Search the Community

Our first European triumph 1973 - We lost 2-0 at Borussia Mönchengladbach with Jupp Heynckes getting both goals inside ten first-half minutes. However, that was enough to secure the UEFA Cup for the first time, as we had won the first leg 3-0 at Anfield two weeks before. We therefore became the first English side to claim the League title and a European trophy in the same season. Athens despair 2007 - We lost 2-1 to AC Milan in the Champions League Final in Athens thanks to a Pippo Inzaghi brace, with Bolo Zenden playing his 47th and final reds game. Dirk Kuyt headed our late consolation, his first goal in Europe for us. Keeping on track for a title showdown 1989 - Ray Houghton netted a brace, with John Aldridge, Ian Rush and John Barnes also on target as we beat West Ham United 5-1 at Anfield, our 24th consecutive game without defeat, just three days after our emotional FA Cup Final win, to keep us on course for our second double in four years. The FA Cup was on display on a table on the pitch before the game. However, the League was to be cruelly snatched from our grasp by Arsenal in the very last kick of the season. 1985 - Our only other first-class game on this day saw John Wark miss a penalty as we lost at Everton. Paul Wilkinson bagged the only goal of the game. Uncle Joe announced 1983 – The appointment of Joe Fagan as Bob Paisley’s replacement as Manager was announced, although he did not take over until 1st July. In his first season as boss, he led the club to a unique treble of League, European Cup and League Cup, retiring just a year later. He remains the only Scouser to date to hold the position on a permanent basis. Happy birthdays 1997 - Centre-half Joe Gomez was born in Catford, south east London. He signed from Charlton Athletic for £3.5m in June 2015, so far making exactly one hundred senior appearances, without scoring. On the same day, Spanish midfielder Pedro Chirivella was born in Valencia. He signed from his hometown club in July 2013 and has played eleven first-team games to date, captaining the side in our League Cup thumping at Aston Villa in December 2019. 1996 - Keeper Ryan Fulton was born in Burnley. He signed pro terms in the summer of 2013, making his first senior appearance in our friendly at Swindon Town in August 2015. An obscure international 1987 - Young reds midfielder Ken de Mange made his senior international debut as a substitute for the Republic of Ireland alongside clubmates John Aldridge and Ronnie Whelan, as they beat Brazil 1-0 in a Rous Cup game at Lansdowne Road. He never made a first team appearance in his two seasons with the reds, before moving on to Leeds United. On the same day, Peter Beardsley and Mark Wright both played as England were held to a goalless draw by Scotland in the same competition at Hampden Park. It was Beardsley’s last cap as a Newcastle United player, and Wright’s final one while with Southampton. A treble for Albert 1948 - Albert Stubbins bagged a hat-trick as we beat a Philadelphia Select side 5-2 in a friendly on our post-season tour. Jack Balmer and Billy Liddell also netted. Rush for his country for the last time 1994 - Ian Rush grabbed his final goal for Wales as they won 2-1 in a friendly in Estonia. He netted 28 goals in his 73 internationals, a Welsh record. 1980 - He also represented his country in their 1-0 British International Championships defeat in Northern Ireland, alongside ex-red Joey Jones. Nigel’s debut 1989 - Future red Nigel Clough won his first full international cap as England were held to a goalless draw by Chile in a Rous Cup game at Wembley. 2001 – Future reds keeper Brad Jones won his only cap at Under-20’s level as Australia thumped Guam 6-0 in the East Asian Games in Japan. Larry for England 1972 - Larry Lloyd won his third and final England cap as a red, and his last for his country for eight years. Emlyn Hughes also played as Northern Ireland won 1-0 at Wembley in the British International Championships. Barmby’s brace 1996 - Future red Nick Barmby bagged a brace as England beat China 3-0 in a friendly in Beijing. Ex-red Peter Beardsley won his 59th and final cap in this game, while Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Jamie Redknapp all also featured. A French triumph 1956 - We thumped French outfit Racing Club Franc-Comtois 8-1 in Besançon. Billy Liddell bagged a brace, with Alan A’Court, Louis Bimpson, John Evans, Brian Jackson and Jimmy Melia all adding to an own goal. The kids done well 1963 – Tommy Smith captained the reds to a 3-1 victory in the first leg of our first ever FA Youth Cup Final at Anfield. Unfortunately, we crashed 5-2 in controversial circumstances in the return match two days later. Drawing at sea 1935 – We drew 2-2 with Victoria on Gran Canaria, with Vic Wright and Fred Howe netting. The reds were introduced to Miss Spain before the match! On the way out 2005 - It was announced that Paul Harrison, Patrice Luzi, Jon Otsemobor, Richie Partridge and Mark Smyth would all be leaving the club. They had only managed eleven first-team outings between them. 1997 - Roy Hodgson resigned as Manager of Internazionale, with two games remaining of the Serie A campaign and the club sitting in third place. This came two days after their UEFA Cup Final defeat to Schalke 04 on penalties, when he was pelted with coins and cigarette lighters by fans at the San Siro. 2011 – Ex-reds defender David Raven was released by Shrewsbury Town after 28 games for the Shrews. 2012 – Emile Heskey was released by Aston Villa after fifteen strikes in 111 outings. On the same day, keeper Chris Kirkland signed for Sheffield Wednesday. 2014 – Forward Michael Ngoo was released by the reds, having not made the breakthrough. On the same day, John Arne Riise was let go by Fulham after failing to score in exactly a century of games for the Cottagers. In charge 2006 - Nigel Spackman was appointed Manager of Millwall. He only remained in the post for four months before being sacked. 2009 – John Barnes led Jamaica to a 2-2 draw with Haiti in a friendly in Fort Lauderdale. 2010 – John Toshack took charge of Wales as they lost a friendly 2-0 in Croatia, with future red Dejan Lovren on the winning side. Penalty shoot-out despair 1996 - Future red Jari Litmanen scored for Ajax in the UEFA Champions League Final as their match with Juventus ended 1-1 in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. The Dutch outfit lost the penalty shoot-out 4-2, with Jari again on target from the spot. 2001 - Fellow future red Mauricio Pellegrino saw his decisive penalty saved by Oliver Kahn to hand Bayern München the UEFA Champions League as Valencia lost their shoot-out 5-4 in Milan, after the match had ended 1-1. Irish beginnings and end 2007 - Ex-red Darren Potter made his senior debut for the Republic of Ireland, with Steve Staunton leading his side to a 1-1 friendly draw with Ecuador in the Giants Stadium in New Jersey. 1998 - Mark Kennedy won his first cap as a Wimbledon player, and eighteenth in total, as the Irish were held to a goalless draw at Lansdowne Road by Mexico. Phil Babb and future red Robbie Keane also played. 1939 – Ex-reds reserves centre-half Matt O’Mahoney won his sixth and final Irish cap as they held Germany to a 1-1 draw in a friendly in Bremen. 2014 - Tiago Ilori scored his only goal for Portugal Under-21’s, the only goal of their European Championships qualifier in North Macedonia. Harry in charge 2008 – Harry Kewell captained Australia in their 1-0 friendly defeat of Ghana in Sydney. 2017 - He was appointed Manager of Crawley Town, leading them to mid-table safety in League Two in his first campaign in charge.

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 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. 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. 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 1994 - 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 Øyvind Leonhardsen played as Norway were held to a 1-1 draw in another friendly in Bodø. 2014 – Keeper 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. 2012 – Gini Wijnaldum won his first cap as a PSV Eindhoven as the Dutch Under-21’s were beaten 1-0 by Macedonia in a friendly in Austria. Feliz aniversário 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, so far playing twice for the first team. 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. 1998 - 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. 2001 - 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 in a European Championships qualifier. For Billy 2010 - A memorial cairn in the Billy Liddell Sports Complex in Townhill, Dunfermline was unveiled in honour of the reds legend. Youngsters in action 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. Titi in charge 2009 - Titi Camara was appointed National Technical Director of Guinea, additionally becoming Head Coach a month 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.