On This Day50 years ago: The story begins for Liverpool FC's most decorated player

Indeed, for the Reds he has no equal.

One of Bob Paisley’s most astute signings as manager, Neal arrived at the club on this date in 1974, recruited from Northampton Town.

The right-back would go on to make 650 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 59 goals and later captaining the club.

And then there’s that incredible medal total: 18 major honours, including eight league titles, four European Cups, four League Cups, the UEFA Cup and Super Cup.

Nicknamed ‘Zico’ by the Kop because of the number of goals he netted from his nominally defensive position, Neal also achieved an astonishing, record run of consecutive games for Liverpool, clocking up 417 without interruption between October 1976 and September 1983.

“There were little incidents when I could have missed a game but I was doubly determined not to. It was so exciting,” he once said of that streak.

“I didn’t miss a day’s training in all those years I was there. I wouldn’t ring in for a cold. Every day I had a smile on my face.”

Neal was a man for the big occasions, too.

He dispatched an ice-cool penalty at Stadio Olimpico in Rome to seal Liverpool’s first ever European Cup win over Borussia Monchengladbach in 1977.

Seven years later, he scored against AS Roma at the same arena when the Reds lifted the trophy for a fourth time, also keeping his nerve to turn that night’s shootout in his team’s favour after Steve Nicol had missed their first kick.

Phil Thompson played alongside Neal in the Liverpool back line for many years, and has huge admiration for his fellow defender.

“Wow, 50 years, that is incredible when you think of it because 1974 was the year Shanks [Bill Shankly] announced his retirement after winning the FA Cup, so Phil was Bob Paisley’s first ever signing,” Thompson told Liverpoolfc.com.

“We got Phil from Northampton Town and it wasn’t a relatively big signing but this was one of the things with our chief scout Geoff Twentyman, he knew good players and he could spot good players.

“Geoff had no doubt that Phil was going to be a good player and he hit the ground running straight away.

“Winning 18 major medals with Liverpool is truly astonishing! It works out that Phil is one ahead of big Al [Alan Hansen], who won 17 major medals, and I think I’m in third place with 15.

“I take it from a good position to tell you just how good a player Phil actually was. My biggest thing when I think of Phil, it’s ‘reliable’.

“We knew each other’s game inside out with us both playing on the right of the defence, I knew Phil’s strengths and I knew his weaknesses and likewise he knew mine.

“He was a fantastic reader of the game, I would say he wasn’t blessed with great pace but we were always in the right positions at the right time, he always gave me an absolute perfect ball to play first time.”

Neal’s last appearance for the Reds, in November 1985, came almost exactly 11 years after his debut, with his longevity giving him a strong claim among the club’s finest bargains too.

Approaching the age of 35 when he departed Anfield, he nevertheless continued to take to the pitch in a player-manager role at Bolton Wanderers.

His legacy lives on half a century after his arrival, with Jamie Carragher - one of only six men to have played more times for Liverpool - recently asserting his respect for Neal.

Selecting an all-time Reds XI that included Neal at right-back, Carragher said: “When you think of players who played for say AC Milan and stuff like that, we go, ‘He’s won the European Cup four or five times’, we go, ‘Wow, Madrid and Barça players’.

“Phil Neal won four European Cups, it’s unbelievable that.”

Thompson added of his former teammate: “I found Phil so reliable, and so consistent. I knew what he could do and for him to play 417 consecutive games is just unbelievable!

“I had a couple of cartilage [injuries] out and a broken collarbone, Nealy had a fractured cheekbone but carried on playing, and I can’t remember too many ankle injuries he had.

“People said it was tougher back then, and maybe we were tougher players, but you look at Nealy and go, ‘Wow!’

“Nealy deserves all the accolades he gets, he was a proper player and he should have played more for England as well.”