After the departure of Liverpool’s former skipper, Steven Gerrard, the Reds’ armband has now been handed to the 25-year-old English international, Jordan Henderson.
Since Henderson signed for Liverpool in 2011, he has made 186 formal appearances at the end of last season for the Reds. On July 10th , 2015, Liverpool FC announced the captaincy of Henderson, who has replaced Gerrard to lead the team in season 2015/16.
“I’m absolutely delighted and proud,” Henderson said. “It’s a great privilege to be named as the captain of this football club.”
Henderson signed his first professional contract with Sunderland in 2008, made his debut as a substitute for “The Black Cats” on November 1st against Chelsea. In 2009, He joined the Championship side, Coventry City, which he had 10 games and a goal during his loan spell.
Following by season 2010/11, Henderson broke into the first team and became a regular XI. He was named the Sunderland’s Young Player of the Year in April, 2011, two months before Liverpool came knocking and secured his signature to join the Reds.
In Henderson’s Liverpool interview, he impressed his gratitude to the Reds. “I’m over the moon, overjoyed to be here and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “Obviously it’s hard to leave your local club,” “I’m a Sunderland lad, I have supported them all my life.”
Henderson’s first season in Merseyside was often used as an outside midfielder, managed two goals and an assist in 37 appearances, which did not meet the season objectives that the club had for him. The Reds’ former director of football strategy, Damien Comolli, believed that Henderson was the reason that he lost his job.
“Jordan Henderson signing cost my job at Liverpool FC,” Comolli said. “I was never told why I was sacked, but I was led to believe it was because we signed Jordan Henderson, and the owners were convinced he was not good enough.”
Despite of being told that he could leave the club, Henderson stayed in Merseyside instead of heading to Fulham in the summer of 2012. According to The Telegraph, Henderson explained his reason of staying at Liverpool.
“I just wanted to focus on playing for Liverpool, work hard and get myself into the team,” Henderson said. “I want to stay at Liverpool for as long as I can.”
In season 2012/13, Henderson involved per goal in a ratio of 142 minutes, which is the second highest behind his teammate, Philippe Coutinho, with 113 minutes per goal involvement.
In season 2013/14, Henderson featured 40 games in total for the Reds, managed five goals and seven assists. He was suspended for three games in the closing stage of Premier League due to the red card against Manchester City. The Reds ended the season as the runner-up in Premier League.
In September, 2014, the former captain, Steven Gerrard, rated highly on the Sunderland-born. “Jordan epitomizes everything a captain is,” “he leads by example, never gives up and works just as hard without the ball as with it,” he said.
Henderson is now entering his fifth season at Merseyside. A journey from Tyne and Wear to Anfield, the 25-year-old English international is heading to a new height in his career, and it’s far yet from closing to an end.
“He will be his own person, with his own style of leadership and his own ideas and methods,” Brendan Rodgers said.
