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Birth of the legend 1913 - Bill Shankly was born in Glenbuck, Ayrshire. He was the ninth of ten children, and the youngest of five boys. Words cannot fully explain his importance to the history of Liverpool Football Club. However, his honours as reds boss between December 1959 and July 1974 included three League titles, two FA Cups, UEFA Cup and the Second Division championship. 1936 - Centre-half John Nicholson was born in Liverpool. He signed as a professional in January 1957, but only made one senior appearance before joining Port Vale in August 1961, playing over 200 games for them. 2001 – Midfielder Jake Cain was born in Wigan. He signed as a professional in September 2019, making his only senior appearance in our FA Cup Fourth Round replay against Shrewsbury Town in February 2020. He moved on to Swindon Town in January 2023. Spurs stuffed 1978 - Tottenham Hotspur suffered their worst ever Anfield defeat, despite including their new World Cup winners, Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricky Villa. Kenny Dalglish and substitute David Johnson both grabbed a brace, added to by Ray Kennedy and a twice-taken Phil Neal penalty, before Terry McDermott rounded off a brilliant team move to make it 7-0. Into the League 1893 - We played our first ever game in the Football League, winning 2-0 at Middlesbrough Ironopolis. Forward Malcolm McVean scored our first ever League goal after an hour, with centre-half Joe McQue nabbing the other. James Henderson played his only senior reds game, while winger Patrick Gordon and forward Jimmy Stott also made their debuts in this game. This was also the first ever League game staged at the Paradise Ground. A busy day 2013 – A whole host of transfers took place on deadline day, with forward Fabio Borini joining Sunderland on loan, while ex-reds left-back Andrea Dossena also signed for the Black Cats on a free transfer from Rafael Benítez’s SSC Napoli. Two centre-halves arrived at Anfield, with Mamadou Sakho arriving from Paris Saint-Germain for £15m and Tiago Ilori signing from Sporting Clube de Portugal for £7m. On the same day, winger Victor Moses arrived on loan from Chelsea with Dani Pacheco leaving the reds to sign for Spanish side AD Alcorcón. Meanwhile, Momo Sissoko had his contract with Paris Saint-Germain terminated. More red ins and outs 1959 – Forward Bobby Murdoch left the reds to join Barrow. He struck seven times in nineteen reds games after signing as a professional in May 1957, as we struggled in the Second Division. 1994 - John Scales signed from Wimbledon for £3.5m. He struck four times in 94 games in his two years at Anfield, before joining Tottenham Hotspur for £2.6m in December 1996. On the same day, Paul Stewart joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan. He scored twice in ten appearances for Wolves, and later joined Burnley and Sunderland on loan, having slipped out of the first team picture at Anfield. 2014- Cameroon-born centre-back Stephen Sama left the reds to sign for VfB Stuttgart having failed to make a senior appearance since arriving from Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund in July 2009. 2015 – The capture of Brazilian midfielder Allan Rodrigues de Souza from Internacional for a reported £500,000 was announced, with his loan departure to Finnish club Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho also revealed on the same day. 2019 – Winger Ryan Kent was sold to Rangers for £7m after a successful loan spell in which he had struck six times in 43 appearances. On the same day, keeper Shamal George joined Marine on loan and forward Bobby Duncan was sold to Fiorentina for €2m. Meanwhile, Martin Škrtel was released after less than a month with Atalanta and signed for İstanbul Başakşehir on the same day. Nice one Cyril 1939 - Cyril Done scored the only goal of the game on his reds debut at home to Chelsea, the day after Germany invaded Poland, and the day before Britain declared war, which resulted in the cancellation of the football season, so he had to wait until October 1946 to make his official reds bow. Full-back Jim Harley was sent off. Out-gunned We have faced Arsenal four times in top-flight matches on this day in history, without securing victory. 1905 - We lost 3-1 at Woolwich Arsenal with Bobby Robinson bagging our consolation, and Sam Raybould missing a penalty in our first game of the season. Jack Parkinson broke his wrist in this match, keeping him out of the side for six months. We finished the game with nine men after Billy Dunlop twisted his knee. Tim Coleman netted the first of his nine goals against the reds, with ex-red CharlIe Satterthwaite and Jimmy Blair also on the scoresheet. 1911 - We returned to the Manor Ground for another season opener, when John McConnell scored his only reds goal with Samual Gilligan also netting as we left with a 2-2 draw. 1922 - We lost 1-0 to Arsenal at Highbury, thanks to an Arthur Hutchins penalty. 2012 – Loanee Nuri Şahin made his reds bow as the Gunners comfortably won 2-0 at Anfield, with Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla bagging the goals. Beating the Trotters We have entertained Bolton Wanderers three times on this day in history, winning twice and drawing on the other occasion. 1914 - Billy Lacey, Arthur Metcalf, Jimmy Nicholl and Jackie Sheldon all struck as we won our opening First Division fixture 4-3. Evan Jones scored, with Joe Smith grabbing two of his twelve goals against us. 1916 - Fred Pagnam, Arthur Goddard and Jack Bamber netted as we won a Wartime League match 3-1. 1931 - Dave Wright bagged a brace in a 2-2 top-flight draw as George Gibson scored the final goal of his five past us, with Ray Westwood netting the first of his nine. Red centurions 1950 - Jack Balmer struck his hundredth reds goal as we drew 1-1 at Aston Villa. 1925 – Matt McQueen reached a century of League games in charge as we beat Notts County 2-0 at Anfield. Billy Flint put through his own net, with Dick Forshaw also scoring inside the opening half hour. Debutants on the mark 1899 – Inside-forward John ‘Sailor’ Hunter scored on his reds bow, as we lost 3-2 at Stoke in our season opener, with skipper Alex Raisbeck also on target and forward Peter Kyle also making his reds bow. Billy Maxwell bagged two of his six goals against the reds, with Jack Kennedy also scoring. 1907 - Charlie Hewitt also netted on his debut, as we started another season with a 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest. Enoch West struck the first of his eight goals against the reds, with Harry Green and Ted Hughes also on target. Double debutants 1972 - Keeper Frank Lane played the first of his two senior reds games, unfortunately conceding an own goal, often attributed to Alan Hinton, as we lost 2-1 at League champions Derby County, despite John Toshack putting us in front. Midfielder Peter Cormack also made his reds bow in this match. John O’Hare scored the last of his six goals past us for the home side. Ged’s double century 2002 - We were held at home by Newcastle United to a 2-2 draw in the 200th match since Gérard Houllier took sole charge. Ex-United player Dietmar Hamann struck before Michael Owen converted a penalty. However, late goals from Gary Speed and one of Alan Shearer’s eight past us levelled the match. 1953 - We also faced the Geordies, leaving St. James’ Park on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline, with the legendary Jackie Milburn and Vic Keeble adding to the last two of Robert Mitchell’s eight strikes against the reds. Syd’s last 1936 – We were trounced 6-2 at Portsmouth with Alf Hanson and Berry Nieuwenhuys netting our goals as inside-left Syd Roberts played his 62nd and final reds game. Fred Worrall scored one of his four goals against the reds, Jack Weddle struck the last of his five, Cliff Parker bagged two of his five and Billy Bagley also scored twice. Starting out with a point 1901 - We kicked off our season with a goalless draw at Small Heath, who were later to become known as Birmingham City. Michael on the mark again 2000 - Michael Owen scored England’s equaliser against World Champions France in their friendly encounter at the Stade de France, having come on as a substitute. Kevin Keegan was in charge of a side that also featured ex-red Steve McManaman, while Nick Barmby was winning his first cap as a reds player. Future red Nicolas Anelka appeared for the home side. The same day, Sami Hyypiä won his 34th cap in Finland’s 2-1 home defeat of Albania in a World Cup qualifier, with future red Jari Litmanen on the scoresheet. Don Hutchison won his first cap as a Sunderland player as Scotland won their qualifier in Latvia 1-0. Robbie Keane bagged his only goal while with Internazionale as ex-red Jason McAteer also struck in the Republic of Ireland’s 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in Amsterdam, with Steve Staunton also featuring. Craig Bellamy was sent off while winning his first cap as a Coventry City player as Wales lost 2-1 in Belarus. Also in international action that day were Stéphane Henchoz, Vladimír Šmicer, future reds Igor Bišcan, Jerzy Dudek and Paul Jones, and ex-reds Øyvind Leonhardsen, Jim Magilton and Gareth Roberts. Crouchie at the double 2006 - Peter Crouch bagged a brace with Steven Gerrard also on target as England thumped Andorra 5-0 in their Euro 2008 qualifier at Old Trafford, with future red Stewart Downing also in action. Luis García and future red Fernando Torres both netted for Spain in their 4-0 defeat of Liechtenstein, with Xabi Alonso also in the side. Future red Martin Škrtel struck his first goal for his country on the same day, as Slovakia thumped Cyprus 6-1 in another qualifier in Bratislava. Dirk Kuyt won his first cap as a red, playing alongside future reds Ryan Babel and John Heitinga as the Netherlands won 1-0 in Luxembourg. Meanwhile, ex-red Jari Litmanen knocked a brace past Jerzy Dudek, including a penalty, as Roy Hodgson’s Finland beat Poland 3-1 in what was the keeper’s final international as a red. Also in international action were Craig Bellamy, Steve Finnan, Sami Hyypiä, future reds Yossi Benayoun, Philipp Degen, Robbie Keane, Ragnar Klavan and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, and ex-reds Paul Jones, El-Hadji Diouf and Rigobert Song. Also representing their countries that day were managers John Toshack and Steve Staunton, who was dismissed as the Republic of Ireland lost 1-0 in Germany. 2017 – Ben Woodburn netted on his senior international debut as Wales beat Austria 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Cardiff. Sadio Mané played for Senegal as they shared a goalless draw with Burkina Faso in another qualifier in Dakar on the same day, with Abel Xavier taking charge of Mozambique. 2021 – Ex-red Raheem Sterling scored as England thumped Hungary 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Budapest, with Dominik Szoboszlai winning his first cap as a RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. player and Jordan Henderson and ex-red Péter Gulácsi also featuring. Federico Chiesa struck his last goal for Italy before making his loan move to Juventus permanent as they were held to a 1-1 qualifying draw by Bulgaria in Florence. James Balagizi debuted for England Under-19’s as they beat Italy 2-0 at St. George’s Park, while future red Ben Doak netted while debuting for Scotland Under-17’s in their 1-1 draw with Wales in Stirling. Future reds Luis Díaz and Wataru Endō and ex-red Christian Benteke also played for their countries that day. International bows 2016 – Future red Kostas Tsimikas debuted for Greece Under-21’s as they drew 1-1 with Albania in a European Championships qualifier in Athens. On the same day, Marko Grujić won his first cap for Serbia Under-21’s as a reds player in their 1-1 draw in another qualifier in Italy, while Diogo Jota appeared for Portugal at the same level for the first time while playing for Club Atlético de Madrid in their goalless draw with Israel. Harry Wilson also represented his country that day. 2011 – Stewart Downing won his first cap as a reds player as England won a Euro 2012 qualifier 3-0 in Bulgaria, with Raul Meireles playing for Portugal for the first time since moving to Chelsea as Portugal won 4-0 in Cyprus. Craig Bellamy featured for Wales as they beat Montenegro 2-1 in Cardiff, the first time since his return to Anfield. Sebastián Coates won his first cap as a red as Uruguay beat Ukraine 3-2 in Karkov, while future red Dejan Lovren struck his first goal for Croatia in their 3-1 qualifying win in Malta. Robbie Keane won his first cap as an LA Galaxy player as the Republic of Ireland shared a goalless draw with Slovakia in Dublin, with Yossi Benayoun playing for Israel for the first time while on loan at Arsenal in their 1-0 defeat by Greece in Tel-Aviv. Alou Diarra won his first cap as an Olympique de Marseille player as France won 2-1 in Albania. Dirk Kuyt scored as the Netherlands trounced San Marino 11-0 in Eindhoven, with future red Gini Wijnaldum netting on his debut and future reds coach John Heitinga bagging his seventh and final goal for his country, while Pepe Reina, Martin Škrtel, Luis Suárez, future reds Ragnar Klavan, Simon Mignolet and James Milner, and ex-reds Xabi Alonso, Álvaro Arbeloa, Milan Jovanović, Javier Mascherano, Nikolay Mihaylov, Daniel Sjölund, Fernando Torres and John Toshack all also represented their countries. More first caps 2010 – Michael Ngoo and Jonjo Shelvey both netted on their debuts for England Under-19’s as they beat Slovakia 2-0 in a friendly at Gresty Road, while Andre Wisdom also made his debut at this level, skippering the side for a time. Meanwhile, future red Thiago Alcântara made his bow for Spain Under-21’s as they beat the Netherlands 2-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Alicante. Captain Yossi Benayoun scored a treble, including a penalty, as he won his first cap as a Chelsea player in Israel’s 3-1 defeat of Malta in a European Championships qualifier in Tel-Aviv on the same day. Alberto in action 2002 – Future red Alberto Aquilani played for Italy Under-19’s as they lost 1-0 to Turkey. 2005 – He featured for the Under-21’s in their European Championships qualifier against Scotland in Motherwell that ended 2-2 with three players sent off in total. The match was forfeited by the home side and recorded as a 3-0 victory to Italy. Also in international action that day were Scott Carson, Michael Nardiello, John Welsh and future reds Glen Johnson, Nikolay Mihaylov and James Milner. 2011 – Aquilani won his first cap while on loan with AC Milan as Italy won a Euro 2012 qualifier 1-0 in the Faroe Islands, with future red Mario Balotelli also in action. 2012 – Sheyi Ojo and Jerome Sinclair played for England Under-17’s as they lost a friendly 1-0 to Portugal in Burton. Also on the move 1938 – Scottish centre-half Tom ‘Tiny’ Bradshaw signed for South Liverpool after four goals in 291 appearances since signing from Bury for £8,000 in January 1930. He was only with South Liverpool for three days while the reds negotiated his £600 transfer to Third Lanark. 1955 – Future reds centre-forward Dave Hickson signed for Aston Villa from Everton for £17,500, netting just once in twelve games before moving to Huddersfield Town for £16,000 two months later. 2011 – Ex-reds defender Stephen Wright signed for Hartlepool United, featuring eleven times for the Monkey Hangers. 2023 – Gini Wijnaldum signed for Al-Ettifaq. He struck seven times in 31 games in his first campaign in Saudi Arabia. Other reds games 1980 – We thumped Bradford City 4-0 in a League Cup Second Round second leg at Anfield on our way to claiming the trophy for the first time. Kenny Dalglish struck twice, with Ray Kennedy and David Johnson also scoring. 1967 – Tony Hateley and Roger Hunt struck as we won 2-0 at West Bromwich Albion. 1964 – We came from behind to beat Leeds United 2-1 in L4. Peter Thompson and Tommy Smith were both on the scoresheet. 1933 – We beat Sheffield United 3-2 at Anfield. Sam English added to a Gordon Hodgson brace after Peter Spooner had given the Blades an early lead. Jimmy Dunne bagged one of his eleven goals past us late on after Mick Killourhy had sent a spot-kick wide. Also in international action 1995 – Robbie Fowler played for England Under-21’s as they lost a European Championships qualifier 2-0 in Portugal. 1998 – Future reds Markus Babbel and Stéphane Henchoz both played in senior international friendlies, with Switzerland drawing 1-1 with FR Yugoslavia in Nis and Germany winning 2-1 in Malta.

Match of the Day 1964 - Our 3-2 win over Arsenal at Anfield was the first game ever to be screened on the BBC’s new “Match Of The Day” show. Phil Chisnall was the first player to kick a ball on MOTD, knocking the kick-off to Gordon Wallace, who grabbed a brace, his final reds goals, including the winner that deflected off Don Howe past ex-reds keeper Jim Furnell. Roger Hunt headed in the first goal on the show that only garnered an audience of 75,000 as BBC2 was still unavailable in large parts of the country. Future red Geoff Strong scored for the Gunners, with Joe Baker bagging one of his four past us, while a black cat did a full lap of the pitch! Soto departs 2011 – Greek centre-half Sotirios Kyrgiakos joined VfL Wolfsburg on a free transfer. He had arrived from A.E.K Athens for £2m two years earlier, following the summer departure of Sami Hyypiä. Soto bagged three goals in 49 largely solid performances at the back, becoming something of a cult figure for his no-nonsense style. On the same day, Steve Staunton joined Sunderland as a scout. 2015 – Full-back Tom Lowry died. He signed pro terms in April 1963 but only ever played one first-team game, when Bill Shankly fielded a team of eleven reserves in our League match at Wolverhampton Wanderers, which came only five days before the 1965 FA Cup Final. He moved on to Crewe Alexandra in June 1966, going on to set their club record of 436 League appearances that stands to this day. Bert’s bow 1959 - Goalkeeper Bert Slater made his reds debut as we lost 3-2 at Cardiff City in our first game of the season. Cardiff in fact scored all five goals, as we benefited from two own goals from the unfortunate Danny Malloy, who had already scored an own goal against the reds two years earlier! Johnny Watkins netted the first of his four goals against us, with Graham Moore and Steve Mokone also on target. Seventies wins 1970 - We thumped Huddersfield Town 4-0 at Anfield with John McLaughlin netting his first two reds goals as Alun Evans also grabbed a brace. Forward Bobby Graham played his hundredth reds game. 1978 - We won another top-flight fixture, this time 3-0 at FA Cup holders Ipswich Town, when Graeme Souness struck before a Kenny Dalglish double, with Ray Kennedy playing his 200th reds game. Eight goals shared with the mancs 1953 - Centre-forward Louis Bimpson struck twice at Anfield, but it was not enough to hand us victory over Manchester United, as the game ended 4-4, with Billy Liddell and Bill Jones also on the scoresheet. Jack Rowley struck the last of his six goals past us, with Tommy Taylor nabbing the first of his four against the reds and Eddie Lewis and Roger Byrne also on target. 2022 - Mohamed Salah scored a club record tenth goal against Manchester United, in a joint club record fourth consecutive game against the Red Devils, also becoming the club’s eighth top all-time goalscorer. However, it was only a late consolation as we lost 2-1 thanks to a Jadon Sancho strike and one of Marcus Rashford’s seven goals against us. In and out 2007 - Centre-half Mikel San José signed from Athletic de Bilbao, while keeper Péter Gulácsi arrived on loan from MTK Hungária. The young Hungarian made it into our match-day squad 51 times before moving to Red Bull Salzburg for free in June 2013, while San José did the same at Stamford Bridge in the League in February 2008, although he left for Athletic de Bilbao in May 2010. 2005 - It was a busy day at Melwood, with one arrival and two players departing on loan. Austrian midfielder Besian Idrizaj signed from LASK for £190,000, while Robbie Foy moved to Wrexham and John Welsh signed for Hull City. Welsh struck twice in 23 games before signing permanently for the Tigers in January 2006 in a swap deal for winger Paul Anderson. Foy nabbed three goals in twenty games while at the Racecourse Ground. On the same day, ex-reds loanee keeper Paul Jones joined Millwall on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers. He played four times for the struggling South London outfit. 2006 - Foy signed for Sc***horpe United on non-contract terms. He struck once in nine outings for the Iron but was released after just a season. 2009 - Idrizaj signed for Swansea City. He played four times for the Swans before tragically dying in May 2010 of a suspected heart attack at the age of just 22. A new striker 1893 - Centre-forward James Henderson signed from Scottish side Annbank. He only ever made one first-team appearance for the reds, in our first ever Football League fixture, a 2-0 Second Division win at Middlesbrough Ironopolis. Kenny resigns 1996 - Kenny Dalglish resigned as Director of Football at Blackburn Rovers. He had led them to the League title as team manager the year before. St. Michael signs on 1998 - Michael Owen signed a new five-year contract ten minutes before our first home game of the season, when Arsenal held us to a goalless draw at Anfield. Also recently 2006 - We squeezed into the group stage of the Champions League, being held to a 1-1 draw by Maccabi Haifa in Kyiv in the second leg of our Third Qualifying Round tie, to progress 3-2. Peter Crouch headed us in front, with the reds wasting numerous chances to build a convincing lead. We also suffered injuries to Momo Sissoko and Stephen Warnock, who joined Jamie Carragher and John Arne Riise on the sidelines. 1993 - Our most recent game before that came when Steve McManaman struck twice in a 5-0 thumping of Swindon Town at their County Ground. Neil Ruddock bagged his first reds goal as Ronnie Whelan bagged his 73rd and final strike for the club. Mike Marsh netted his last reds goal in his hundredth game for the club. A win in Ireland 1981 - Terry McDermott grabbed a brace, with Ronnie Whelan, Phil Neal and Kenny Dalglish also scoring, as we thumped Ronnie’s former side Home Farm 5-0 at Tolka Park in Dublin. This game had been arranged as part of Whelan’s transfer to Anfield. However, the match was almost cancelled after a massive H was carved into the pitch the night before in support of IRA hunger strikers. Emergency re-turfing saved the game with the reds flying over in the afternoon for the evening fixture. International reds 2007 - Young Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva made his senior international debut in their 2-0 friendly defeat of Algeria in Montpellier, playing alongside future reds keeper Alexander Doni. Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun, Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin all won their first caps as reds players, while Luis García made his first appearance while with Club Atlético de Madrid, as Spain won 3-2 in Greece with Xabi Alonso and Pepe Reina also in action. Ukraine beat Uzbekistan 2-1, with Israel beaten 2-1 in Belarus and the Netherlands losing 2-1 in Switzerland with Dirk Kuyt on target, and future reds Philipp Degen and John Heitinga also featuring. Future red Robbie Keane bagged a brace as the Republic of Ireland thumped Daniel Agger’s Denmark 4-0 in Copenhagen, with Steve Finnan and ex-red Darren Potter also in Steve Staunton’s line-up. David James won his first cap as a Portsmouth player as England lost 2-1 to Germany at Wembley, with Peter Crouch, future red Joe Cole and ex-red Michael Owen also playing. Javier Mascherano faced John Arne Riise with future red Maxi Rodríguez netting as Norway beat Argentina 2-1 in Oslo, while future red Ragnar Klavan was sent off as Estonia beat Andorra 2-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Tallinn. Also in international action that day were Sami Hyypiä, future reds Alberto Aquilani, Milan Jovanović, Alex Manninger, Raul Meireles, Mamadou Sakho and Kolo Touré, ex-reds Nicolas Anelka, Milan Baroš, Daniel Sjölund and Rigobert Song, with Roy Hodgson and John Toshack both on management duties. On the move 2008 – Reserves forward Craig Lindfield joined Bournemouth on loan. He struck once in five outings for the Cherries. 2005 - Paul Dalglish signed for Livingston from Modena. He struck six times in 23 games before moving to Hibernian in January 2006. 2003 - Former reserves midfielder Phil Charnock signed for basement side Bury on a free transfer from Port Vale, although he only stayed two weeks at Gigg Lane, playing three times. 1986 - Former reserves centre-back Dave Watson made his big move, leaving Norwich City for Everton for a fee of £900,000. At the time his brother Alex was still playing in our reserves. 1997 - Future reds keeper Pegguy Arphexad signed for Leicester City from Racing Club de Lens on a free transfer. He only played 29 times for the Foxes, before switching to Anfield in July 2000. 2012 – Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen signed for Ajax, whom he helped to claim the League title in his first season in Amsterdam. 2019 – Midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain signed a new contract, having struck five times in 47 outings to date since arriving from Arsenal for £35m two years earlier. 2022 – Forward David Amoo signed for Stevenage, scoring once in thirteen outings before moving on to Crewe Alexandra after just five months. Other reds games 1967 – We beat Arsenal 2-0 at Anfield with Roger Hunt scoring twice past ex-reds custodian Jim Furnell. 1962 – We drew 2-2 at Manchester City. Neil Young struck the first two of his four goals against the reds, after first Ronnie Moran had converted a penalty and then Roger Hunt scored. 1949 – Stoke City held us to a goalless draw at the Victoria Ground. Billy’s day 2019 – Billy Koumetio won his second and final cap for France Under-18’s in their 1-1 friendly draw with Paraguay. Isaac Mabaya featured for England Under-16’s on the same day as they were held to a 3-3 friendly draw by the Republic of Ireland at St. George’s Park. 2020 – Koumetio played his first games for the club, as did left-back Kostas Tsimikas in our 3-0 defeat of VfB Stuttgart in a behind closed doors friendly in Austria. Roberto Firmino, Naby Keïta and Rhian Brewster all scored. Also in international action 1990 - Stig Inge Bjørnebye, then still with Kongsvinger, won his eighth cap for Norway as they lost 2-1 at home to Sweden in a friendly, played in Stavanger. 1993 - Gérard Houllier managed France as they drew a World Cup qualifier 1-1 in Sweden. On the same day, future reds goalkeeping coach Cláudio Taffarel played for Brazil as they beat Ecuador 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier in São Paulo. 2017 – Bobby Duncan featured for England Under-17’s in their 2-1 defeat by Italy in Kidderminster, with ex-Academy Manager Steve Cooper in charge. 2023 – Future red Rio Ngumoha played for England Under-16’s as they lost a friendly 3-1 in Italy.