Henderson’s our captain fantastic, says Van Dijk

VIRGIL VAN DIJK has paid tribute to Jordan Henderson after his inspirational captain’s performance.

Henderson, celebrating below with the trophy, was outstanding as Liverpool won the Club World Cup for the first time. He has almost become the unsung hero of Jurgen Klopp’s all-conquering team.

So often Van Dijk gets all the praise, or one of the front three of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. But this time it was Henderson – who filled in as an emergency centre-half in the semi-final – who rightly earned the plaudits for a marauding midfield display that brought a glowing tribute fromVan Dijk.

Liverpool defender Van Dijk, above, said: “He’s our captain.That’s what we all respect. He’s been fantastic, whether he’s filling in for Fabinho at the moment or he’s playing as a right-midfielder where he’s giving assists.

“In and out of the pitch, he is very important for us whether he plays or not. We all respect him on that level.

“For him, that is also the most important thing. When other people say negative things it doesn’t matter. “He was outstanding when he played centre-half. I was really proud of him. “He has got a lot more respect for what we do in the back as well. It’s not easy and I know sometimes we make it look a bit easy but it’s difficult.”

Van Dijk believes the trophy deserves a special place in the club’s history. He added: “We’re the first Liverpool team that won it so we can be very proud of that and hopefully there is more to come.”