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What's the story?
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that Jordan Henderson has done the most difficult job in the last 500 years of football by replacing Steven Gerrard as the club captain.
In case you didn't know...
Jordan Henderson replaced Steven Gerrard as the club captain when the former English international made the journey across the Atlantic to join MLS side LA Galaxy in 2015.
The former Sunderland midfielder has done a decent job as skipper of the Reds thus far and has led the team on more than 120 occasions in all competitions. The 28-year-old has guided the Merseysiders to one Champions League final and one Europa League final under his leadership.
However, injuries have prevented him from playing regularly in the last few seasons, and he has started in just 16 league games this season. Nevertheless, he is an important part of Jurgen Klopp's side and he always gives his best whenever called upon.
The heart of the matter
Speaking to journalists (as quoted by Goal) after Liverpool's 3-1 win against Southampton, Jurgen Klopp praised Jordan Henderson for his fantastic character.
He said:
“That goal meant so much to him and to us.
“He's just a fantastic boy. He deserves all the praise but he doesn't get too much of it.
“Hendo, from my point of view, is a brilliant player. He's our skipper, he's a fantastic character. If I had to write a book about Hendo, it would be 500 pages.”
“I'm very positive. The most difficult job in the last 500 years of football was to replace Steven Gerrard. In the mind of the people it was like ‘if it's not Stevie, then it's not good enough’.
"And he has dealt with that outstandingly well so he can be really proud. Now we have to think of the future and he is a very important part of our team.
The German manager also praised Henderson's versatility.
“When I came in and thought first about the team, Hendo was a box-to-box player. We made him a No.6 and that's good.
“I think it's helped him a lot to play in different positions. I told him already that that doesn't mean he will never play as a six again. He thinks it makes sense, and that's absolutely true. We play different systems. Milly [James Milner] and Hendo were both really pumped up. It helped us a lot.”
What's next?
Liverpool will play FC Porto in the Champions League next before hosting Chelsea at Anfield in the league on April 14.
