Henderson deserves to be hailed a legend
IT’S HARD to believe we once lived through a time when Liverpool supporters didn’t rate Jordan Henderson.
To be fair, following in the footsteps of the iconic Steven Gerrard is one hell of a task.
Just over 12 months after arriving at Anfield from Sunderland in 2011 he was offered the chance to join Fulham, which he rejected.
More than a decade later the likeable lad from Wearside has more than proved he was right to stick around at one of football’s most historic clubs.
Henderson will never have the same adulation as Gerrard does for reasons that are obvious, including the fact he’s not a Scouser.
But such has been his importance to his club that he is now deserving of comparisons to Liverpool’s greatest ever player – because he’s matching or bettering his achievements.
At Wembley yesterday Henderson became just the third Liverpool player to captain them in finals of the European Cup, FA Cup and League Cup, after Gerrard and Emlyn Hughes.
Had Fabinho not got injured at Aston Villa in midweek, Henderson might not have been on the pitch.
Most teams would miss someone of the Brazilian’s class, but Jurgen Klopp didn’t have to panic.
Once again he turned to Henderson.
There is a lot of glitz and glamour in this Liverpool side. The likes of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz provide all the fizz, while Thiago brings the class.
But all great teams like Liverpool also need someone to bind them all together, to drive them on, put in the hard yards.
Henderson might be more spit and sawdust than sparkle, but there are few better at delivering the nuts and bolts than him. He does the things that go unnoticed, but are still just as important to the cause. Sitting in front of his defence, he spent the afternoon patrolling the Chelsea advances.
He picked up the second balls, never stopped talking and organising.
Henderson (below) even told Thiago to get out of his way with a dismissive flash of his hand as he got another move started from inside his own half.
Then it was Diogo Jota’s turn to be berated for not working hard enough.
Henderson was the man dressed in red, but turning the air blue.
This became a grinding game of punishing endurance to find out who the last men standing would be.
The fact Henderson was still on the pitch when this absorbing but frustrating clash went to penalties was an achievement in itself.
This win meant when Henderson climbed those famous steps to claim the prize, he became the first Liverpool captain to ever lift six different trophies for the club.
After this win the Quadruple is still on – and Henderson remains right at the heart of it.