Henderson joined our academy at 8 years old and went on to make just shy of 80 appearances for the Lads and on this day in 2008 he put the red and white shirt on for the first time professionally, in a 5-0 loss to Chelsea, before moving on to Liverpool, where he played for over a decade and quite literally completed club football.
Jordan is a Sunderland fan through and through. A famous early MySpace (or was it Bebo?) post, an almost ancient seeming relic from a different era of the internet, details that he was happiest when he was playing for Sunderland, that his dream was to win the F.A. Cup with Sunderland before he was 30 and told of his desperation to get into the side for ‘the scum game’. Jordan would obviously go on to win the F.A. Cup, albeit with Liverpool, amongst many other trophies. Hopefully, he can win a cup with Sunderland before he’s 35. There’s still time.
He made his debut under Roy Keane but developed into a key player under Steve Bruce. He had a pretty brutal introduction to Premier League football, coming on at half time in a 5-0 pasting against Chelsea. He was likely the only player to come away with any sort of buzz after a miserable game, having made his debut for his boyhood side. Keane soon departed, replaced by caretaker Ricky Sbragia and Henderson, who had found himself around the fringes of the matchday squad, was loaned out to Coventry City.
He scored his first senior goal on loan and returned to Sunderland a better player. He was quickly integrated into an excellent Steve Bruce side, playing on the right midfield. I remember watching him go down the right with great excitement, anticipating him beating his man by putting the ball through their legs and crossing, something which probably happened only twice in reality but got me out of my seat nonetheless. Jordan was talented and everyone recognised it.
Eventually he would transition into a central midfielder. He played there in Lee Cattermole’s absence for us and did very well. Strong performances from such a young player, combined with back to back young player of the season awards, meant that Henderson was always going to attract interest from bigger teams. Henderson eventually joined Liverpool for a rumoured £16 million, a big fee and a huge gamble by Kenny Dalglish and one which, initially, looked to have failed.
A year after joining, Henderson was very nearly shown the door. The midfielder was allowed to join Fulham in 2012, but Henderson rejected to opportunity and decided to prove his worth to manager Brendan Rodgers. After Steven Gerrard left in 2015, Henderson became the club captain and the rest, as they say, is history.
Henderson has lifted a Premier League title, an FA Cup, 2 League Cups, a Champions League (captaining the side in three finals), a UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup as well as being an instrumental figure in the national team. Henderson has his detractors, but his professionalism and engine is crucial to the way that both Liverpool and England play. He is a born leader and a serial winner.
Of course, his reputation has been damaged by a move to Saudi Arabia. His ties to the LGBT community have been totally cut off, and many people believe he has thrown away his morals to chase the Saudi money. It's a very nuanced topic and there's certainly a whole article to be written, discussing Jordan's choices.
Regardless, those of us watching Soccer AM in 2008 seeing Henderson take on Nathan Luscombe in the ‘Skill Skool’ and balance the ball on the back of his neck, could never have imagined his future trophy haul.
