Henderson hoping to rule the roost

Can England’s ‘best player’ follow Coe, Ovett, Daley Thompson (and Allan Wells) and strike gold in this stadium?

IT is here inside the Luzhniki Stadium, inside this stunning monument to Soviet Russia and their desire back in the 1950s to become a sporting superpower, that the British have enjoyed so much success.

Here where Steve Ovett exploited the tactical naivety of Sebastian Coe and kicked away from the field to take Olympic 800m gold. And here, too, where Coe — driven as much by the fear of another stinging rebuke from his father as the sheer terror of seeing his great rival conquer him for a second time — hit back over the longer distance which was considered Ovett’s speciality.

It was here that Allan Wells was crowned the world’s fastest man, even if he did then have to travel to Koblenz to prove his Olympic gold had not been won only because of an American boycott. They sent their best less than a fortnight after the 1980 Games and still Wells triumphed.

And here, behind the white stone facade which was retained even after the stadium was renovated for this World Cup, that Daley Thompson secured the first of his two Olympic decathlon titles — the greatest athlete on the planet for the next six years.

When UEFA chose the Luzhniki as the venue for the 2008 Champions League final, the competition concluded with an unprecedented meeting between two English teams. That season English clubs fell only to English clubs — Arsenal to Liverpool, then Liverpool to Chelsea, before Chelsea lost to Manchester United in a contest that, because of extra time and penalties, ended up spanning two days.

Five years later and the Luzhniki provided the stage for Mo Farah to follow his Olympic distance- running double in London with a first world championships double. At the same meeting Christine Ohuruogu took a second world title over a single lap of the track.

It has not always gone exactly to plan. For a start, Steve McClaren managed to mastermind a defeat against Guus Hiddink’s Russia that all but crushed England’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008.

But when the stakes are at their highest, when the ultimate prize is on offer, the Luzhniki has proved a remarkably fertile ground for the British and the English in particular.

The stakes are certainly high this evening, with Croatia standing between Gareth Southgate’s England and an opportunity to return to this stadium on Sunday in pursuit of the biggest trophy of the lot.

Sitting alongside Southgate last night was a player who appreciates the magnitude of the situation more than most.

A player who knows what it takes to win a major semi-final but also now has a better understanding of what is required to clear the final hurdle after the bitter experience of the encounter with Real Madrid in Kiev less than seven weeks ago. In particular when Luka Modric is a member of the opposition.

A penalty miss aside, Jordan Henderson has been outstanding at this tournament, rated by Jamie Redknapp on these pages as the most consistently excellent player in the England side.

But he also has precious big match experience and a record that should provide his manager and his team-mates with confidence when they need it most.

Asked how he had managed to go 30 international matches without defeat, Henderson was endearingly modest. Southgate briefly interrupted him by declaring ‘we’d better keep him fit’ but Henderson replied: ‘I wouldn’t look too much into it because I don’t win on my own. We win as a team. Just as much as if I’d played and lost every match it wouldn’t be my fault, either.’

Southgate, however, recognises his value and recognises the stature of a player, let’s not forget, Sir Alex Ferguson once dismissed because of his running style.

‘Jordan’s a player who has been underestimated for a long time,’ said England’s manager. ‘I watched him a lot at Sunderland as a youngster. To go to Liverpool and establish yourself there, filling the shoes of probably their greatest-ever player and captain and do it the way he has…

‘He has the total trust of his club manager, he’s an outstanding person with outstanding leadership qualities. The quality of his game has gone on to another level this season. His positional understanding, reading of dangers, seeing pictures with the ball, forward passes early. Some of the throughballs the other night were exceptional.

‘He’s playing at the top of his game and should have huge confidence to have played in the biggest club matches ever and now be replicating that with the national team.

‘We’re very fortunate to have him. We’ve got some players who have played in big finals and we do involve them in some of those discussions, to get their thinking around big matches. We can share

our experience of big games but sometimes it’s more powerful for the players to hear from their own team-mates.’

In Henderson, Southgate also has someone who is fiercely committed to playing for England. When he made his first international appearance, as a substitute against France, he declined the opportunity to swap shirts because he wanted to keep his for his parents.

Those he played with at Under 21 level may well recall him going berserk in the dressing room when he did not feel colleagues were pulling their weight in a game against Israel.

To stop Modric and his more creative colleagues England need to draw on such passion.

‘I’ve played Modric a few times, a world- class player, one of the best I’ve played against,’ said Henderson.

‘He likes to dictate, likes to drop deep and get on the ball. It’s not only me but the whole team trying to stop him doing that. I’m sure he’ll have moments in the game but it’s about limiting them and concentrating on their whole team, because they’ve got threats coming from everywhere.’

It is also about England being at their best, indeed about being the best and joining the pantheon of British sporting greats here at the Luzhniki.