30th May

Glory in Rome again
1984 - We clinched the European Cup for a fourth time, becoming the first English side to complete a treble, having already claimed the title and League Cup that season. Phil Neal put us ahead after a quarter of an hour with a scrappy goal, but Roberto Pruzzo headed an equaliser for Roma before half-time. The game ended 1-1 after extra-time, and so the cup was to be decided with a penalty shoot-out. Steve Nicol missed our first kick, but his failure was matched by two Italians before Bruce Grobbelaar’s wobbly legs helped put off a third kicker, Ciccio Graziani. Alan Kennedy stepped up to take the decisive spot kick, as we won the big cup right in the heart of the lions’ den. Phil Neal, Graeme Souness, in his 359th and final reds appearance, and Ian Rush had been our other successful penalty takers. This remains our only first-class game on this day in history.

Happy birthday SteG
1980 - Skipper Steven Gerrard was born in Whiston. He made 710 appearances for the reds in total, notching 186 goals, helping us to claim the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, two FA Cups, two UEFA Super Cups and three League Cups as well as winning the PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards once apiece.

1915 – Len Carney was born in Liverpool. He joined the reds from Collegiate Old Boys in 1939, only netting once in six senior games after the war.
1989 – Former reserves centre-half Mikel San José was born in Pamplona, Spain. He featured on the bench once, joining Athletic de Bilbao in May 2010 after a loan spell.

Kenny the boss
1985 - Kenny Dalglish was appointed Player/Manager, following Joe Fagan’s resignation after the Heysel tragedy the night before. That same day, the Belgian FA announced a ban on all British clubs appearing in the country, a precursor to the wider UEFA ban on all English clubs.
2023 - Jörg Schmadtke was appointed Sporting Director, a role he only held until the following February.

Shanks for the reds
1942 - Future boss Bill Shankly guested for the reds in a Wartime League game, the only time he played for us. We beat Everton 4-1 at Anfield, with Cyril Done netting a brace, and Len Carney and John Wharton also on target.

Half a century for Rushie
1991 - Ian Rush won his fiftieth cap for Wales in their goalless draw with Poland in Radom, playing alongside future red Dean Saunders. He went on to win a total of 73 caps, scoring 28 times, a Welsh record.
1992 – Saunders, by now a red, played for his country again, as Wales were thumped 4-0 by the Netherlands in a friendly in Utrecht. Ray Houghton and ex-red Steve Staunton played as the Republic of Ireland lost 3-1 to the host nation in the US Cup in Washington DC on the same day.

A birthday goal
2006 - Steven Gerrard struck for England on his 26th birthday in their 3-1 friendly defeat of Hungary at Old Trafford. Peter Crouch was also on target with Jamie Carragher, future red Joe Cole and ex-red Michael Owen also featuring, along with Theo Walcott, who became England’s youngest ever international, aged just seventeen years and 75 days. Future reds Javier Mascherano and Kolo Touré also played for their countries that day, while John Barnes took charge of Jamaica.

In and out
2017 – Forward Dominic Solanke agreed to sign from Chelsea on 1st July, finally netting his first senior goal in his 27th and last outing as we thumped Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 at Anfield in May 2018, moving on to Bournemouth for £19m in January 2019.
1968 – Outside-right Dave Wilson was sold back to Preston North End. He joined the reds for £20,000 in February 1967, having played for the Lilywhites in the FA Cup Final in 1964. However, he only made one senior appearance in his fifteen months at Anfield before returning to Deepdale.

Five for Albert
1948 - Albert Stubbins grabbed five goals as we thumped an American League Select side 9-2 in a friendly in the Triborough Stadium, New York City. Billy Liddell added a brace, with Willie Fagan and Jack Balmer also on the scoresheet.

First and last caps
2021 – Conor Bradley came off the bench to win his first senior cap for Northern Ireland in their 3-0 friendly defeat of Malta in Austria. On the same day, Xherdan Shaqiri won his ninetieth cap as Switzerland beat the USA 2-1 in St. Gallen.
2007 – Future red Charlie Adam made his full international debut as Scotland beat Austria 1-0 in a friendly in Vienna.
1999 - Øyvind Leonhardsen won his final cap as a reds player as Norway beat Georgia 1-0 in a European Championships qualifier in Oslo. Vegard Heggem also played. On the same day, future red Frode Kippe played for Norway Under-21’s as they were held to a goalless draw by their Georgian counterparts.
1997 - Øyvind also represented his country in Oslo, as Norway beat Brazil 4-2 in a friendly, with future reds goalkeeping coach Cláudio Taffarel also in action.

2000 - Don Hutchison scored as he won his final cap as an Evertonian, with Scotland beating the Republic of Ireland 2-1 in a friendly at Lansdowne Road. Ex-red Mark Kennedy struck the Irish goal, with Phil Babb, ex-red Jason McAteer and future reds Steve Finnan and Robbie Keane all also featuring.
2008 – Philipp Degen won his last cap as a Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund player, and thirtieth to date, as Switzerland beat Liechtenstein 3-0 in a friendly in St. Gallen. Roma’s Alberto Aquilani was also in friendly action that day, while Alex Manninger won his last cap as a Robur Siena player in Austria’s 5-1 defeat of Malta in Graz.
2016 – Future red Fabinho won his fourth and last senior cap as an AS Monaco player, as Brazil beat Panama 2-0 in a friendly in the USA. Philippe Coutinho and future red Alisson Becker also featured.
1982 – Future reds Assistant Manager Sean O’Driscoll won his third and last cap for the Republic of Ireland in their 2-1 defeat at Trinidad & Tobago.

Champion youngsters
2010 – Conor Coady captained England Under-17’s to victory in the European Championships, as they beat Spain 2-1 in the Final in Liechtenstein. Andre Wisdom put through his own net and then scored at the right end.

Other reds on target for their countries
2014 – Daniel Sturridge netted as Roy Hodgson’s England beat Peru 3-0 at Wembley, with Steven Gerrard captaining a side that also included Jordan Henderson, Glen Johnson, Raheem Sterling and future reds Adam Lallana and James Milner. On the same day, Alberto Moreno won his third and last cap as a Sevilla player as Spain beat Bolivia 2-0, with ex-red Fernando Torres converting a penalty and Pepe Reina also featuring. Future red Mohamed Salah netted in Egypt’s 3-2 friendly defeat in Chile, with fellow future red Xherdan Shaqiri also playing for his country that day.

2004 - Vladimír Šmicer scored for the Czech Republic in their 6-0 thumping of a Tirol Amateur XI in Austria, with clubmate Milan Baroš also playing. Meanwhile, future red Raul Meireles played for Portugal Under-21’s as they drew 2-2 with Switzerland in a European Championships Finals group game in Germany. On the same day, future reds Craig Bellamy, Richard Hughes, Ragnar Klavan and Christian Poulsen both featured in senior friendlies.
1981 - Terry McDermott was on target as a substitute in England’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying defeat in Switzerland. Ray Clemence also played, while ex-red Kevin Keegan skippered the side, with ex-red Joey Jones playing for Wales on the same day.
1952 - Billy Liddell netted for Scotland while winning his twentieth cap as they beat Sweden 3-1 in a friendly in Solna.

2001 - Future red Nicolas Anelka scored as France thumped South Korea 5-0 in a Confederations Cup group game in Daegu. On the same day, Djibril Cissé netted for France Under-20’s as they beat Poland 3-1 in the Toulon Tournament, with Grégory Vignal also in the side.
2010 – Ex-reds Anelka and Cissé also played for France as they drew 1-1 with Tunisia in a friendly in Radès. Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, future reds Joe Cole and Kolo Touré, and ex-reds Mark González, Emile Heskey and David James were all also in international action that day.
2012 – Ex-reds Xabi Alonso, from the spot, and Fernando Torres both netted for Spain as they beat South Korea 4-1 in a friendly in Switzerland. Pepe Reina and ex-red Álvaro Arbeloa also featured, while Krisztián Adorján captained Hungary Under-19’s while winning his fourth and last cap at this level in their 3-0 friendly defeat by Germany in Serbia, with ex-red Ádám Hajdú also featuring. Jack Dunn, Dirk Kuyt and future reds coach John Heitinga were also in international action that day.

2019 – Future red Darwin Núñez scored for Uruguay Under-20’s in their 2-0 defeat of New Zealand in a World Championship Finals group game in Poland.
1997 - Future red Emile Heskey netted for England Under-21’s as they drew 1-1 with Poland in a European Championships qualifier in Katowice.
1978 - Future red Alan Kennedy struck in a B international as England drew 1-1 with Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. Future reds goalkeeping coach Joe Corrigan also played.

Billy’s death
1969 – Irish forward Billy Lacey died. He signed from Everton alongside centre-forward Tommy Gracie in a swap deal for £300 and winger Harold Uren in February 1912, going on to play 259 times for the reds, including the FA Cup Final in 1914. He helped us to two League titles in the 1920’s, netting 29 times before crossing the Mersey to join New Brighton in June 1924.

Reserve forwards coming and going
2012 – Congolese youngster Henoc Mukendi signed as a professional. He was released two years later having spent much of his time out on loan.
1997 - Lee Jones was sold to Tranmere Rovers for £100,000, the day after his 24th birthday, after five reds appearances.

2015 – Future red Diogo Jota signed a new contract with Paços de Ferreira. He struck fifteen times in 45 games before moving to Club Atlético de Madrid in July 2016.
2016 – Midfielder Stephen Warnock signed for Wigan Athletic, after a successful loan spell. He failed to score in 59 outings in total for the Latics.
2019 - Moroccan forward Nabil El Zhar signed for Al Ahli in Qatar.

Larry the champion
1979 - Ex-red Larry Lloyd played in the European Cup Final as Nottingham Forest beat Malmö FF 1-0 in Munich.

Mo wins again
2022 - Mohamed Salah was named as the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year for the third time at the end of a season in which he had helped us to lift the FA Cup and League Cup and come within a whisker of also claiming the League title and UEFA Champions League.

Also in international action
1957 – Alan A’Court played for England Under-23’s in their 2-0 win in Czechoslovakia.
1964 – Gordon Milne and Peter Thompson featured as England were thumped 5-1 in a Copa de las Naciones game in Rio de Janeiro.
1971 – Steve Heighway played for the Republic of Ireland as they lost 4-1 to Austria in a European Championships qualifier in Dublin in what was Mick Meagan’s last game as boss.
1989 – Gary Gillespie featured for Scotland in their 2-0 Rous Cup defeat of Chile at Hampden Park, with future red Øyvind Leonhardsen featuring for Norway Under-21’s in a 1-0 defeat of Austria in Molde.

1990 – Future red Karl-Heinz Riedle played as West Germany beat Denmark 1-0 in a friendly in Gelsenkirchen.
1996 – Future reds Steve Finnan and Vegard Heggem faces each other as Norway Under-21’s drew 1-1 with their Irish counterparts in Drogheda.
1998 – Future reds Dietmar Hamann and Christian Ziege both played for Germany as they beat Colombia 3-1 in Frankfurt.
2018 – Future red Ozan Kabak featured for Turkey Under-18’s as they beat North Macedonia 2-1.