Liverpool and Real Madrid supporters travelled to a Merseyside cemetery today to celebrate the life of a footballing pioneer. Several players have links to Merseyside and Madrid, such as Steve McManaman, Michael Owen, John Toshack and Thomas Gravesen.

Ahead of tonight’s Champions League match at Anfield, there will be a major focus on the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the West Derby-born right-back who left his boyhood club in the summer to join Real. But one name that has been lost to history until recently is Arthur Vere Scott Johnson.

As the ECHO reported this morning, Johnson was born in Dublin in 1878 and enjoyed a prolific career as an amateur footballer before he made the move to Madrid FC in 1902, before the team was renamed as Real Madrid in 1920.

At the time Ireland, was a part of the United Kingdom and Real Madrid's first ever President said Johnson was the only one with any experience during the early days of the club.

Johnson played as a forward and is credited as scoring Real Madrid's first ever goal. He also went on to manage the club in 1910.

After playing such a pivotal part in Real Madrid's history, Johnson came to...