For Jordan Henderson, a man shaped by his past, Champions League glory offers the promise of a bright new future

Interview: Speaking to The Independent, the Liverpool man opens up on Saturday's final in Kiev, his responsibilities as captain and proving his doubters wrong

Jordan Henderson has not allowed himself to think about what it would be like to lift the trophy this weekend (Getty)

“Hetton-le-Hole is twelve miles away,” Jordan Henderson would say, thinking after the interview about the distance separating his home in Sunderland and the birthplace of Liverpool’s most successful manager, Bob Paisley. In fact, when Paisley won his third European Cup, it was against Real Madrid and the unlikely goalscorer came from Sunderland. His name was Alan Kennedy.

It is the names in football that are remembered first but those names are often defined by the places they are associated with. Paisley’s upbringing was centred around the pit and a ball, or a pig’s bladder from the butchers where Paisley’s Uncle Alan worked.

In Up There, a book about north-east football, Michael Walker details Paisley witnessing the General Strike of 1926 and the profound impact of seeing his father rummaging through the coal tips in search for crude fuel. Hetton would leave something with him. “Character, to be modest, to be thankful for small mercies,” Paisley would later say. “…perseverance, reluctance to give in.”

Paisley’s words back then certainly apply to Liverpool’s captain now. Henderson’s own father might have worked on the docks had it not been for the decline of the ship building industry. Instead, he became a policeman and to some extent, this must explain his discipline and his determination to protect others. He sees it as his job to help.

Henderson’s career has been influenced and judged by names and places. As a teenager at Sunderland his reputation spread south quickly, not only because he was given a chance at such a young age but also because the name of the person giving him that chance was Roy Keane, one of Manchester United’s greatest captains – a leader in the same midfield position as him. Could Henderson be the next Roy Keane? The same question was asked when Henderson moved to Liverpool, only Roy Keane’s name was replaced by Steven Gerrard – whom he would succeed as captain of the club in 2015.

Henderson’s intensity had been missed when he was suspended the year before, as Liverpool zoned in on their first domestic championship in 24 years only to stutter when it mattered. His intensity was missed as well in 2016, when Liverpool’s midfield was overpowered by Sevilla in the second half of the Europa League final. An injury meant Henderson had his bum parked on the substitutes’ bench that night. Though Liverpool would knock Manchester City out of this season’s Champions League quarter final, when Henderson was suspended in the second leg his positional sense would have helped in a torturous first half where Liverpool’s players in his absence retreated almost as far as the Ashton New Road.

Jordan Henderson is looking to prove his doubters wrong by leading Liverpool to European glory (Getty)

Doubts remain about Henderson’s status as a top-level footballer. Should he become only the fifth captain in Liverpool’s history to lift the European Cup on Saturday night, surely that perception will finally shift. His importance to this Liverpool team was marked a couple of weeks ago when he fell in agony against Stoke. It is true that Liverpool were running out of midfielders and they could not afford to do without another. Yet Anfield fell silent, the crowd desperately hoping he’d be able to continue. Only the sound of wailing children could be heard in that moment. Briefly, Henderson admits to being worried. But he finished the game and then completed 90 minutes against Roma and Brighton.

In a Liverpool city centre hotel earlier this week, he spoke generously for more half an hour. It was clear he was measuring his answers. It is possible he did not want to say anything out of the ordinary – why break the routine or the focus now? His form of leadership has worked this season. He leads by example but he is also a voice on the pitch – perhaps more so than Gerrard.

He was asked about his and the team’s relationship with the fans. Perhaps it is stronger now than it has ever been since the 1980s. There are so many relatable figures and relatable back stories and ultimately, they are doing so well. In Rome, Henderson plucked a flag from the crowd and insisted his team-mates stand in front of it as a show of solidarity with Sean Cox, the Irishman struck down and left for dead outside Anfield by Roman ultras ahead of the semi-final first leg. Henderson’s thoughts trailed back.

“All the players were delighted with the result and it was a great night for us but when you hear things like that it puts things into perspective,” he said. “When you win or lose no-one dies: you win or you lose. But when you hear someone is seriously hurt or in a coma like Sean, it does hurt us as a player because at the end of the day he just wants to watch a game of football and watch us play and support us.”

“He had come to support us so for us as a team, it’s important to support him and his family in a tough time,” Henderson added. “For me, as captain, it is a responsibility you have to take on board, to get in touch with the families. I felt as though in the second leg, the players had it in the back of their minds; that someone had come to support us and was seriously ill in hospital. We could use that to help us go perform for him and his family.”

Henderson says he began to understand the importance of leadership under Kevin Ball as a youth player at Sunderland. The experiences of playing for two former Manchester United captains in Keane and Steve Bruce were also crucial. Yet his eyes glow whenever he mentions Jürgen Klopp. Though Henderson is the captain, he believes Liverpool’s progress has been made possible because of the manager’s guidance, someone who inspires hope when others around him are desperate.

Henderson took over the Liverpool captaincy from Steven Gerrard in 2015 (Getty)

In many ways, Liverpool’s road to Kiev began in a Basel Novotel two years ago in the aftermath of that demoralising defeat to Sevilla. It was in the early hours of the morning when Klopp, in the hotel bar, stood in front of the team and announced: “I felt really, really sh*t three hours ago. It was really sh*t two hours ago…but now we are back here together and it is better. This is just the start for us.”

Henderson recalled the mood before Klopp’s intervention as “the worst feeling ever,” before the German “reminded the players that he was still proud that we got to the final, reminding us of how much we’d improved since we came in.”

“He had this sort of vision that make me think in the future we’d get to another final,” Henderson remembered. “He was confident and he wanted to use the experience of that final to keep us together and use it as a positive.

“…he looked at the bigger picture and the future and he felt as though it could be a big moment in our careers, really – to learn from the experience. If we got to another final, we’d be ready.”

To some extent, Liverpool’s journey to Kiev began in a Basel Novotel in 2016 (Getty)

Real Madrid will be waiting in that final – a club whose confidence has skyrocketed if you believe Spanish press reports about the identification of weaknesses in this Liverpool team. As captain, Henderson’s view of the opponent was delivered rather more graciously. So much impresses him about Real Madrid, but that does not mean he is overawed by the prospect of the possibilities.

“They know how to win,” he said. “They are a team of winners, individually they have world class players all over the pitch. They find a way to win and that’s what the best teams do. That’s what we have to do at the weekend, just keep doing what we have been doing through the campaign – we’ve been brilliant. And on the day, be brave and play like we know we can and if we do that we can hurt them.”

Henderson has not allowed himself to think about what it would be like to lift the trophy. At 27, it would only be the second of his career and a fear drives him that a League Cup against Cardiff City in 2012 when he was just 21 might be his last. He does not think he has answered his critics.

“Definitely not,” he admitted. “We haven’t won anything yet. We have got to the final and we’ve done extremely well to get there but you are remembered for winning trophies. Everything that happened before, you can use as a learning experience and hopefully on Saturday we’ll use it in the right way. If we do that we have a chance.”