Over the years, our club has seen a large quantity of players come and go, almost treating the team as a pit-stop. Today we will be exploring the brief handful of Mackems who were born in Sunderland and have successfully progressed their careers forward ever since leaving the North East.
JORDAN PICKFORD
Born in Washington, Jordan lived every Mackem’s dream at the age of 8 when he joined the Academy of Light. A boyhood Sunderland fan, it was obvious the keeper was passionate about his team when he signed his first professional contract in 2011, and then an extension the year later!
Jordan spent time away from the club on multiple loan spells in order to gain experience, later returning during the 2015-2016 season making his first appearance for the first team against Arsenal in a 3-1 FA Cup defeat.
When we were relegated in 2017, Pickford’s Sunderland career came to an end. He was our only shining light in that doomed Moyes season - Everton saw the talent and ability in the keeper and spent a reported thirty million pounds on the shot-stopper, making him the third most expensive goalkeeper in history at the time.
Since his transfer, he’s went on to demonstrate professionalism and class only comparable to the likes of Jimmy Montgomery. He often gets disrespected but without him, Everton would have probably been relegated last year. His international career reflects the hard work that’s been done in order for Pickford to be where he is, making over 50 appearances for the Three Lions and never letting Gareth Southgate down on the big stage.
GIOVANNI REYNA
Next on our list is a player regarded as “one of the most exciting young players in the world”. His performances and potential has attracted mass media coverage, with the 20-year-old touted to be part of Borussia Dortmund’s next generation of superstars.
Born in Sunderland to American parents, Giovanni spent the first five years of his life on Wearside before moving to the States – which is why he counts as a Mackem on this list, despite playing for the USA national team. His father Claudio played for the lads just short of thirty times during his two-year stint at the club. Both his mother and father represented the USA national soccer teams, showing that the prodigy had it written out for him before he was even born!
“The American Dream” was a name given to him by Premier League striker Erling Haaland during his time in Germany, understandably because of his technical ability on the ball and the playmaking prowess he plays with.
While still not massively decorated in career success (a dispute with USA manager Gregg Berhalter has limited his international appearances recently), he remains one of the most exciting prodigies (along with Jobe) today. Hopefully in the years to come, Reyna will be able to display his talents on a larger scale and continue to carry the Mackem spirit along within him.
JORDAN HENDERSON
Finally, we go on to the last player of this mini-list who has gone on to do great things during their career since leaving SAFC. This choice will come as a surprise to few people, as Jordan is regarded as one of, if not the most successful players to have been born in Sunderland.
Joining the lads at the age of eight, he developed in the academy for a decade before making his debut for the Black Cats. Signing his first professional contract in the summer of 2008, Henderson made his debut in a 5-0 smashing away from home against Chelsea.
After a failed loan move to Coventry, Jordan returned to the club and broke into the first team; Winning the 2009-2010 Sunderland Young Player of the Year award. 38 appearances were given to the player due to the absence of midfielder lee Cattermole, with Jordan mainly playing on the right side of midfield during this time.
During the 2010-2011 season, Henderson continued his brilliant form, winning the YPOTY Award for a second season running. As well as this, FIFA recognised him as one of the 13 young players to watch in 2011. It’s safe to say that Liverpool took notice of this, as in the summer of 2011 Jordan joined the reds for an undisclosed fee, reportedly between sixteen and twenty million pounds! Many Sunderland fans were actually pleased with receiving this price – similar to Dan Neil, Henderson was derided by many match-going supporters despite actually being a very talented young man. Of course looking back, that fee was an absolute bargain.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, I’ll list Jordan’s many achievements. Being made captain after Gerrard’s departure in 2015, Henderson devoted the large majority of his career to helping the Scousers pursue European glory. This came reality for Henderson, as reflected by this list you can understand the importance of his achievements: 2023 English Super Cup Winner, 2x English League Cup Winner, 2022 FA Cup Winner, UEFA Super cup Winner, Premier League Winner, FIFA Club World Cup Winner, Champions League Winner, Liverpool Player of the Year and Liverpool Footballer of the Year. Take a bow Jordan Henderson.
Due to his charity work for "services to Football and to Charity particularly during the Covid-19 Pandemic" Henderson was awarded an MBE during the 2021 Birthday Honours. Truly Inspiring. Admittedly, his move to Saudi Arabia has changed many people’s opinion on the midfielder, his charity work and morals. It’s really hard to defend this, particularly due to his work with LGBT campaigns. And selfishly, it would have been amazing to see such a fruitful and successful career end back where it all began, in Sunderland.
Local lads are an inspiration to youngsters in this city and we’ve had so many successful footballers from the North East. Sunderland has always been a footballing city, and will continue to be for years to come. Who knows what we’ll see in the next few years. I’m sure we could update this in the future with the likes of Dan Neil and Chris Rigg, to name a few.
