30th July

World Cup winners
1966 - Our very own centre-forward ‘Sir’ Roger Hunt won a World Cup winner’s medal as England famously defeated West Germany 4-2 at Wembley, after extra-time. On the same day, former reserves forward George Scott married Carole. Bill Shankly called him “the best player ever to play for my reserves”, but he failed to break through to the first team, later turning out for Aberdeen and Tranmere Rovers.

1997 - Karl-Heinz Riedle, who had won the World Cup with West Germany in 1990, was signed from Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund for £1.8m. He scored fifteen times in 76 reds games, and also had a great influence on the young Michael Owen, before leaving Anfield for Fulham in a £200,000 deal in September 1999.

Taking the shield
2022 - Darwin Núñez scored on his reds bow with Fábio Carvalho also debuting as we beat Manchester City 3-1 in the FA Community Shield in Leicester as keeper Adrián played for the 26th and last time. Trent Alexander-Arnold opened the scoring in the first half with Julián Álvarez equalising after the break. Mohamed Salah converted a penalty before Núñez headed in in stoppage time.

Double debutants
2008 – Forwards Robbie Keane and David N’Gog played their first reds games as we shared a goalless draw at Villarreal.
2014 – We drew 2-2 with Manchester City in an International Champions Cup group game at New York’s Yankee Stadium, with Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling both on target. There was no extra time, with the reds winning a shoot-out 3-1, despite Daniel Sturridge missing from twelve yards as Simon Mignolet made two penalty saves.
2016 – Midfielder Gini Wijnaldum played his first reds game as we beat AC Milan 2-0 in an International Champions Cup game in California, with Divock Origi and Roberto Firmino on target.

Happy birthdays
1899 – Scottish centre-forward Willie Devlin was born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire. He bagged fifteen goals in just nineteen reds games, but was only at Anfield for seven months in 1927 between signing from Huddersfield Town and leaving for Heart Of Midlothian. His brother Tom was also a forward in the reserves at Anfield at the same time.
1979 – Physio Chris Morgan was born. He joined the reds in 2006, but moved on in 2016 for spells with Crystal Palace and Arsenal, before returning as a First Team Physiotherapist in August 2020.

The Pope is a red
2001 - liverpoolfc.tv website statistics revealed that six priests from the Vatican had signed up to the club’s official site. A spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Church said, “The Pope is well known as a big football fan and there are computers in every office in the Vatican. It is likely he signed up for the Liverpool website and I wouldn’t be surprised if he did follow their progress.”

In and out
1998 - Neil Ruddock was sold to West Ham United for £100,000 after twelve goals in 152 first-team appearances. He struck three times in 56 games for the Hammers before moving on to Crystal Palace in July 2000.
2020 – Polish keeper Jakub Ojrzyński signed professional terms with the reds, having arrived at the Academy in the summer of 2019. He made it to the first-team bench for the first time at Sheffield United in February 2021. On the same day, scouse midfielder Curtis Jones was presented with the Premier League 2 Player of the Season award.

Double departures
1999 - The reds bade farewell to two disappointing signings. Paul Ince was sold to Middlesbrough, while Sean Dundee left for VfB Stuttgart, both for £1m fees. Ince had bagged seventeen goals in 81 reds games, many as skipper, while Dundee had only made five senior appearances, without finding the net.

Making history
2002 - Liverpool’s friendly with S.S. Lazio at Anfield was the first time a Premiership team had shown an entire match live on the internet. We lost the game 1-0, but the Kop was impressed by one of our new signings, French midfielder Bruno Cheyrou.

Stanley off the mark
1995 - New signing Stan Collymore scored his first reds goal after Rui Costa gave Fiorentina the lead from the spot as we drew 1-1 in the third-place play-off of the pre-season Mönchengladbach Trophy. The game was decided by a penalty shoot-out, with keeper David James saving twice and then scoring the decisive final reds kick as we won 3-2. Robbie Fowler and Steve Harkness had also converted, with Steve McManaman and Neil Ruddock proving unsuccessful.

2023 – Midfielder Bobby Clark and winger Ben Doak both scored for the reds for the first time as we thumped Leicester City 4-0 in a Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy 2023 encounter, with Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota also on target.

More debutants
1986 - Barry Venison played his first reds game as we were held 1-1 by a Denmark Select XI, made up of players from Brøndby IF and Lyngby BK, in a game played in honour of the Danish town of Holbæk’s 750th anniversary, with Kevin MacDonald scoring our goal.
1985 - Young forward Wayne Harrison made his reds bow in our 2-2 friendly draw at Crewe Alexandra. Ian Rush and Steve Nicol were on target that day.

Ground celebrations
1968 - We won 3-0 at Tranmere Rovers in a game played to celebrate the opening of a new stand. Ian Callaghan grabbed a brace, with Ian St. John netting the other.
1991 - The reds beat Swedish side Ludvika 3-2 at Hillängen, to help commemorate the stadium’s fiftieth anniversary. Youngster Steve McManaman scored his first reds goal in this match, with Ronnie Whelan and Dean Saunders also hitting the target.

Losing at Wembley
1989 - We lost the Final of the Makita International Tournament 1-0 to Arsenal at Wembley, thanks to a Steve Bould goal.
1980 - Kenny Dalglish and Phil Neal netted as we beat Dundalk 2-0 at Lansdowne Road in our other friendly on this day. The game was arranged as part of a deal that took Synan Braddish, Derek Carroll and Brian Duff to Anfield for a combined £50,000 fee in 1978. However, all three were already back at Dundalk by the time of this match!

On the move
2000 - Robbie Keane left Coventry City to sign for Internazionale in a £13m deal. He had struck twelve times in 34 games for the Sky Blues and went on to bag just three goals in fourteen outings for the nerazzurri, before returning to England to join Leeds United, initially on loan.
2010 - David James signed for Bristol City, having been released by Portsmouth. He turned out on 84 occasions for the Robins before being released in May 2012.
2013 – Former reserves centre-half Godwin Antwi signed for Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt. However, he only stayed there for seven months before joining Sisaket in Thailand.
2016 – Young forward Jack Dunn joined Morecambe on loan, netting six times in nineteen games.

2018 – Ex-reds Jack Hobbs joined Bolton Wanderers from Nottingham Forest on a free transfer, netting once in 27 games in his first campaign with the Trotters.
2019 – Young Welsh forward Ben Woodburn joined Oxford United on loan, netting once in sixteen outings as they lost the League One Play-off Final earlier this month. On the same day, ex-reds winger Toni Silva signed for Romanian side Astra Giurgiu, only staying there seven months.
2021 – Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold signed a new contract. He joined the Academy at the age of six, striking nineteen times in 310 senior appearances across his first eight seasons as he helped the reds to claim the League title, UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield.

On the move?
2004 - The club’s new stadium was granted planning permission by Liverpool City Council. However, work never began in earnest and the plans have now been firmly scrapped.

European champions
2010 – Chris Mavinga’s France Under-19’s beat Spain 2-1 in the Final of the European Championships in Caen. The Frenchman was winning his twelfth and final cap at this level, while Dani Pacheco and future red Thiago Alcântara both featured for the losing side.
1996 - Gérard Houllier took charge of France Under-18’s, with Christian Damiano, as they beat Spain 1-0 in the European Championships Final in Besançon.

Internationals on target
1910 - Ex-red Arthur Berry scored for an England side that beat South Africa 6-3 in an FA Tour game in Cape Town.
1995 - Titi Camara struck his first two goals as a Racing Club de Lens player as Guinea beat Mali 4-1 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Conakry.

International bows
2007 – Future reds reserves forward Nikola Sarić played his first game for Denmark Under-17’s as they drew 1-1 with Belgium in a tournament game in Herning.
2011 – Philippe Coutinho won his first cap for Brazil Under-20’s as they drew 1-1 with Egypt in a World Championship Finals group game in Colombia, with fellow future red Mohamed Salah also featuring.

Also in international action
1999 - Brad Friedel captained the USA as they beat Germany 2-0 in a Confederations Cup group game in Guadalajara.
1989 – Future reds goalkeeping coach Cláudio Taffarel played as Brazil thumped Venezuela 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Caracas.