22nd May

Clem for the first time
1968 - Ray Clemence played his first reds game as we lost a friendly 1-0 to Porto in their Estádio das Antas.

Farewells
2022 - Sadio Mané bagged his 120th and last goal for the reds as we beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 at Anfield. We fell behind to a Pedro Neto goal, but Mané levelled before the break. Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson scored late on to secure victory, but we just missed out on another League title by a single point as Manchester City came from behind to win on this final day of the League campaign.
2011 - We lost in our final game of the season at Aston Villa, with future red Stewart Downing netting the only goal. David N’Gog played his 94th and last reds game. On the same day, ex-reds keeper Jerzy Dudek announced his retirement from playing. He had made 186 reds appearances, helping us to glory in Istanbul, as well as the Worthington Cup in 2003. He left to join Real Madrid in July 2007, although barely featured for their first team.

1925 - Northern Irish inside-forward Billy McDevitt was sold to Exeter City for a club record fee, having been converted to a centre-half since arriving at Anfield from Swansea Town in 1923. He has played just four reds games.
1908 – Scottish inside-left Bill McPherson left Anfield to join Rangers. He had signed from St. Mirren in August 1906, bagging seventeen goals in 55 outings including one on his debut against Woolwich Arsenal.
1903 – Scottish right-back Don McCallum left the reds to sign for Morton after just two senior outings since arriving from Queen’s Park in June 1901.

An England debutant
1974 - Reds left-back Alec Lindsay won the first of his four England caps in their 2-2 friendly draw with Argentina at Wembley. Emlyn Hughes was skipper that day, with Kevin Keegan also playing.

Roger for England for the last time
1968 - Roger Hunt netted his eighteenth and final international goal as England beat Sweden 3-1 in a friendly at Wembley. He won a total of 34 caps for his country.

Signing on
2020 – Future reds forward Fábio Carvalho signed as a professional for Fulham. He struck twelve times in 44 appearances before moving to Anfield for an initial £5m in July 2022.
1899 – Forward John Parkinson signed from his hometown club Blackpool. He only played once before returning to the Seasiders in May 1900.

A Scotland debutant
1979 - Reds reserves forward Frank McGarvey won his first full international cap as Scotland beat Northern Ireland 1-0 in the British International Championships at Hampden Park. Kenny Dalglish captained the side, with Graeme Souness and future red John Wark also featuring.

Emile and Digger for England
2003 - Emile Heskey struck as England beat South Africa 2-1 in a friendly in Durban, his final England goal as a red. Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, future red Joe Cole and ex-red David James all also played.
2016 – Jordan Henderson and ex-red Raheem Sterling played for Roy Hodgson’s England as they beat Turkey 2-1 in Manchester.

1990 - John Barnes was on target, although England lost 2-1 in a friendly to Uruguay at Wembley. Clubmate Peter Beardsley also appeared, as a substitute.
1985 - Barnes also featured for England in a 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw in Finland, with future Glenn Hysén also playing for his country.
1994 – Ex-red Beardsley represented his country again, playing with Rob Jones and future red Paul Ince as England were held to a goalless friendly draw by Norway at Wembley.

Young debutants
2003 - Reds reserves forward Daniel Sjölund made his senior international debut as a substitute, with ex-red Øyvind Leonhardsen on target as Norway beat Finland 2-0 in a friendly in Oslo. John Arne Riise also played, while Finland were skippered by Sami Hyypiä. Oddly, Finland’s starting line-up included more players from the Norwegian Tippeliga than the eleven that began the game for Norway!
2002 - Sami Hyypiä also featured for Finland, playing alongside clubmate Jari Litmanen as they beat Latvia 2-1 in a friendly in Helsinki. On the same day, John Arne Riise and ex-red Øyvind Leonhardsen played as Norway were held to a 1-1 draw by Iceland in another friendly in Bodø.

2014 – Ex-red Peter Gulácsi made his senior bow as Hungary drew a friendly 2-2 with Denmark in Debrecen. Daniel Agger was on the opposing side. Meanwhile, Australian left-back Brad Smith won his first cap for England Under-21’s as they beat Qatar 3-0 in the Toulon Tournament, while future red Sadio Mané featured for Senegal as the drew a friendly 1-1 in Burkina Faso.
2012 – Gini Wijnaldum won his first cap as a PSV Eindhoven player as the Dutch Under-21’s were beaten 1-0 by Macedonia in a friendly in Austria.

Happy birthdays
2000 – Reserves forward Rafael Camacho was born in Lisbon. He made his senior bow at right-back in an FA Cup Third Round defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers last January, playing twice for the first team before moving on to Sporting Clube de Portugal for £5m in June 2019.
1933 – Inside-forward Harold Jones was born in Liverpool. He signed on in January 1952, but only made one senior appearance in a 5-1 thumping at Anfield by Preston North End in September 1953. He moved on to Rhyl in June 1954.

1899 – Centre-forward Danny Shone was born in West Derby, Liverpool. He signed from local amateur side Grayson’s of Garston in May 1921, netting 26 goals in 81 games as he helped us to claim the League title in his first season. He moved on to West Ham United in June 1928.
1870 - Half-back John McLean was born in Port Glasgow. He signed from Greenock Volunteers in October 1894, making 29 appearances without scoring before joining Grimsby Town in June 1897.

Other friendlies
1932 – We trounced Århus Workers Sports Club 8-0 on our Danish tour, with Dave Wright, Gordon Gunson and Archie McPherson all bagging braces. Robert Done and Harold Barton also scored.
1969 - RCD Mallorca used ten substitutes at the start of the second half as we won a friendly there 2-1. Ian Callaghan and Bobby Graham netted our goals. Bizarrely, Bob Paisley was escorted to the dressing room by civil guards after trying to make a second substitution for the reds!
1984 - We defeated the Israeli national team 4-1, with Ronnie Whelan scoring twice and Michael Robinson and Graeme Souness also grabbing goals.

For the King
1967 - We took part in a testimonial match for Tranmere Rovers legend John King, winning 3-1 at Prenton Park thanks to strikes from Gerry Byrne, Ian St. John and an own goal.

Internationals on target
2012 – Future red Mohamed Salah struck twice as Egypt beat Togo 3-0 in a friendly in Sudan.
2002 - Future red Fernando Torres bagged a brace for Spain Under-19’s as they beat FYR Macedonia 4-0 in a European Championships qualifier. On the same day, future reds Paul Konchesky and Jermaine Pennant played for England Under-21’s in their 3-1 European Championships Finals defeat to Portugal in Switzerland.
1991 - Future red Nick Barmby scored a brace as England Under-18’s beat Wales 3-0 at Yeovil in a European Championships qualifier.

1988 - Ex-reserves midfielder Kevin Sheedy struck as the Republic of Ireland beat Poland 3-1 in a friendly at Lansdowne Road. John Aldridge and Ronnie Whelan both also played.
1991 - Sheedy also played for his country at the same venue, alongside reds Ray Houghton and Steve Staunton in a 1-1 friendly draw with Chile.

Tosh for Wales
John Toshack twice played for Wales on this day in the 1970’s.
1971 - They lost 1-0 in Northern Ireland in the British International Championships. Chris Lawler faced future red Peter Cormack on the same day as England beat Scotland 3-1 at Wembley.
1976 - Wales were held to a 1-1 draw by Yugoslavia in a European Championships qualifier in Cardiff.

For Billy
2010 - A memorial cairn in the Billy Liddell Sports Complex in Townhill, Dunfermline was unveiled in honour of the reds legend.

In charge
2009 - Titi Camara was appointed National Technical Director of Guinea, additionally becoming Head Coach a month later.
2018 - Jörg Schmadtke was appointed Director of Sport for VfL Wolfsburg. He stepped down in January 2023, taking over as the reds’ Sporting Director four months later.

An international first
1938 – Ireland met Poland in an international fixture for the first time, with the home side triumphing 6-0 in Warsaw. Ex-reds reserves centre-half Matt O’Mahoney played for the Irish.

Also in international action
2023 – Jarell Quansah played for England Under-20’s in their 1-0 defeat of Tunisia in a World Championships Finals group game in Argentina.
2008 - Mikel San José played for Spain Under-19’s as they beat their Ukrainian counterparts 3-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Armenia. Meanwhile, Damien Plessis featured for France Under-20’s in their 2-1 defeat by Japan in the Toulon Tournament in Hyères.
2006 – Carl Medjani captained France Under-20’s as they beat China 2-0 in the Semi-final of the Toulon Tournament.

1995 – Ex-red Jim Magilton played for Northern Ireland as they lost 2-0 to Canada in Edmonton.
1989 – Future reds Stig Inge Bjørnebye and Paul Stewart faced each other in a B international as England won 1-0 in Norway, with the former winning his only cap at this level.
1984 – Ian Rush and ex-red Joey Jones both played as Wales drew 1-1 with Northern Ireland in the British International Championships in Swansea.

1980 – Future red Glenn Hysén featured for Sweden Under-21’s in their 3-0 friendly defeat of Finland in Stockholm.
1969 – Emlyn Hughes played for England Under-23’s as they lost a friendly 2-1 in the Netherlands.
1957 – Tommy Younger featured as Scotland lost a friendly 3-1 to West Germany in Stuttgart.
1949 – Ray Lambert represented Wales in their 3-1 friendly defeat in Belgium.