Liverpool legend Ian Rush celebrates his 55th birthday today, and here at Shoot! we’d like to wish the Welshman a very happy birthday.

Rush spent many years at Anfield in the 1980s and 1990s, and became the club’s top scorer with 346 goals in 660 appearances for the Reds.

During his time on Merseyside, the Welsh international won five First Division Titles, two European Cups, and three FA Cups, and was named in the PFA Team of the Year five times.

Add to this five League Cup titles and two Charity Shields, and Rush has won almost everything there is to win in English football.

As well as the European Golden Boot in 1984, Rush was Liverpool’s top-scorer in eight of his 15 seasons at Anfield, and remains Wales’ record top-scorer with 28 goals in 73 appearances.

To celebrate Rush’s 55th birthday, we at Shoot! have selected TEN images from his excellent career…

The Early Days at Chester City

This is one of Rush’s earliest matches in professional football.

He went into this FA Cup tie against Ipswich Town having scored 12 goals in 18 matches, including one in their surprise 2-0 win over Newcastle United earlier in the competition.

However, that was as far as their cup run went, as they lost 2-1 to Ipswich.

Rush and Dalglish partnership

Welshman Rush and Scottish international Kenny Dalglish formed a formidable partnership up top when Rush moved to Liverpool in 1980.

Here, Dalglish is pictured scoring against Tottenham as the Reds regained the First Division title in 1982, a season after winning the European Cup.

The Reds also beat Spurs in the 1982 League Cup final, their second successive League Cup title, in which Rush netted in a 3-1 win for Liverpool.

47 goals in a season

The 1983/84 season was perhaps Rush’s best during his two separate spells at Liverpool.

He netted an extraordinary 47 goals in 65 appearances for the Reds, as he helped inspire the club to First Division, League Cup, and European Cup glory.

Here he is in action against Roma in the European Cup final and, although he didn’t score during normal time, he netted his penalty in a 4-2 shoot-out win for the Reds.

Short spell in Italy

Rush made a permanent move to Italian giants Juventus in 1986, although was loaned back to Liverpool for the 1986/87 season.

When he did indeed move to Turin, he scored just eight times in 29 games for the ‘Old Lady’, including against Pisa as pictured above.

After just one season in Italy, he re-joined Liverpool in 1988 for £2.7 million

1989 FA Cup Final

Rush picked up exactly where he left off when returning to Anfield.

Although he didn’t find the net as frequently in 1988/89, his two goals in the FA Cup final at Wembley secured his second FA Cup winner’s medal.

Even better for Liverpool fans was that they beat Merseyside rivals Everton in the final.

Playing for Wales

Although Wales never qualified for a major tournament during Rush’s career, he still scored a number of crucial goals for his country.

One of which came in the match pictured above, as the Welsh beat Germany 1-0 in a Euro 1992 qualifier in Cardiff.

Rush retired from international football in 1996, having scored 28 goals in 73 caps for his country.

Coca Cola League Cup 1995

Rush lifted what turned out to be his last piece of silverware at Liverpool in 1995.

The Reds won the Coca Cola League Cup after two Steve McManaman goals saw off Bolton Wanderers 2-1 at Wembley.

Just a few years previous, Rush had become Liverpool’s all-time top goal-scorer – a record he still holds on to today.

Final Reds appearance

Rush’s final appearance for Liverpool came in the 1996 FA Cup Final against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.

Here he is pictured chatting with United legend Ryan Giggs ahead of kick-off.

In what turned out to be a drab affair, a late Eric Cantona goal gave the Red Devils a 1-0 win, with the winning goal taking a deflection off of Rush on its way in.

Leeds United 1996/97

Rush left Anfield in the summer of 1996, and moved further north to join fellow Premier League side Leeds United.

However, he only netted three times in 43 appearances for the Whites, and is pictured in action against Arsenal in October.

He then moved on a free transfer to Newcastle United at the end of the 1996/97 campaign.

The final few years

Rush reunited with Kenny Dalglish at St James’ Park for a season, and found himself a regular starter in the early stages of the season.

However, he didn’t find the net in the Premier League in his year-stay in the North East, but did net another FA Cup goal in the Magpies’ win over Everton.

Here he is pictured in action against Chelsea in September 1997.

He had a short loan spell at Sheffield United that season, and then left Newcastle permanently in the summer for Wrexham.

He didn’t net for Wrexham, and then had a short spell at Sydney Olympic before retiring in 2000.