Revamped Jordan Henderson Holds up Extremely Well in Liverpool’s Midfield

Liverpool's Jordan Henderson. (Getty Images)
Liverpool's Jordan Henderson. (Getty Images)
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Revamped Jordan Henderson Holds up Extremely Well in Liverpool’s Midfield

Liverpool's Jordan Henderson. (Getty Images)
Liverpool's Jordan Henderson. (Getty Images)

In November 2010, Fabio Capello gave Jordan Henderson his England debut in a friendly against France, operating alongside Gareth Barry at the back of midfield in a 4-2-3-1. In the second half, after Barry had been replaced by Adam Johnson, Steven Gerrard dropped in alongside him. It did not go well. Henderson didn’t start another game for England until a friendly against Denmark in March 2014.

But then why would it have gone well? Henderson was not a holding midfielder, even before you begin to consider the nightmarish difficulty of trying to play as a holding midfielder alongside Gerrard. Not for the first time people at Sunderland wondered whether Capello ever bothered to watch them play. One of the reasons Darren Bent left, two months after Henderson’s international debut, was that he felt his chances of England recognition would be greater if he played somewhere, anywhere, else.

How could anybody who had watched Henderson regularly, anybody who had seen his energy and stamina and desire, his ability to cross a ball with his right foot, think he was best deployed sitting in front of the back four? He had played on the right for Sunderland as he emerged from the youth system before Steve Bruce had moved him into the center, but it had always been somewhere where he could run. He was like a setter: if he wasn’t running, running anywhere, lolloping about with ears flapping just for the sheer joy of it, he wasn’t happy.

It was an issue that followed Henderson to Liverpool even after he had overcome Brendan Rodgers’s initial intention to sell him. Even after Jürgen Klopp had taken over Henderson always seemed the misfit, the one most likely to be replaced. He just didn’t seem to have the tactical discipline to operate as the deepest of the midfield three. His – and Liverpool’s – real breakthrough last season came after Fabinho had taken that deep-lying midfielder role and Henderson had been shifted to a freer role on the right of the triangle. Hendo Unchained turned successive games against Southampton, Porto and Chelsea in November.

The narrative had him returning to his rightful position to discover his destiny, leading to the emotional celebrations with his father after lifting the Champions League and the development of his trademark trophy lift – and who from Sunderland has ever needed one of those before? (The narrative may also note Liverpool’s indebtedness to a small area to the south of Sunderland: Henderson grew up in Herrington, a couple of miles east of Penshaw, home of Alan Kennedy, the left-back who scored decisive strikes in two European Cup finals for them. Bob Paisley, who won six league titles and three European Cups as Liverpool manager to go with the championship he won as a left-half, came from Hetton-le-Hole, about four miles to the south.)

But what happens after the grand finale? Madrid in June could easily have been Henderson’s finest hour. What else did he have to prove? Realistically, nothing. There was a league to win after 30 years, and Liverpool surely now will do that, but that was a collective ambition. Henderson himself had done everything that had been hoped for him and more. The ugly duckling, a player whose curious gait had led to him being written off by Alex Ferguson, had become a swan.

Except there was a niggle. He wanted to be a swan – an ungainly swan, it’s true, one whose paddling is very definitely visible above the water – who could play as a holding midfielder. Fabinho’s injury in November was one of those moments that could have derailed the season. Henderson stepped in. His greatest quality, perhaps, has always been his willingness to learn. Those who saw his uncertain first game in central midfield for Sunderland, away at Birmingham, doubted he would ever make it in the middle; within a matter of weeks he was undroppable.

In four league games with the 29-year-old at the back of midfield over the past month Liverpool have conceded one goal. Three of their five league clean sheets this season have come in that spell. He played as the holder as Liverpool beat Flamengo in the Club World Cup final.

Against Leicester, although it was Trent Alexander-Arnold who stood out with his goal and a part in the other three goals, Henderson was just as vital to the win. There was all the familiar energy, three tackles and an interception.

But what was notable about Liverpool was the way, after that frenetic opening 10 minutes or so when both sides looked vulnerable on the counter, that they took control of the game, pressing high and holding possession. Nobody who started the game finished with a higher pass completion rate than Henderson’s 93.4%, a stat that includes a remarkable 10 accurate long balls out of 11 attempted. He is not Xavi or Andrea Pirlo, and never will be, but at the King Power Stadium he had more in common with them than might ever have been expected.

Capello got it wrong nine years ago but Henderson is becoming the player he wanted him to be. Other midfielders have proved unable to change but Henderson is always developing, always improving.

The Guardian Sport



Euro 2024: Belgium Face Slovakia to Open Group E in Clash of Italian Coaches

 Belgium's midfielder #07 Kevin De Bruyne takes part in a MD-1 training session during the UEFA Euro 2024 football Championship, at the team base camp in Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart, on June 16, 2024, on the eve of their first group match against Slovakia. (AFP)
Belgium's midfielder #07 Kevin De Bruyne takes part in a MD-1 training session during the UEFA Euro 2024 football Championship, at the team base camp in Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart, on June 16, 2024, on the eve of their first group match against Slovakia. (AFP)
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Euro 2024: Belgium Face Slovakia to Open Group E in Clash of Italian Coaches

 Belgium's midfielder #07 Kevin De Bruyne takes part in a MD-1 training session during the UEFA Euro 2024 football Championship, at the team base camp in Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart, on June 16, 2024, on the eve of their first group match against Slovakia. (AFP)
Belgium's midfielder #07 Kevin De Bruyne takes part in a MD-1 training session during the UEFA Euro 2024 football Championship, at the team base camp in Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart, on June 16, 2024, on the eve of their first group match against Slovakia. (AFP)

Belgium and Kevin De Bruyne face Slovakia to start their European Championship program on Monday in Group E. Also in the group are Romania and Ukraine. Kickoff in Frankfurt is at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT). Here’s what to know about the match.

Match facts:

— There is a strong Italian influence on the game. Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona is Italian, and was the interim coach since February at Napoli where he had been an assistant to Mauricio Sarri. Belgium’s 38-year-old coach Domenico Tedesco was born in Italy though is a citizen of Germany having grown up there.

— Slovakia is at its third straight Euro as an independent nation, all since the tournament was expanded to 24 teams. Slovakia reached the round of 16 in 2016 losing 3-0 to Germany. As half of the former Czechoslovakia it won the 1976 title.

— Belgium was the beaten finalist in 1980, losing to West Germany.

— The teams never met in a competitive game and last played a friendly against each other 11 years ago. A Belgium team featuring a 21-year-old De Bruyne beat Slovakia 2-1 in Brugge.

Team news:

— Belgium left arguably the world’s best goalkeeper at home. That’s despite Thibaut Courtois proving his fitness helping Real Madrid win the Champions League final. Courtois has been in dispute with Tedesco reportedly after not getting the captaincy for a game last year.

— Belgium has injuries in defense with doubts over Axel Witsel. Veteran Jan Vertonghen and Arthur Theate are both expected to be unavailable. Zeno Debast, just 20, and Maxim De Cuyper could get their chance.

— Slovakia’s lineup could include Peter Pekarík and Juraj Kucka. At age 37 they are Slovakia’s oldest ever players. They also are the last remaining members of the 2010 World Cup squad that beat and eliminated defending champion Italy in the group stage.

By the numbers:

— Belgium is still ranked No. 3 by FIFA despite not advancing out of its group at the 2022 World Cup. Belgium has a seven-year run in the top five, including atop the ranking from 2018 through 2021. Slovakia is No. 48.

— Romelu Lukaku’s record 85 goals for Belgium, aged just 31, is more than the top three Slovakia scorers combined since it became an independent soccer nation in 1994. Marek Hamsik, who retired last year and is now an assistant coach, leads with 26.

— Belgium captain De Bruyne made his 100th appearance for the Red Devils last week, scoring in a 2-0 warmup win against Montenegro.

— Slovakia gave up the fastest goal in the history of men's international soccer in March. It took just six seconds for Austria's Christoph Baumgartner to dribble the ball direct from the center spot and shoot past goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.

What they’re saying:

— “Belgium has a lot of fantastic individuals. Take De Bruyne, (Jérémy) Doku, Lukaku, (Leandro) Trossard, all of them are huge players. Belgium has two or three top players playing in top clubs in each position.” — Slovakia midfielder Stanislav Lobotka

— “Since the 2022 World Cup, he has had to build a completely new team with a lot of younger players, so everything had to be adjusted to his philosophy of playing.” — Kevin De Bruyne on coach Domenico Tedesco