Why Liverpool captaincy was the making of Henderson
Brendan Rodgers says the midfielder typifies a World Cup campaign based on team spirit ‘You always knew you were going to get work rate and intensity with Jordan’
There is a theory that Jordan Henderson is earning overdue recognition for club and country. With respect, that depends who you listen to. Managers, team-mates and those watching Henderson harrying opposition midfielders around Europe with Liverpool have been dispatching eulogies for a while.
If the broad public perception of Henderson has altered over three weeks – in some cases even in the hours since his command performance against Sweden – professional appreciation is long established.
Two crucial meetings, three seasons apart, bookmark the defining period for Henderson at the highest level of English football. We start in happier times.
It is the spring of 2015 and Henderson has a dilemma. Liverpool contract talks are ongoing. The wealthiest Champions League clubs are circling.
Henderson’s manager at the time, Brendan Rodgers, has an ace to play and summons his midfielder to his home in Formby.
“There was a lot of interest in Jordan so I invited him around and chatted. I said to him, ‘Jordan, you are going to be the next captain of Liverpool’,” recalls Rodgers.
“It was a natural move for him as Steven Gerrard was preparing to leave. I knew he would be a captain the club would be proud of.
“It was an emotional meeting. He knew it was an honour to captain a club the size of Liverpool, and knew where he had come from. He has had to work for absolutely everything.
“I always liked Jordan as a guy. He is honest, dedicated and always wants to make himself better. I had already made him vice-captain so he could get a sense of the responsibility of leading, and then when Stevie left Jordan had become such a prominent player he was in position to take over. It is important there is synergy between a manager and captain. You have to work well together, and there was always a great relationship there.”
Henderson’s promotion was especially poignant given the circumstances of a meeting with the same coach three years earlier. There was a bid on the table then, too, but not so attractive.
When Rodgers arrived at Liverpool in 2012, assessing how to reshape an underperforming squad, Henderson was vulnerable.
“An offer came from Fulham,” says Rodgers. “Jordan had done well at Sunderland and been at Liverpool for a year but it was more difficult for him and some of those who came in. I could not promise him he would be playing every week, but
I could promise we would improve him if he stayed with us. From that conversation he said he wanted to stay and prove he could play regularly for Liverpool. From that moment he was brilliant for me.
“Before I went to Liverpool he was playing wide in a 4-4-2, and his job was to get crosses into the box. When he moved inside he showed his qualities. He developed his game, was always responsive to ideas and made a natural progression to be captain. You always knew you were going to get work rate and intensity with Jordan. His running power is a great strength, and when you do not have the ball he has a great hunger to press the game. What is often overlooked in the season we narrowly missed out on the title [in 2014] is how much we missed Jordan in the game against Chelsea. He was sent off in the previous match against Manchester City in injury time. His physical influence – the pressing he brought to that team – was really missed.”
Rodgers agrees Henderson may be most appreciated when he is not around. It is no coincidence England are unbeaten in Henderson’s past 30 internationals.
“He is really selfless as a player and a guy, always wanting to help those around him,” says Rodgers.
“He always wanted to improve. He would do extra on the training field, working on set-pieces, practising the whip he could get on the ball where – as you can see now – he delivers it really well. Jordan has developed superbly as a captain and player.”
For his club, Henderson has suffered due to unreasonable comparisons with Gerrard. For England, the craving for another Frank Lampard or Paul Scholes provoked similar intolerance.
For those working with him, there is only admiration for the assets he possesses rather than those he lacks.
Rodgers feels similarly about Raheem Sterling, who he fast-tracked into the Liverpool team.
“This boy is fantastic. He is a top-class player and knows the areas where he needs to improve. His pace, personality and quality is massive for England.
“There is no ego in this England squad. Guys have come through the lower levels and had to do the dirty work.
‘‘Jordan was the same. Any successful team needs spirit. It has not been a World Cup of iconic individuals, it has been a World Cup where team spirit has dominated.
‘‘Jordan Henderson typifies that.”