Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has claimed that every England player loves having Harry Kane as their captain.
Kane’s captaincy for his country has often been questioned, with Henderson himself perhaps seen as a more natural leader. Nevertheless, the Tottenham Hotspur striker’s quality has never been in doubt. Last night he bagged a penalty to break England’s all-time scoring record.
Offering his reaction to Kane’s record-breaking spot-kick against Italy, Henderson told englandfootball.com that the 29-year-old is universally popular within the England squad.
“Harry is a very different leader to me but the good thing he does is that he leads by example,” said the Reds skipper. “On the pitch, his record and his goals speak for themselves and I’m sure if you ask any of the lads, they will tell you he has been a really good captain for this team.
“I can’t speak highly enough about him. He is a fantastic player and a huge player we will need if we want to be successful in the future. Hopefully he can stay fit and keep scoring his goals.”
Henderson still England’s real leader
Henderson can say what he likes, the fact that Kane still holds the England captaincy over him is faintly ridiculous.
As Hendo mentions, the Spurs man is a phenomenal goal-scorer. Although it felt rather fitting that he should break Wayne Rooney’s record with a penalty, he’s supreme in-front of goal. One of the best this country – and the Premier League in general – have ever seen.
But as a leader? Henderson should take the cake every single day of the week. Kane doesn’t even hold the captaincy at his own club.
Granted, he loses out to World Cup-winning skipper Hugo Lloris there. But Henderson has lead Liverpool to some of the game’s biggest prizes too.
You won’t hear the 32-year-old complaining about it, he’s as model-a professional as they come. It must have hurt him a little to be overlooked by a player three years younger than him and with no winning experience, though.
If it did, Hendo has disguised it very well over the last five years. The one thing going in Kane’s favour is that he’s clearly a regular and an important player in the team. Soon to be thirty-three, the Liverpool man perhaps won’t add too many more caps to the 74 he already has. Still, if Hendo’s in the team, you’ve got to give him that armband.