For Brendan Rodgers, Saturday will be a pretty special day.
The Northern Irishman will return to Anfield for the very first time since leavingLiverpoolas manager in October 2015, bringing his very talentedLeicesterCity side with him.
It will all feel like a far cry from his first outing as Reds boss in a Europa League qualifier all the way back on 2 August 2012, when the Reds headed to Belarusian side FC Gomel in a Europa League qualifier.
The hosts put up a spirited effort as Rodgers’ side were somewhat fortunate to emerge with a 1-0 win from their first leg tie thanks to a fine strike from Stewart Downing.
But do you remember the team that Rodgers picked that day?
Brad Jones
Having been thrust in to Liverpool’s FA Cup semi-final withEvertonthe previous season when he was third-choice, Jones would go on to have a prolonged spell in goal during a strange time for the club’s keepers.
Deputising for Pepe Reina – who had just lifted the European Championships – he was somewhat fortunate to keep a clean sheet against spirited Belarusians.
It was his first of 15 Reds appearances that season and one of 27 in all, and he can now be found with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia via a successful, and league winning, stint at Feyenoord.
Glen Johnson
Was entering his fourth season at Liverpool having arrived to great fanfare under Rafa Benitez in 2009.
Johnson was perhaps a little too harshly judged during an era when demands of the modern full-back were changing.
He played 200 times for the Reds before joining Stoke in 2015, with the 54 – times capped England right-back retiring last year.
Jamie Carragher
Turning out for the 700 th time for Liverpool, this was to be the beginning of Carragher’s final season as a footballer.
He initially struggled to hold down a place in the side, but after announcing his retirement come the end of the season in the winter he won back his place.
The veteran impressed so much that plenty thought he was calling it a day too early when he retired at the end of the season to make the move to Sky Sports.
Martin Skrtel
Was seen as the defender most at risk of the ax under Rodgers due to the former Swansea manager’s ball-playing style, but the Slovakian managed to stick around and prolong an up and down Reds career.
He was central to the 2013 / 14 season, and while never truly convincing he still managed 320 games for Liverpool.
Now at Istanbul Basaksehir via three seasons at Fenerbahce and, strangely, three weeks at Atalanta earlier this year.
Jose Enrique
A Kenny Dalglish signing a year previously, the formerNewcastleleft-back would go on to have an interesting first season under Rodgers, who often used him on the left-wing.
The 2012 / 13 campaign was probably his best for Liverpool as he never featured much after that, eventually leaving for Zaragoza not long after the appointment of Jurgen Klopp.
In June 2018 Enrique announced that he’d had surgery to remove a brain tumor, later revealing that he’d got the all clear in April this year.
Stewart Downing
Probably the most underwhelming of the batch of summer 2011 ‘Moneyball’ signings, the great frustration with Downing was that he seemed to lack the confidence to be a Liverpool player having impressed elsewhere.
He wasn’t terrible this season though, often operating at left-back, and his fine strike from distance here won the Reds the game.
Now at Blackburn after stints withWest Hamand Middlesbrough.
(Jay Spearing)
Kenny Dalglish had shown great faith in the young Scouser, and he’d started the previous season’s FA Cup final defeat toChelsea.
There was always a suspicion that he was a bit limited though, and he’d play just twice more for the Reds to take his appearance tally to 55 before leaving for spells at Bolton, Blackburn and now Blackpool, where he’s captain.
(Steven Gerrard)
Rodgers would prove to be Gerrard’s final Liverpool manager, and the toll that injuries were starting to take on his career – particularly a groin problem in 2011 – now meant that his game need to be
He began to take a more withdrawn role in the side, although largely after the January of 2013 when Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho were signed.
The Liverpool league title he longed for just fell from his grasp, although he might one day achieve it as a manager.
Jordan Henderson
Signed a year previously, there was obviously something about Henderson that Rodgers didn’t think was going to work in his system.
Within weeks of his appointment he famously tried to sell him toFulhamin a swap deal for Clint Dempsey, but after that switch collapsed the former Sunderland man became more determined than ever to stay.
He’s outlasted everyone since, and added his name to the list of Liverpool captains to lift the European Cup.
Joe Cole
One of the symbols of the underwhelming Roy Hodgson / Christian Purslow era, Cole was now back at Liverpool following a loan at Lille.
Rodgers, perhaps seeking a redemption tale, sought to use a player who had been enormously talented in his day, only for him to limp off midway through the first half to be replaced by teenager Raheem Sterling.
He’d end up returning to former club West Ham, before spells with Aston Villa, Coventry and Tampa Bay Rowdies saw out his career.
Fabio Borini
Rodgers’ first signing for the Reds, the Italian was seen as the perfect fit by a manager he worked with at Chelsea and Swansea.
This was his Liverpool debut, but it never quite worked out for a forward who looked to have ability but always just seemed a little slight.
After two years at Sunderland he’s now at AC Milan.
Subs:
Peter Gulacsi:Now in his fourth season as RB Leipzig’s No.1.
Martin Kelly: (A regular in) Crystal Palacematchday squads.
Jack Robinson:Now at Nottingham Forest after a four-year spell with QPR.
Lucas Leiva:Spent years with the Reds before joining Lazio in 2017
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Charlie Adam:Would soon leave the Reds for seven years at Stoke, and is now at Reading.
Raheem Sterling :Now a world superstar with (Manchester City) and England.
Jonjo Shelvey:Now in his fifth season at Newcastle after a spell at Swansea.
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