Jordan Henderson Reveals Inspiration Behind Famous 'Shuffle' Trophy Lift

Jordan Henderson has revealed the dressing-room story behind his famous Champions League 'little shuffle' trophy lift from Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the final in Madrid last year.

The Reds' skipper became the fifth captain to lift the famous 'big eared' trophy aloft for the club, following in the footsteps of the likes of Steven Gerrard and Graeme Souness.

Henderson delighted fans by leading into the lifting of the cup with a prolonged shuffle on the spot - a move that has since been repeated for the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup wins.

Speaking to the Liverpool club website, the midfielder revealed that the motivation behind the unique build-up to lifting the ultimate European prize originated from the dressing room antics of teammate Andy Robertson.

“Actually I didn’t really plan on doing that, to be honest,” Henderson said when asked about the shuffle.

“It was a little bit of banter in the changing rooms prior. Robbo [Andy Robertson] was messing about, he’d always do the shuffle pretending to lift the trophy and stuff like that.

"So, when the time came I felt as though I just wanted to sort of do it together and use that sort of banter that we’d had previously in terms of the little shuffle and stuff.

“I just wanted to be able to see the lads’ faces just before I lifted it as well. That was really special for me, to be able to see the lads rather than just have my back to them. So, yeah, it was a little bit off the cuff, to be honest. After we did that [for] the Champions League the lads made sure I kept on doing it for the Super Cup and Club World Cup.”

Henderson went on to add that he has been touched by the enduring popularity of the move.

He added: “A lot of people enjoyed it, especially young kids and stuff. I had a lot of videos of kids doing it, doing the shuffle and stuff, so that was really nice.

“You don’t plan to do that when you are lifting the Champions League. You just want to go up and lift it, but it was just something that I felt was right because, like I say, the things that Robbo was doing previously and I just wanted to be able to see the lads before I lifted it. That was a special moment as well.”

Henderson also went on to reminisce about the closing moments of the historic night at the Estadio Metropolitano, where goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi secured the win over Spurs.

He said: “It was just the most special moment to hear that final whistle go, to know that all of the hard work and everything that we have done together in the past however many years, we actually got over the line and managed to win one of the greatest trophies ever, so it was everything I dreamt of and more really.

“Just everything that goes in with sport, the competitiveness and everything, it’s just a different feeling to when you have kids or anything else like that. It is so unique and it was an amazing feeling I hope I’ll never forget.”

Source : 90min