Henderson
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[article]Former Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson has revealed how dealing with his dad’s battle with cancer made him a better player.
The Liverpool and England star is set to lead the Reds out in Kiev next weekend for their Champions League Final clash with Real Madrid.
It’s a long way from coming through the ranks at the Black Cats academy for the 27-year-old Wearsider, but it is testimony to his persistence and resilience that he set to play a key role in both Liverpool’s day of destiny, and England’s World Cup bid in Russia.
But in a moving interview with the Mail on Sunday’s Oliver Holt , Henderson revealed his debt to his family - and how his dad Brian’s fight with throat cancer helped him focus on the important things in life.
Thankfully Brian recovered and will be in Ukraine to watch his son lead Liverpool out next week, but it was a difficult time for the whole family.
“What my dad went through made me more of a man. It puts things into perspective quickly,” said Henderson.
“I took that quite hard at the time. It was a shock because I had never dealt with anything like that before.
“He is a very proud man and he didn’t want me to see him when he was getting treatment because of how he looked.
“I knew the only thing I could do, the only way I could help him, was play well on the weekend because I knew he’d be watching.
“That’s a different pressure. I wanted to play well to help my dad be healthy again and, if I can do that, I can play in any circumstances.
“I didn’t see my dad much in that time. Very little. He wouldn’t let me. Brendan (Rodgers, then Liverpool manager) was very good. He said I could go back home whenever I wanted to see him, so I saw him just before he went in for his first treatment.
“Then I would see him again a few weeks later and it wasn’t too bad but, towards the end, it got to a point where he didn’t want to see me at all because of how he was.
“He didn’t want me to see him like that so I knew it was pretty bad. I was in regular contact but the only thing I could really do was try and perform on a weekend and luckily enough at the time, we started winning every week.”
Henderson knows the debt his owes his parents Brian and Liz - and cherishes the advice they have given him over the years.
“I will be indebted to them for the rest of my life, and I try to make them as proud as possible every time I play,” he added.
“You have to try to be the best you can be every single day. That applies to everything in life.
“You have to try to be better every day as a person. You can always improve.
“You are going to make mistakes along the way but it is how you learn from them. I try to be the best person I can be for this team and for my family.”
[/article]
Jordan Henderson lifting the champions League is that thing you show to kids with no self belief. What a fucking scene
Unbelievable really.
Delighted for him.
Delighted for him.
What a horrible, horrible thing to say about a young footballer who was struggling for form at that time. Ferguson knew exactly what he was doing, trying to get into the head of a young player trying to make it at our club and pushing him down. I cannot imagine any of our managers making a statement about a young United player that way.
And that trophy lift. One for the ages.
Jordan Henderson's inspirational story is a valuable lesson for the Liverpool captain's detractors
https://www.skysports.com/football/...-lesson-for-the-liverpool-captains-detractors
[article]
Jordan Henderson is a Champions League-winning captain. Jurgen Klopp calls it satisfying. It is also a lesson, writes Adam Bate.
Seven million views and counting for the video of Jordan Henderson embracing his father after Liverpool's Champions League triumph. It's surely destined to be one of the indelible images of the evening - and an appropriate one as well. It was the humanity of Liverpool's captain, flaws and all, that earned him criticism. It has earned him this moment too.
Jurgen Klopp alluded to the more difficult experiences his skipper has endured when speaking in the press conference after Liverpool's 2-0 win over Tottenham in Madrid. "You know what people said about a couple of players of this team," he began. "Jordan Henderson is captain of the Champions League winner 2019. That's satisfying actually."
It is seven years now since former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers called Henderson into a hotel room to be told that he could leave Liverpool. The club were keen on a swap deal with Fulham in order to engage the services of Clint Dempsey, the now retired United States international.
There were tears that day too but not of joy or pride as in Madrid. This was rejection and for some it would have been the end of the story. Henderson decided to battle through it and overcome those who had criticised everything from the fee paid for him to his gait.
Speaking to him years later in the changing rooms at St George's Park, Henderson explained this was in his nature. "That's just how I've always been since I was a young player," he told Sky Sports. "I always want to improve everything about my game. It's not just the things I feel I need to improve on. Even the things I believe I do well I still want to get better at."
Now he has his reward and it seems the right time to reflect on not just his journey but what it tells us about how we dismiss talent. The perception of Henderson is more than unfair, a symptom of a world in which everyone must be cast as hero or villain, real deal or fraud. The boy from Sunderland was capped by his country at 20. The talent was always genuine.
Still only 20 at the time of his transfer, Henderson had to make those first forays amid intense scrutiny. Not with the goodwill that accompanies a youth-teamer stepping up from the academy but with the scepticism that a £20m fee brings. With that in mind, the words of former Liverpool coach Michael Beale were thought-provoking in the aftermath of victory.
"You will always have the one in a million who are able to progress direct to the first team but for others like the superb Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah et cetera, they were not ready for Liverpool at 19 or 20 and made steps in their career to this level," noted Beale, now at Rangers with Steven Gerrard. "It's all about getting better each day."
That's Henderson ethos all over but having to make those steps under the spotlight rather than arriving fully formed has had consequences. The improvement has rarely been enough for all. He did win over the Anfield crowd during the 2013/14 season - his absence for key games during the run-in seen as decisive in Liverpool falling just short of the title that year.
But it has not been straightforward for him even since then. Replacing Gerrard as Liverpool captain brought its own pressures and its own excessive demands. Every defeat and every setback was evidence of him being not quite good enough to carry that mantle. Having now emulated his predecessor, that is another judgement that is well worth reassessing.
Henderson has been a model captain. He is the man who ensured a flag bearing the name of Sean Cox, the fan attacked before the semi-final against Roma last year, made it onto the pitch in the Italian capital. A year ago, he stayed on the pitch to congratulate Real Madrid. This time he sought out Harry Kane and Mauricio Pochettino to offer commiserations.
He played through the pain during that outrageous semi-final win over Barcelona, taking painkiller injections and then spending the half-time interval on the exercise bike to ensure he did not seize up. According to Jamie Carragher, he was also the one who "revitalised Liverpool" in the spring upon finally reverting to his favoured box-to-box midfield role.
In Madrid, Henderson was far from the star of the show, but it is still worth noting he made more tackles than any other Liverpool player and made more interceptions than any of his team-mates too. When it was all over, he joined the greats as only the fifth man to lift the European Cup for Liverpool. His status as a club legend is now secure.
Of course, this is football and the talk of how Liverpool can improve has already begun. It would be no great shock if midfield is mentioned and Henderson will be expected to fight for his position once again. He knows it and he is ready for it. Two daughters have provided perspective. He will embrace the next challenge with typical good grace.
Whatever happens in the future, and Henderson has been the first to talk of how the team must build on this success and seek to overhaul Manchester City in the Premier League, his name is written into Liverpool history now. Not the sort of player football is always quick to celebrate, but one who has shown many of the qualities all of us should aspire to.
[/article]
https://www.skysports.com/football/...-lesson-for-the-liverpool-captains-detractors
[article]
Jordan Henderson is a Champions League-winning captain. Jurgen Klopp calls it satisfying. It is also a lesson, writes Adam Bate.
Seven million views and counting for the video of Jordan Henderson embracing his father after Liverpool's Champions League triumph. It's surely destined to be one of the indelible images of the evening - and an appropriate one as well. It was the humanity of Liverpool's captain, flaws and all, that earned him criticism. It has earned him this moment too.
Jurgen Klopp alluded to the more difficult experiences his skipper has endured when speaking in the press conference after Liverpool's 2-0 win over Tottenham in Madrid. "You know what people said about a couple of players of this team," he began. "Jordan Henderson is captain of the Champions League winner 2019. That's satisfying actually."
It is seven years now since former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers called Henderson into a hotel room to be told that he could leave Liverpool. The club were keen on a swap deal with Fulham in order to engage the services of Clint Dempsey, the now retired United States international.
There were tears that day too but not of joy or pride as in Madrid. This was rejection and for some it would have been the end of the story. Henderson decided to battle through it and overcome those who had criticised everything from the fee paid for him to his gait.
Speaking to him years later in the changing rooms at St George's Park, Henderson explained this was in his nature. "That's just how I've always been since I was a young player," he told Sky Sports. "I always want to improve everything about my game. It's not just the things I feel I need to improve on. Even the things I believe I do well I still want to get better at."
Now he has his reward and it seems the right time to reflect on not just his journey but what it tells us about how we dismiss talent. The perception of Henderson is more than unfair, a symptom of a world in which everyone must be cast as hero or villain, real deal or fraud. The boy from Sunderland was capped by his country at 20. The talent was always genuine.
Still only 20 at the time of his transfer, Henderson had to make those first forays amid intense scrutiny. Not with the goodwill that accompanies a youth-teamer stepping up from the academy but with the scepticism that a £20m fee brings. With that in mind, the words of former Liverpool coach Michael Beale were thought-provoking in the aftermath of victory.
"You will always have the one in a million who are able to progress direct to the first team but for others like the superb Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah et cetera, they were not ready for Liverpool at 19 or 20 and made steps in their career to this level," noted Beale, now at Rangers with Steven Gerrard. "It's all about getting better each day."
That's Henderson ethos all over but having to make those steps under the spotlight rather than arriving fully formed has had consequences. The improvement has rarely been enough for all. He did win over the Anfield crowd during the 2013/14 season - his absence for key games during the run-in seen as decisive in Liverpool falling just short of the title that year.
But it has not been straightforward for him even since then. Replacing Gerrard as Liverpool captain brought its own pressures and its own excessive demands. Every defeat and every setback was evidence of him being not quite good enough to carry that mantle. Having now emulated his predecessor, that is another judgement that is well worth reassessing.
Henderson has been a model captain. He is the man who ensured a flag bearing the name of Sean Cox, the fan attacked before the semi-final against Roma last year, made it onto the pitch in the Italian capital. A year ago, he stayed on the pitch to congratulate Real Madrid. This time he sought out Harry Kane and Mauricio Pochettino to offer commiserations.
He played through the pain during that outrageous semi-final win over Barcelona, taking painkiller injections and then spending the half-time interval on the exercise bike to ensure he did not seize up. According to Jamie Carragher, he was also the one who "revitalised Liverpool" in the spring upon finally reverting to his favoured box-to-box midfield role.
In Madrid, Henderson was far from the star of the show, but it is still worth noting he made more tackles than any other Liverpool player and made more interceptions than any of his team-mates too. When it was all over, he joined the greats as only the fifth man to lift the European Cup for Liverpool. His status as a club legend is now secure.
Of course, this is football and the talk of how Liverpool can improve has already begun. It would be no great shock if midfield is mentioned and Henderson will be expected to fight for his position once again. He knows it and he is ready for it. Two daughters have provided perspective. He will embrace the next challenge with typical good grace.
Whatever happens in the future, and Henderson has been the first to talk of how the team must build on this success and seek to overhaul Manchester City in the Premier League, his name is written into Liverpool history now. Not the sort of player football is always quick to celebrate, but one who has shown many of the qualities all of us should aspire to.
[/article]
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I've always been a fan of his, and I don't like it when he gets slated by Liverpool fans. He deserves better. Thankfully he got what he deserved on Saturday night.
I love that "only" - "only the fifth man to lift the European Cup for Liverpool. "Only"!! Please note - in deference to the poster, the original Binnifications have been retained in the quote.
Lol
I was in the "Tremenderson" camp. Maybe.
[article]Jordan Henderson collapsed to his knees, exhausted and happy, before he sank to the turf completely.
"No one deserves this moment more than you," Adam Lallana ran over to tell his close friend as he lifted him to his feet, while tears fell from Jürgen Klopp's face as he embraced the 28-year-old, Liverpool's manager later saying: "Jordan Henderson is the captain of the 2019 Champions League winners. That is satisfying."
Dejan Lovren put his arm around the England international's shoulder, walking him over to the Liverpool supporters behind the goal that Divock Origi scored in to secure their sixth European Cup after a 2-0 victory over Tottenham, screaming "This is your f---ing captain, this is the f---ing man." Virgil van Dijk walked behind them, raising his hands high and pointing his fingers down at Henderson to underscore the Croatian's words.
The devotion of Liverpool's players and staff to making sure Henderson was centre stage was endearing to watch, but not surprising.
The sound of the final whistle at the Wanda Metropolitano confirmed him as a European Cup-winning captain, but on a wider scale, it felt like a full stop to the exhausting battle to prove he belongs at an elite level, let alone at Liverpool and on the biggest stage in club football. From overcoming Osgood-Schlatter disease, a growing-pains condition requiring regular treatment, to being "smaller and skinnier" than the other young hopefuls at Sunderland's academy, a place where he'd have to excel at everything just to get noticed, Henderson has been in fighter mode for two decades.
At 21, he was tagged an expensive flop after switching from Sunderland to Liverpool in 2011. A year later, he rejected being used as a makeweight in a transfer approach for Clint Dempsey, then at Fulham, to stay and force his way into Brendan Rodgers' plans. Former Premier League player Joey Barton accused him of "trying to impersonate legends" in 2015, while Alex Ferguson was critical of his gait in his autobiography.
Former Liverpool players weighed in over the years, too. Dietmar Hamann, a Reds midfielder from 1999 to 2006, said, "I think [Henderson is] a good player but whether he is a Liverpool captain, I'll leave that to other people." Stan Collymore, who played up front for Liverpool from 1995 to 1997, questioned Henderson's leadership in the past but recently acknowledged he was wrong.
A large portion of Liverpool's fan base has arguably been most unkind to the midfielder, too. Inside the club, however, Henderson is lionised, which was so emotively illustrated after the Champions League final victory in Madrid.
Simply put, he is the Reds' leader on every level.
"As a person, Hendo is one of the most fantastic [people] you can ever meet," Van Dijk, the world's most expensive defender and anchor of Liverpool's back four, told ESPN. "He has been putting the team before himself for years. What I like is that he uses everything he has experienced -- the lows, the criticism, the trouble with injuries -- to help others through similar situations.
"What he does gets overlooked because people think you wear the armband to look good in it and shout a lot and that's the job done. There is so much responsibility on the pitch and off the pitch: you have to think about everyone else before you get to yourself and Hendo is very skilled at that.
"If any young player wants to follow an example, it should be him. He is a fantastic leader who everyone respects so much at Liverpool, and I'm very happy that he is my captain."
Teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold, who seems destined to inherit the armband in the future, provided an equally strong appraisal.
"We wouldn't be where we are now without him," he told ESPN. "I'm speaking for everyone when I say massive thanks to Hendo for leading us here. The team is always his first thought: none of us do that more for Liverpool than Hendo. He shows on a daily basis that he deserves to be skipper: how he carries himself in training and around the place, the respect he has for everyone, whether it's Mo Salah or the cleaning staff.
"[Henderson] doesn't see anyone as bigger or more important than anyone else and that's a lesson to learn not just in football but life too. He is so valuable to the club and anyone at Melwood could speak for hours about just that."
Appreciation of Henderson isn't restricted to just the people at Melwood, Liverpool's training complex, either. Amid Henderson's emotional release at full-time, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, in a typically classy move, headed right for the Liverpool captain. He put both his hands on Henderson's face, looked him in the eye and told him to enjoy the moment, that he'd earned this joy.
Rodgers once labelled the midfield as "a moral compass of the group" while at the Liverpool helm, and England manager Gareth Southgate believes that description extends to the national team as well.
"To have a player like Jordan really sets the standard for what we do," he told ESPN ahead of the UEFA Nations League finals (June 5-9, live on ESPN2, ESPN). "How he prepares for training, how he prepares for matches and the way he lives his life in general -- he doesn't just do his role perfectly, he has a positive impact on others to do the same.
"You can't have too many of those players as a manager."
Southgate spotlighted Henderson's technical abilities too, which are often overlooked. "He has an incredible range of passing, he is intelligent in the way he presses the ball, which is a huge part of the way Liverpool play and he is an excellent crosser of the ball," the Three Lions manager said.
"Henderson is a responsible player: he is tactically aware when another player goes out of position, he covers across. It's more than just his personal attributes and work rate, his technical qualities are important. He was very much in the frame to be England captain heading into the World Cup, but as soon as the decision was made, he was the first to congratulate Harry Kane.
"He was immense with his leadership throughout the tournament despite not wearing the armband. He has such humility and really great qualities as a person, which makes him such a big part of what we do."
On Saturday, with the defining moment of his career to come, Henderson was still trying to ensure others were in focus. As Liverpool walked onto the podium to celebrate their first trophy under Klopp and the first with Henderson as captain, he asked the manager and James Milner to do the honours of holding "Big Ears" aloft with him. Both immediately declined as they wanted Henderson to be at the forefront alone.
While having his face reflected on the most prestigious prize in the club game was the pinnacle of the midfielder's professional career, it was a more personal scene that will resonate. After proudly lifting the Champions League trophy over his head, Henderson walked over to his father, Brian, with the pair crying into each other's arms as they tightly hugged for a minute.
Before Christmas in 2013, the former policeman was diagnosed with throat cancer, initially keeping the news from his son so it wouldn't affect his football. As surgery approached to remove lymph nodes from both sides of his neck and a tumour from his tongue, Brian broke his silence to Henderson with the instruction "try to get man of the match in every game" and told him not to visit during the intensive radiotherapy treatment.
"He got it in four of the next five he played," the cancer survivor said in 2014. "People didn't realise the pressure he was under. I was so proud of him."
After their embrace on Saturday night, Brian shared the story of taking Henderson to the 2003 Champions League final at Old Trafford between AC Milan and Juventus. Aged 12, Jordan vowed to his dad that he would compete in the competition's climax one day. Henderson has never been one to just do the bare minimum, though, so he went one better and won it instead.[/article]
Still representing the Horrenderson minority.
I haven't been horrible to him for ages. I appreciate his qualities and can also debate his weaknesses.
And even at the height of his travails, I did say that his absolute ceiling was as a regular 7/10 player, and if he did that regularly, there was always going to be a place for him, because every team needs people who can carry the piano, to paraphrase Shankly/ Paisley (whoever said it first).
And also, this isn't some late-stage redemption story, he was very good in 2013/14 too
And even at the height of his travails, I did say that his absolute ceiling was as a regular 7/10 player, and if he did that regularly, there was always going to be a place for him, because every team needs people who can carry the piano, to paraphrase Shankly/ Paisley (whoever said it first).
And also, this isn't some late-stage redemption story, he was very good in 2013/14 too
So mean
Every single Liverpool fan I know cheered when he got injured and subbed off against Munich. If he'd have stayed on the park we wouldn't have even been in Madrid.
But some kinda miracle happened when he got injured and now he's gone full beast mode. Long may it continue
It won't
But some kinda miracle happened when he got injured and now he's gone full beast mode. Long may it continue
It won't
Well, yeah, it is undeniable that for every "Beast Mode" there is always the sort of performance like the display against Spurs two months ago lurking.
It's not a miracle, it's well documented why, he was played in his natural position again, just like he was in 2013/14.
It's all in the head. It's like something that you can normally do in your sleep until someone is watching you.
*chortles*
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