Football
Chris Wright, Toe Poke writer 5y

Liverpool's Ki-Jana Hoever: FA Cup debutant born after 2001 'Treble,' iPod, Xbox

While the result wasn't exactly optimal, Liverpool did at least make a little bit of history during Monday's FA Cup third-round defeat at Wolves.

When Dejan Lovren limped off injured within minutes of kick-off, the Croatian was replaced by academy defender Ki-Jana Hoever (born Jan. 18, 2002), who came on to make his senior debut at the tender age of just 16 years and 354 days.

In doing so, the Dutch teenager became the Reds' youngest ever play in the FA Cup, and their third youngest player of all time behind Jerome Sinclair (16 years and six days) and Jack Robinson (16 years and 250 days).

An adolescent he may well be, but the youngster duly went on to impress at the back for Liverpool with a number of smart plays that earned a 7/10 ESPN match rating and praise from Jurgen Klopp despite an auxiliary side eventually falling to a defeat at Molineux.

Indeed, to put the age gap into some kind of context, Hoever had not seen his first birthday when one of his Liverpool teammates made his own senior professional debut.

Some offerings were a little cheekier than others.

Naturally, Hoever's tender years sparked despairing cries across social media from football fans bemoaning the ever-creeping loss of youth.

Things older than him include:
Liverpool's 'Treble' of FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup (2001)
Jurgen Klopp's managerial career (Feb. 27, 2001)
The iPod (Oct. 23, 2001)
The Xbox (Nov. 15, 2001)
The Strokes' debut album "Is This It?" (July 30, 2001)
The "Lord of the Rings" film franchise (Dec. 10, 2001)
Caleb McLaughlin, who plays Lucas in "Stranger Things" (Oct. 13, 2001)

If you're still clinging on to those dreams of turning pro, it's time to let them go.

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