Jordan Henderson will never forget the moment he lifted the Champions League as Liverpool captain on Saturday night.
Henderson has spoken out about the amazing moments that he'll cherish for the rest of his life after the Reds took home the silverware, and were greeted by a city of adorning fans on their return to Merseyside.
As well as lifting the trophy, Henderson was inspired by the army of Liverpool fans that took over Madrid over the course of the weekend and was moved to tears while embracing his father at full-time.
Henderson described his emotions to the Liverpool Echo:
“My dream as a kid was to win trophies. My best friend sent us a picture this morning of me kissing a trophy when I was about 10 so that gave me even more motivation.
“It’s obviously emotional. We have come a long way as a team and we have had so many knock-backs. To finally get over the line, it's so special.
“We have come back from so many disappointments and finally won a big trophy. Hopefully we can use this to win more in the future.
“It gives us confidence to know we can win the Champions League and together we can move forward and hopefully win more trophies as well.”
Henderson tearfully embraced his Dad, who overcame throat cancer after battling the disease since 2013,
“My dad has been through a lot over the past few years, not only with himself but with his family,” he continued.
He’s just won the @ChampionsLeague but @VirgilvDijk is the most chill guy going.#UCLFINAL #TOTLIV #VVD pic.twitter.com/RAxBedOcDB
— 90min (@90min_Football) June 2, 2019
“I am sure he will be so proud to see us win the game and win the Champions League. It will mean the world to him. I am just glad I can put a smile on his face.”
Henderson also spoke about the importance of seeing the level of support for his side in the Spanish capital in the run-up to the final and claimed it was a driving force for Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.
“We got sent those videos! The fans have been incredible ever since I have come to the club, but this past couple of years they have travelled everywhere with us in Europe,” Henderson said.
“It costs them a lot of money and tonight makes it all worth it. I am so proud of this team.
“I am also happy we can give something, they give everything, and so have we, and thankfully we did it. I am so happy we can take the trophy back for them.”
Henderson showed his true leadership with a rousing speech delivered to his teammates a few days before they headed to Spain in which he talked about the growth they've had as a team after so many agonising near misses in recent years.
“I think we would have regretted it if we didn’t have it with the experiences we’d had,” Henderson said.
“I thought it was important to speak as a group before a final, it was an important conversation as a group. A few of us said a few things and hopefully it helped. It was about what we could experience in the game and how we could deal with those different situations and obviously use the experiences we have had.”
Henderson has decided he won't stop at adding a Champions League medal to his collection as he wishes to achieve a whole lot more in his career going forward.
He said: "There is still a long way to go. I am 28, I want to achieve a lot.
"I want to keep improving as a player, I want the team to keep improving, I want to win more, that is all my focus is on now.
"We hope this can give us a lot of confidence. The big trophies, the big nights. I want to enjoy this moment but also when we come back in pre-season, we will be focused on looking to the future."
It has no doubt been a memorable few days for Henderson and he still remains a highly ambitious individual and with plenty of playing time left on his career he could go on to achieve plenty more after this Champions League victory.
Source : 90min