Past playersDominic Matteo

He joined the club's School of Excellence with another 11-year-old - Robbie Fowler - and went on to make his Reds debut at Manchester City in October 1993, where he played on the left of midfield.

Over the next couple of years Matteo featured in a variety of roles, including left-back, centre-back and also in the midfield, as the coaching staff went about working out which position would suit him best.

He then suffered from injury problems and in the following seasons he was unable to make the impact that many felt his talent deserving of.

Gerard Houllier saw him as a left-back in his Liverpool restructuring plans, issuing a firm 'hands off' warning to any club thinking of launching a bid for his talented defender.

The 1999-2000 season promised to be vital for Matteo in terms of establishing himself as a regular in the side, and a good end to 1998-99, along with an encouraging start to the new campaign, suggested that he had finally made the big breakthrough and was in the XI to stay.

However, with Houllier opting for the experience of Steve Staunton at left-back, Matteo was once more faced with a fight to re-establish himself.

In the summer of 2000 he was transferred to Leeds United and went on to gain international recognition with Scotland.