18th June

Arrivederci JAR
2008 - John Arne Riise was sold to Roma for £4m after 348 reds appearances and 31 goals since his arrival for the same fee from AS Monaco in June 2001. He helped us to win the European Cup, FA Cup League Cup, two UEFA Super Cups and two FA Charity Shields in his time at Anfield.

1937 – Forward Ted Harston signed from Mansfield Town for £300,000 after an amazing 81 goals in seventy Third Division North outings. He struck on his reds bow as we were thumped 6-1 at Chelsea that August, as well as bagging a brace in his second game. However, he only played a further three games, returning to amateur football with Shorts in the Kent League in August 1939 after suffering a broken leg that ended his professional career.

Happy McBirthday
1971 - Jason McAteer was born in Birkenhead. After playing against the reds in the 1995 Coca Cola Cup Final, he moved to Anfield from Bolton Wanderers for £4.5m that September. He was a regular under Roy Evans, but was soon shown the door by Gérard Houllier, who sold him to Blackburn Rovers for £4m in January 1999 after six goals in 139 reds games.
1914 – Forward Ron Jones was born in Mold. He signed from Wrexham in March 1938, scoring once in five outings before the war intervened. He returned to Wrexham in peacetime.

Thommo departs
2004 - Phil Thompson stepped down as Assistant Manager. He had been in this role for five years after Gérard Houllier hired him early on in his reign. Thommo stepped into the breach for much of the 2001/02 season while Houllier was recovering from heart surgery, helping us to reach the Quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League and finish second in the League.
1932 – Centre-forward Jimmy Smith left the reds to move into amateur football with Tunbridge Wells Rangers. He still holds the British seasonal scoring record, netting 66 for Ayr United in 1927/28. He signed for the reds from Ayr for £5,500 in September 1929, going on to bag 38 goals in 62 reds games including two on his debut against Manchester United.

Razor on target in New York
1994 - Ex-red Ray Houghton bagged the only goal of the game at the Giants Stadium in New York as the Republic of Ireland upset the odds to beat Italy in their opening World Cup game. Fellow ex-reds John Aldridge and Steve Staunton also played, as did future reds Phil Babb and Jason McAteer. This was the first time the Irish had beaten Italy in eight attempts. Meanwhile, Roy Hodgson took charge of Switzerland in their 1-1 draw with the USA in Detroit.

A reds friendly
1948 - We beat Swedish side Djurgårdens IF 3-2 in a friendly in Brooklyn, New York City. Billy Liddell, Ken Brierley and Jack Balmer netted for the reds.

Three amigos
2008 - With Spain already having qualified for the Quarter-finals as group winners, Fernando Torres was rested alongside many first-choice players, meaning that Xabi Alonso skippered the side to a 2-1 European Championships Finals defeat of Greece in Salzburg, with Álvaro Arbeloa and Pepe Reina also playing, while Sotirios Kyrgiakos won his final cap as an Eintracht Frankfurt player for the Greeks. Javier Mascherano featured in a goalless World Cup qualifier for Argentina in Brazil on the same day.

Scottish World Cup disappointment
1982 - Three reds featured in Scotland’s 4-1 defeat by Brazil in their World Cup encounter in Seville. Graeme Souness skippered a side that also included Alan Hansen and substitute Kenny Dalglish, as well as future red John Wark.
1974 - Dalglish also played against Brazil in the World Cup when their meeting in Frankfurt ended goalless, with Lucas Leiva’s uncle Leivinha also in action.
1977 - Kenny also played for his country when they held Argentina to a 1-1 draw in a friendly in Buenos Aires.

Also at the World Cup
2018 – Jordan Henderson and ex-red Raheem Sterling played in England’s 2-1 defeat of Tunisia in Russia.
2014 – Future red Dejan Lovren faced future red Joël Matip and ex-red Charles Itandje as Croatia thumped Cameroon 4-0 in a group game in Manaus. Meanwhile, future red Gini Wijnaldum and ex-reds Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres also featured in the tournament.
2010 - Milan Jovanović bagged his last goal as a Standard de Liège player, the only strike of Serbia’s group encounter with Germany in Port Elizabeth. Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard captained England as Algeria held them to a goalless draw in Cape Town, with Jamie Carragher, Glen Johnson and ex-reds Peter Crouch, Emile Heskey and David James all also featuring.

2006 - Harry Kewell came off the bench as Australia lost 2-0 to Brazil in Munich.
2005 – Future red Gabriel Paletta and ex-red Arnaud Bühler both featured in World Championships Finals group games at Under-20’s level in the Netherlands. Argentina beat Germany 1-0, with Switzerland losing 3-0 to Nigeria.
1998 - Future red Bernard Diomède played as France beat Saudi Arabia 4-0 at the Stade de France.
1986 - Future red Peter Beardsley was on target in England’s 3-0 defeat of Paraguay in Mexico City as they qualified for the Quarter-finals. On the same day, Jan Mølby was a substitute as Denmark were thumped 5-1 by Spain in Queretaro.

Young international reds on target
2023 – Lewis Koumas bagged his first goal for Wales Under-19’s as they were held to a 2-2 friendly draw by Sweden in Cardiff. On the same day, ex-red Gini Wijnaldum netted for the Netherlands as they lost their UEFA Nations League 3rd Place Play-off 3-2 to Italy in Enschede, while winning his last cap as a Paris Saint-Germain player, with Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk both also featuring. Federico Chiesa scored for Italy, with his first goal since making his move from Fiorentina to Juventus permanent. Bernard Diomède took charge of France Under-18’s on the same day, but they lost 2-0 to Australia Under-23’s in Salon-de-Provence.
2013 – Fabio Borini scored while winning his last cap for Italy Under-21’s as they lost 4-2 to Spain in the European Championships Final in Jerusalem, with Thiago Alcântara bagging a treble, including one from the spot as he captained the winning side in his last outing at this level, with fellow future red Alberto Moreno on the winning side.

2009 – Future red James Milner scored as England Under-21’s beat Spain 2-0 in a European Championships Finals group game in Gothenburg.
2000 – Titi Camara struck as Guinea beat Zimbabwe 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Conakry.
1997 - Michael Owen was on target in a World Championship Finals group game as he made his debut for England Under-20’s in their 2-1 defeat of Ivory Coast in Malaysia.
1978 - Alan Kennedy scored in his last B international as a Newcastle United player as England B thrashed Singapore 8-0 in the National Stadium. Future reds goalkeeping coach Joe Corrigan also played.

2001 - Future red Djibril Cissé bagged a treble as France Under-20’s beat Iran 5-0 in a World Championships Finals group game in Argentina. Grégory Vignal and future red Alou Diarra both also played. Meanwhile, future reds coach John Heitinga played as the Netherlands lost 3-1 to Costa Rica in the same tournament.
2003 - Cissé also played for his country in a 1-0 defeat of Colombia in the Confederations Cup in Lyon.

Ex-reds on the move
2000 - Former reserves striker Paul Jewell resigned as Manager of Bradford City after two and half years at Valley Parade. He led them into the Premiership, keeping them there for a season before stepping down. He took over at Sheffield Wednesday just three days later.
2009 – Djimi Traoré joined AS Monaco from Portsmouth. He had struck once in 43 outings for les Rouge et Blanc before joining Olympique de Marseille.
2012 – Former reserves forward Steven Gillespie joined Fleetwood Town from Colchester United, after 28 strikes in 108 outings for the U’s.
2022 – Harry Kewell joined Celtic as a First-team Coach.

Happy days for Gary Mac
While still at Leeds United, Gary McAllister twice made memorable European Championships Finals appearances for his country on this day.
1992 - He scored in Scotland’s 3-0 defeat of the CIS in Norrköping. On the same day, future red Karl-Heinz Riedle played in Germany’s 3-1 defeat by the Netherlands in Gothenburg.
1996 - Gary Mac captained his country for the twentieth time as they beat Switzerland 1-0 at Villa Park, with future red Stéphane Henchoz on the losing side. Meanwhile, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and future reds Nick Barmby and Paul Ince all featured as England beat the Netherlands 4-1 at Wembley.

Also at the European Championships
2016 – Christian Benteke faced ex-red Robbie Keane as Belgium beat the Republic of Ireland 3-0 in a group game in Bordeaux. On the same day, ex-red Javier Mascherano played as Argentina beat Venezuela 4-1 in their Copa América Centenario Quarter-final in the USA.
2012 – Future red Mario Balotelli netted for Italy in their 2-0 defeat of the Republic of Ireland in the European Championships Finals in Poland, with ex-reds Xabi Alonso, Álvaro Arbeloa, Robbie Keane and Fernando Torres all also featuring in the competition that day.
2000 - Vegard Heggem won his twentieth and final cap in Norway’s 1-0 defeat by FR Yugoslavia in Liège. Clubmate Stig Inge Bjørnebye also played.

2015 – Tiago Ilori faced future red Danny Ings in the Under-21’s Finals as Portugal beat England 1-0 in the Czech Republic.
2017 – Future red Federico Chiesa played for Italy Under-21’s as they bet Denmark 2-0 in a group stage game in Poland.
2019 – Ex-red Dominic Solanke played for England Under-21’s as they lost 2-1 to France in a group game in Italy. Alisson Becker, Roberto Firmino, future red Arthur Melo and ex-red Philippe Coutinho all featured in Brazil’s goalless draw with Venezuela in a Copa América group game in Recife on the same day.

1980 - Ray Clemence, Terry McDermott and Phil Thompson all played in England’s 2-1 defeat of Spain in Naples, with ex-red Kevin Keegan captaining the side. Avi Cohen played in a World Cup qualifier on the same day, as Israel drew 1-1 in Sweden.
1988 - John Barnes and Steve McMahon both featured as England lost 3-1 to the USSR in Frankfurt, to crash out of Euro ’88 without a point. On the same day, John Aldridge, Ray Houghton, Ronnie Whelan and ex-red Kevin Sheedy all played as the Republic of Ireland lost 1-0 to the Netherlands in Gelsenkirchen to join England on the plane home.

Moves behind the scenes
2009 – Former Chairman and current Honorary Life President David Moores resigned from the Board of Directors, following the fall-out of his sale of the club to George Gillett and Tom Hicks. On the same day, the appointment of reserve team coach Antonio Gómez Pérez was announced, although he only stayed at the club for a year.

First and last caps
1993 – Future reds goalkeeping coach Cláudio Taffarel won his last cap as a Parma player as they were held to a goalless draw by Peru in a Copa América group game in Ecuador.
2002 – Future red Ragnar Klavan won his only cap for Estonia Under-18’s in their 1-0 friendly defeat by Armenia in Tallinn.
2005 - El-Hadji Diouf won his first cap since his permanent move to Bolton Wanderers as Senegal were held to a 2-2 draw by Togo in a World Cup qualifier in Dakar.
2013 – Future red Fabio Borini scored while winning his eighteenth and last Italy Under-21’s cap as they lost 4-2 to Spain in the European Championships Final in Jerusalem, with fellow future red Alberto Moreno on the winning side.

On Song twice
Rigobert Song has twice represented his country in World Cup qualifiers in Libya on this day in history.
2004 - Cameroon held them to a goalless draw in Misurata.
2000 – He helped them to a 3-0 victory in Tripoli.

Champion Carra
2009 - Jamie Carragher was named the Celebrity Champion at the Community Foundation For Merseyside’s Spirit of Merseyside Awards at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.

Also in international action
1995 – Future reds keeper Brad Friedel played in the USA’s 4-0 defeat of Mexico in a US Cup game in Washington DC.
2021 – Andy Robertson captained Steve Clarke’s Scotland as they held England to a goalless draw in their European Championship Finals group game at Wembley, with ex-red Raheem Sterling wearing the armband for the home side for a spell. Meanwhile, ex-red Dejan Lovren played as Croatia drew 1-1 with the Czech Republic in the same group at Hampden Park and ex-red Luis Suárez featured in Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in a Copa América group game in Brasilia.