On This Day: Coutinho joined Liverpool; Man City signed Laporte

Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (January 30th) in football history. If you have more stories and news that happened on this day in history, please post them in the comment area and share them with AFers!

On this day in 2013 - Liverpool sign Coutinho from Inter

Southampton had also expressed an interest in Coutinho, who had played under Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino at Espanyol, but Coutinho said he would prefer to join Liverpool. On 30 January, Liverpool confirmed the signing of Coutinho on a long-term contract after he was successful in his work permit application, and was given the number 10 shirt. Former director of football at Liverpool Damien Comolli later revealed Liverpool had scouted and ultimately signed Coutinho following a recommendation by then-Inter Milan manager and former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez, who described the Brazilian as "world class".

Coutinho made his Liverpool debut on 11 February 2013, replacing Stewart Downing in the 77th minute of a 2–0 defeat against West Bromwich Albion at Anfield. On 17 February, he scored his first goal for Liverpool on his full debut in a 5–0 victory over Swansea City. He flourished at Anfield, where his combination of vision, passing, dribbling and bending long-range strikes earned him the nickname "The Magician" from Liverpool fans and teammates. After he was named in the 2015 PFA Team of the Year, Brazilian legend Pelé tipped Coutinho for a "great future".

After giving 54 goals and 45 assists, Coutinho transferred to Barcelona in a record transaction fee reportedly worth €142 million ($170 million) in January 2018, which would make him the world's third most expensive player.

On this day in 2018 - Man City sign French defender Laporte

Near the end of the winter transfer window of January 2018, Laporte signed for Manchester City for a reported fee of £57 million (his contractual release clause amount and a record-breaking figure for both clubs). He was given the number 14 jersey, while Athletic immediately spent around half of the fee on Iñigo Martínez as a replacement. He made his Premier League debut the following day, playing the entire 3–0 home win against West Bromwich Albion.

Laporte scored his first goal for City on 25 August 2018, equalising against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 1–1 away draw.

On this day in 2008 - Eto'o became the Africa Cup of Nations' all-time top scorer

On 30 January 2008, Samuel Eto'o scored twice in Cameroon's win over Sudan in the African Cup of Nations. In the process, he became the tournament's all-time leading scorer.

Cameroon returned to the pitch on 30 January for their last group-stage match against Sudan. A crowd of approximately 10,000 watched as Eto'o took sole possession of the scoring title with a 27th-minute penalty that put Cameroon up 1-0. An own goal by Sudan in the 33rd minute extended the lead to 2-0, then Eto'o added another for good measure in the 90th minute to push the all-time record to sixteen and end the day as a 3-0 win.

Unfortunately for Eto'o, it was his last goal in that year's tournament as Cameroon fell to Egypt in the final. But he returned in 2010 and scored twice more to set the current record of eighteen. He was denied the opportunity to extend it even further in 2012, as Cameroon did not qualify for that year's edition.

On this day in 1989 - former Barca & Atletico midfielder Arda Turan was born

Turan is mostly known for his ball control, dribbling skills and vision. At age 21, prior to the 2009–10 season, he was named captain of Galatasaray.

Following a successful UEFA Euro 2008 campaign, Turan was ranked eighth in a selection of the 100 Best Young Football Players in the World piece published by Spanish magazine Don Balón in July 2008. Turan was ranked 38th in "The 100 Best Footballers in the World" by The Guardian in 2014, the only player on the list to be born in Turkey. On 25 November 2014, Turan was nominated for the UEFA Team of the Year for 2014, among 40 other players.

As of May 2018, Turan holds 100 senior national caps and 17 goals for the Turkey national team, making him Turkey's fourth-most capped player of all-time.

On this day in 1981, former Liverpool forward Peter Crouch was born

Crouch began his career as a trainee with Tottenham Hotspur. He failed to make an appearance for Spurs and after loan spells at Dulwich Hamlet and Swedish club IFK Hässleholm he joined Queens Park Rangers. He had a relatively poor spell at Villa, however, and was loaned out to Norwich City in 2003 before making a move to Southampton, where he regained his form, which would ultimately prompt his joining Liverpool in July 2005. At Liverpool he enjoyed considerable success, winning the FA Cup and FA Community Shield in 2006, and also gaining a runners-up medal in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final.

Crouch's stunning goal

On this day in 1999 - Steve McManaman agreed to join Real Madrid

In McManaman's final games for Liverpool in the second half of the 1998–99 season, he began turning in mixed performances, with the media accusing him of playing out his final season in a "desultory manner". McManaman told the media after one such game where he became victim of the "boo boys", saying, "That's understandable, when I came off the other day I knew the reaction there was going to be. But I think if they put themselves in the same predicament, and the fact that I have been at Liverpool for 12 years and that I would like to test myself in a foreign country, that's understandable."

In spite of the side only winning two trophies during nine seasons in the Liverpool first team, McManaman's achievements at the club were exceptional for a player in a side often labelled negatively. McManaman finished alongside Nick Barmby as joint runner up to Ryan Giggs in the PFA Young Player of the Year awards in 1993, was named in the PFA Team of the Year for 1996–97 and also made the five men shortlist for PFA Player of the Year for three seasons from 1995–96 to 1997–98, with the PFA website describing him as one of the most gifted players of his generation.

On 1 July 1999, after 364 appearances and 66 goals for Liverpool, McManaman transferred to Real Madrid as Guus Hiddink's last signing (before being sacked, and while the club was under president Lorenzo Sanz

On this day in 1937 - A Good Day To Stay At Home

On 30 January 1937, the home sides either won or drew all 35 FA Cup and Football League matches.

Of the 16 FA Cup matches that day, only one involved two top-ten First Division clubs, as 6th place Derby County rolled to a comfortable 3-0 win over 3rd place Brentford in the FA Cup. Other First Division match-ups in the Cup included 15th place Preston North End hammering 14th place Stoke City 5-1, 10th place Everton beating 19th place Sheffield Wednesday 3-0, and 1st place Arsenal crushing 22nd place Manchester United, 5-0. Both Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester United would end the season in the two relegation spots.

Arsenal's margin of victory was the largest in the Cup that day, but was both matched and exceeded in Division Two, where Blackburn beat Newcastle 6-1 and, in the day's most lopsided result, Blackpool rode over Bradford Park Avenue, 6-0.

Meanwhile, Luton Town provided the Cup's shock of the day, as the Third Division South side held reigning League champions Sunderland to a 2-2 draw. Two other Third Division South teams provided upsets, as Millwall defeated First Division Chelsea 3-0 and Exeter City beat Second Division Leicester City 3-1. Exeter's victory looked even more impressive at the end of the season, as Leicester won the Second Division, while Exeter finished 21st in the Third Division South.

Four Cup matches went to replays, including York City's scoreless draw at Swansea. It was part of a pattern for York, who had earned home replays in the two previous rounds. But the pattern broke with Swansea, who won at York, 1-3. In fact, the visiting teams won three of the four replays for that round, with the only exception being Sunderland's 3-1 victory over Luton. Sunderland (pictured) proceeded to win the FA Cup that year, beating Preston North End in the Final.