5th June

Ton up for Stan
2002 - Ex-red Steve Staunton won his hundredth international cap, skippering the Republic of Ireland in their 1-1 World Cup Finals draw with Germany in Ibaraki, with future red Robbie Keane on target. Dietmar Hamann, future red Steve Finnan and ex-red Christian Ziege all also played. Meanwhile, Abel Xavier sat out Portugal’s shock 3-2 defeat by the USA in Suwon, for whom ex-red Brad Friedel was between the sticks.

Steve Staunton has turned out for the Republic of Ireland twice more on this day in history.
1994 - He took part in their first meeting with the Czech Republic since the break-up of Czechoslovakia. The Czechs won 3-1, with future reds Phil Babb and Jason McAteer playing alongside ex-red John Aldridge. Stig Inge Bjørnebye and future reds goalkeeping coach Claudio Taffarel also represented their countries in friendlies that day.
2001 - He featured in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win in Estonia. Future reds Joe Cole, Jermaine Pennant and Christian Poulsen were all in Under-21’s action that day.
2010 – Future red Poulsen played for the senior Danish side as they lost a friendly 1-0 in South Africa. Daniel Agger, Dirk Kuyt, Martin Škrtel and future reds John Heitinga, Milan Jovanović, Joël Matip and Xherdan Shaqiri all also turned out in friendlies that day.

Double trebles
1946 - Forward Willie Fagan and winger Bob Priday both scored hat-tricks as we thumped Ulster United 11-1 at the Maple Leaf Stadium in Toronto on our North American tour. Jack Balmer also netted twice, with Berry Nieuwenhuys, Cyril Done and Phil Taylor also on target.

Willkommen
1998 - South African striker Sean Dundee signed from Karlsruher SC for £1.8m. He had claimed to be “as fast as Michael Owen”, a fanciful boast that was shown up in his five first-team games before he returned to Germany to join VfB Stuttgart after just one year at Anfield.

New management
2018 – Pepijn Lijnders re-joined the coaching staff after half a season away as Manager of N.E.C., taking on the role of Assistant Manager.
2001 - Future reds boss Rafael Benítez joined Valencia. He led them to two La Liga titles and the UEFA Cup in his three years at the Mestalla, before arriving at Anfield three years later.
2009 – Brendan Rodgers was appointed Manager of Reading. However, disappointing results led to him leaving by mutual consent that December. He had led them to just six victories in 23 games in charge.

2006 - Former First Team Coach Paco Herrera was introduced to the press as Director of Football at R.C.D. Espanyol. He helped them to mid-table in La Liga and the UEFA Cup Final in his first season. On the same day, ex-reserves midfielder Jim Magilton was appointed Manager of Ipswich Town. He was in charge for three seasons, failing to take them to the play-offs or automatic promotion.

Sammy the skipper
1981 - Sammy Lee captained England Under-21’s for the first time, while winning his third cap, as they won a European Championships qualifier in Hungary 2-1.

First caps
1999 - Sami Hyypiä won his first cap as a reds player, making his 27th appearance in total in Finland’s 4-2 European Championships qualifying home defeat by Turkey, with future red Jari Litmanen also playing. Meanwhile, Abel Xavier won his tenth cap for Portugal, and last one while with PSV Eindhoven, in their 1-0 win over Slovakia in Lisbon.

On the same day, Dinamo Zagreb’s Igor Bišcan made his senior international debut as a substitute in Croatia’s 1-1 draw with FYR Macedonia in Skopje. Meanwhile, Patrik Berger netted in the Czech Republic’s 2-0 win in Estonia, also a European Championships qualifier. Future red Vladimír Šmicer also played. Other future reds in international action that day were Craig Bellamy, Paul Jones, Fernando Morientes and Bolo Zenden, as well as ex-red Dean Saunders.

2007 – Roma’s Alexander Doni made his senior international bow as Brazil were held to a goalless draw by Turkey in a friendly in Dortmund, with future reds loanee Nuri Şahin also featuring and future red Raul Meireles also playing for his country that day.
2015 - Krisztián Németh won his first cap as a Sporting Kansas City player as Hungary thumped Lithuania 4-0 in Jerusalem. On the same day, future reds Danny Ings and Gini Wijnaldum, and ex-red Charlie Adam all also played for their countries.
2017 – Ex-reds Christian Benteke and Péter Gulácsi featured for their countries in friendlies, with future red Dominic Solanke netting for England Under-20’s as they beat Mexico 1-0 in their World Championships Quarter-final in South Korea, with Ovie Ejaria winning his sixth and final cap at this level.

Final caps
1963 - Jimmy Melia won his second and final cap, netting in England’s 8-1 friendly trouncing of Switzerland in Basel.
1974 - Alec Lindsay made his fourth and final senior appearance in England’s 2-2 friendly draw with Yugoslavia in Belgrade. Kevin Keegan was on target, while Emlyn Hughes captained a side that also included Ray Clemence.
1985 - Joey Jones won his final cap as a Chelsea player, and 66th in total, as Wales lost 4-2 to Norway in a friendly in Bergen, with Glenn Hysén also playing for his country that day.
2021 – Liam Millar won his eleventh and final cap for Canada as they thumped Aruba 7-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Florida.
2022 – Darwin Núñez played for Uruguay for the eleventh and last time while with SL Benfica in their goalless draw with the USA in Kansas. Also in international action were Tom Clayton, Diogo Jota, Naby Keïta, Mohamed Salah, Kostas Tsimikas, Neco Williams, future red Alexis Mac Allister and ex-reds Joe Allen, Sebastián Coates, Nikolay Mihaylov, Xherdan Shaqiri and Harry Wilson.

1991 - Dean Saunders made his final appearance for Wales as a Derby County player as they beat Germany 1-0 in a European Championships qualifier in Cardiff, thanks to an Ian Rush goal. Future red Jari Litmanen also played for his country that day.
2005 - El-Hadji Diouf won his final cap as a reds player as Senegal held Congo to a goalless draw in a World Cup qualifier in Brazzaville.
2016 – Naby Keïta won his last cap as a Red Bull Salzburg player as Guinea lost an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier 1-0 in Eswatini, with Marko Grujić, Divock Origi, Danny Ward and future reds loanee Nuri Şahin also playing for his country that day.
2009 – Şahin featured again as Turkey lost 1-0 in a friendly in France, with ex-red Nicolas Anelka on the winning side.

Luis on target
2013 – Luis Suárez came off the bench to strike the only goal of Uruguay’s friendly meeting with France in Montevideo, with Sebastián Coates also in action. Jordan Henderson skippered an England Under-21’s side on the same day that also included Jack Robinson, Jonjo Shelvey and future reds Steven Caulker and Nathaniel Clyne as they lost 1-0 to Fabio Borini’s Italy in a European Championships Finals group game in Tel-Aviv.
2014 – Coates also featured as Uruguay beat Slovenia 2-0 in Montevideo, with Ryan McLaughlin also representing his country.
2021 – Sadio Mané scored from the spot as Senegal beat Zambia 3-1 in a friendly in Thiès, with Tom Clayton, Neco Williams, Harry Wilson and ex-red Joe Allen also featured in internationals.

Tommy in trouble
2007 - Reds legend Tommy Smith suffered a heart attack. Fortunately, he has recovered fully.

Winning a trophy
1983 - We won the Vita Cup, beating now-defunct Hong Kong side Bulova 2-0. Mark Lawrenson and Robert Savage were on target. Arsenal’s Pat Jennings and Alan Sunderland both guested for the opposition.

Birth and death
1950 – Joe Fagan’s son Kit was born in Manchester. He made two senior reds outings before moving to Tranmere Rovers in July 1971, for whom he played 84 League games.
1952 – Inside-forward Fred Buck died in Stafford. He only scored once in thirteen reds games after arriving from West Bromwich Albion in May 1903, moving on to Plymouth Argyle a year later.

In the Toulon Tournament
2004 - Florent Sinama-Pongolle was on the scoresheet as France Under-21’s beat Colombia 2-0 in Aubagne.
1994 - Dominic Matteo and Jamie Redknapp both played as England beat Belgium 2-1 in the Semi-final in Berre.

1988 - Future red Nigel Clough nabbed a brace as England beat Mexico 2-1 in the Stade Mayol. Fellow future red Julian Dicks was dismissed while Michael Thomas also played.
1989 - Southampton’s Neil Ruddock made his debut at the same level as a substitute in England’s 3-2 defeat by Bulgaria in the same stadium.

Future reds on target
2004 - Fernando Morientes netted in Spain’s 4-0 friendly defeat of Andorra in Getafe, with fellow future reds Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres also featuring. Meanwhile, Robbie Keane bagged the only goal of the Republic of Ireland’s friendly against the Netherlands, with Steve Finnan also in the side. Jamie Carragher, Jerzy Dudek, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, future reds Joe Cole, John Heitinga and Christian Poulsen and ex-red Emile Heskey all also played for their countries that day.

2012 – Gini Wijnaldum netted his first goal for the Dutch Under-21’s while with PSV Eindhoven as they thrashed Bulgaria 5-0 in a European Championships qualifier in Maastricht. Ragnar Klavan captained Estonia as he won his final cap as an AZ Alkmaar player in their 4-0 friendly defeat in France, with ex-red Alou Diarra and future reds loanee Nuri Şahin also in international action.
2011 – Future red Daniel Sturridge scored his last goal for England Under-21’s as they beat Norway 2-0 in a friendly in Southampton. On the same day, future red Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain won his last cap for the Under-19’s as England drew 1-1 with Spain in a European Championships qualifier in Switzerland, with Conor Coady, Tom Ince, Michael Ngoo, Jack Robinson, Andre Wisdom and future reds Thiago Alcântara, Fabio Borini and Mikel San José all also in action.
2007 – Jose Enrique struck the only goal of the game as Spain Under-21’s beat Georgia in a European Championships qualifier in Tbilisi. Future reds Nikolay Mihaylov and James Milner also featured at this level that day.
1999 – Reds reserves forward Haukur Ingi Guðnason scored his only Under-21’s goal as Iceland beat Armenia 2-0 in a European Championships qualifier.

Falling at the last hurdle
2019 – Xherdan Shaqiri played for Switzerland as they lost their UEFA Nations League Semi-final 3-1 to Portugal in Porto, while future red Takumi Minamino featured in Japan’s goalless draw with Trinidad & Tobago in Toyota.

Mr & Mrs Barclay
1878 – The club’s first Manager, William Barclay, married Emily Jane King at Bleasdale Church in Lancashire. He worked as a Secretary-c**-Manager for the first four years of the club’s existence, having previously been Vice Chairman of Everton.

On the move
2013 – It was announced that keeper Adrián would sign for West Ham United from Real Betis Balompié on 1st July of that year. He turned out on 150 occasions for the Irons, before joining the reds in August 2019.

Also in international action
1960 – Andy Beattie took charge of Scotland as they drew a friendly 3-3 in Hungary. He guested for the reds at full-back during the Second World War, and later spent some time on our backroom staff.
1961 – Alan A’Court played for England as they trounced New Zealand 8-0 in an FA Tour game in Wellington.
1968 – Roger Hunt featured for England as they lost 1-0 to Yugoslavia in their European Championships Semi-final in Florence.

1984 – Jim Beglin played for the Republic of Ireland as they lost 2-1 to Brazilian side SC Internacional in the Kirin Cup Final in Tokyo.
1998 – Future reds Bernard Diomède, Sami Hyypiä, Rigobert Song and Bolo Zenden all featured in friendly internationals.
2000 – Future red Alberto Aquilani played for Italy Under-15’s as they beat the USA 2-1.
2006 – Future reds forward Andriy Voronin appeared for Ukraine in their 3-0 friendly defeat of Libya in Switzerland.
2023 - Bernard Diomède took charge of France Under-18’s as they lost a penalty shoot-out to Saudi Arabia Under-23’s after their friendly ended 2-2 in Aubagne.