Liverpool's legendary former England international center forward David Johnson died aged 71..

2022-11-25 22:49

Liverpool




Liverpool released obituary on its official website sadly announcing that club legend and former England international center forward, David Johnson has sadly passed away at the age of 71 following a long battle with illness.


According to Liverpool's obituary, Johnson, who had battled with throat cancer for many years, passed away at home on Wednesday (November 23) morning, and the thoughts of everyone at Liverpool colleagues be with Johnson's family and will be at this sad time and they send their sincerest condolences to his family and friends.


Johnson was born in Liverpool on October 23, 1951. He has been a loyal Liverpool fan since he was a child. He joined the youth academy of his cross-town rival Everton when he was young. During this period, the then legendary head coach Bill Shankly even asked and made multiple offers to sign Johnson from his then Toffees counterpart, Harry Catterick, but Everton was determined not to sell Johnson.


In November 1972, Johnson joined Ipswich Town for £40,000 plus a swap for their golden boot winner Rod Belfitt. While playing for the Tractor Boys, Johnson started his superb goalscoring efficiency and led the team to perform well in European competitions.


In the summer of 1976, Johnson joined Liverpool for £200,000, finally fulfilling his dream of playing for the Reds. During the 6 years he played for Liverpool, Johnson played 200 times on all competitions for the club, scoring 73 goals, assisting 4 times, and won 4 Division One (then equivalent of Premier League at the time),  2 English League Cups , 4 Community Shields, 3 Champions League and 1 UEFA Super Cup titles with the club.


After leaving Liverpool in 1982, Johnson briefly returned to play for Everton, then spent his career playing for Manchester City, Burnley, Preston, Barrow and the former American NASL club Tulsa Roughnecks.


After retiring in 1985, Johnson briefly become the head coach of Barrow but left the club a year later and then returned to Liverpool as the club's official radio commentator until the end of the 1990s.


Internationally, Johnson played 8 times for the England national team in all competitions between 1985 and 1980, scoring 6 goals.