Portugal. Also in international action that day were Jamie Carragher, Scott Carson, Peter Crouch, future reds Joe Cole and Raul Meireles, and ex-reds David James, Jari Litmanen and Michael Owen, with Roy Hodgson taking charge of Finland.
2007 - Carson and ex-red Owen both featured for England B in their 3-1 defeat of Albania at Turf Moor.

A Hungarian double
2007 - It was announced that forwards Krisztián Németh and András Simon would both sign from MTK Hungária for around £1m. Both left the club in 2010 without having made the first team.

On the move
2007 - Gérard Houllier resigned as Manager of Olympique Lyonnais after two years in charge, in which time he had led them to their fifth and sixth consecutive Ligue 1 titles as well as the knock-out stages of the Champions League. On the same day, future reds goalkeeping coach John Achterberg was released by Tranmere Rovers, although he was then given a further two-year contract as a player and coach.
2018 – Ex-reds loanee midfielder Conor Thomas signed for Cheltenham Town, having spent the previous year playing in India. He struck twenty times in 146 outings across his first four campaigns with the Robins.
2022 – It was announced that Xabi Alonso would leave as the head coach of Real Sociedad’s B-team at the end of the season, with the side already relegated from the second tier.

The kids done well
1963 – Tommy Smith captained the reds as they lost the second leg of our first ever FA Youth Cup Final 5-2 at West Ham United. We had won the first leg 3-1 and led 2-1 on the night in East London with Bobby Graham amongst the scorers. However, reds keeper Rodney Swindlehurst was bundled over the line by the Hammers centre-forward to equalise, getting injured in the process. The Irons then did enough to take the tie into extra time and go on to claim the prize. We had to wait another 33 years to clinch the trophy for the first time.

Euro despair
2013 – Ex-reds loanee Nuri Şahin played in the UEFA Champions League Final for Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund, managed by Jürgen Klopp, as they lost 2-1 to Bayern München at Wembley.

Ex-Ger
2006 – Sotirios Kyrgiakos won his final cap for Greece while a Rangers player as they lost 1-0 to Australia in a friendly in Melbourne.
2010 – He also played for his country, as they drew 2-2 with North Korea in Austria. Future red Joël Matip and ex-reds Robbie Keane and Rigobert Song also featured in international friendlies that day.

Magilton for his country
Ex-reds reserves midfielder Jim Magilton twice represented Northern Ireland on this day in the 1990’s.
1993 - He won his fourteenth cap in a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win in Lithuania.
1995 - He made his 28th appearance as they lost 2-1 to Chile in a Canada Cup game in Edmonton.

International firsts and last
2012 – Future red Sadio Mané debuted for Senegal in their 1-0 win in Morocco. Meanwhile, Christian Benteke won his first cap as a Koninklijke Racing Club Genk player, his fourth to date, as Belgium were held to a 2-2 friendly draw in Brussels by Montenegro. Future red Emre Can won his first cap for Germany Under-19’s in their 2-2 draw in Serbia. Luis Suárez netted for Uruguay as they drew a friendly 1-1 in Russia. Also in international action were Krisztián Adorján, Jack Robinson, ex-red Ádám Hajdú and future reds Ragnar Klavan, Suso and Gini Wijnaldum.
2014 - Nuri Şahin won his first cap in his second spell as a Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund player, captaining Turkey as they beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 in a friendly in Dublin. Meanwhile, Sadio Mané played for the final time while with Red Bull Salzburg as Senegal beat Kosovo 3-1 in Switzerland.
2018 - Diogo Jota won his last Under-21’s cap as a Club Atlético de Madrid player, bagging a brace and captaining Portugal as they beat Italy 3-2 in a friendly in Estoril.

Also in international action
1952 – Billy Liddell played for Scotland in their 2-1 friendly defeat in Denmark.
1954 – Andy Beattie took charge of Scotland as they won a friendly 2-1 in Finland. He had guested with the reds during the war, and later joined the backroom staff at Anfield after a successful management career.
1965 – Tommy Smith played for England Under-23’s in their 1-0 defeat in West Germany.
1969 – Alun Evans and Emlyn Hughes both appeared for England Under-12’s as they beat a Belgium B team 1-0 in Ostend.
1979 – Ex-reds Joey Jones and John Toshack both featured for Wales as they drew 1-1 with Northern Ireland in the British International Championships in Belfast.

1982 – Terry McDermott, Phil Neal and Phil Thompson all played for England as they beat the Netherlands 2-0 in a friendly at Wembley.
1986 – Future reds John Aldridge and Ray Houghton both appeared for the Republic of Ireland as they beat host nation 2-1 in a tournament game in Iceland.
1987 – Future red Øyvind Leonhardsen played for Norway Under-16’s as they shared a goalless draw with West Germany in France.
1994 – Future red Jean-Michael Ferri featured as France beat Australia 1-0 in Japan.
2000 – Richie Partridge played for the Irish Under-21’s as they lost 1-0 to Colombia in the Toulon Tournament.

2002 - Milan Baroš was on the winning side as the Czech Republic Under-21’s beat Italy 3-2 in Switzerland to reach the European Championships Final. Meanwhile, ex-reds Jason McAteer and Steve Staunton played for the senior Republic of Ireland team that beat Japanese club side Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1, with Abel Xavier also in international action.
2004 – Michael Foley-Sheridan and Darren Potter both featured for the Irish Under-21’s as they beat Scotland 3-1 in a friendly in Galway.
2011 – Future red Charlie Adam played as Scotland beat Wales 3-1 in a Carling Nations Cup game in Dublin.