Kieran Trippier hails Jordan Henderson as ‘unbelievable character’ and ‘leader’

By Sports Desk October 14, 2023

Kieran Trippier praised Jordan Henderson’s influence on and off the pitch after England’s vice-captain was booed by sections of the Wembley crowd.

Friday’s friendly against Australia saw the 33-year-old line-up on home soil for the first time since his controversial summer switch from Liverpool to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq.

Henderson has been a high-profile supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and last month apologised for any hurt he caused by moving to a country where homosexuality is illegal.

The stand-in skipper’s name was met by murmurs before kick-off and the midfielder ended up being booed when substituted, with boss Gareth Southgate left angry by a reaction he felt “defies logic”.

Long-standing international team-mate Trippier, who replaced Henderson, said: “I’m going to be honest I didn’t even notice it. I was obviously focused on coming on.

“But, listen, Hendo has how many caps? 80 odd caps I think it is that he’s represented England. For me, I see him on daily basis, he is an unbelievable character, he’s a leader. What he does for the team, playing or not playing.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t even recognise the reception because obviously I’m focused on my job to help the team cross the line and win.

“But for me all I can say on Hendo is he’s a great leader, an unbelievable person to have in the dressing room and I think 80 caps plus speaks for himself.

“On and off the pitch he’s a winner, the way he demands in training, the way he demands in games, in the dressing room before the games. He makes sure everyone trains properly, he sets standards and even myself at 33, when I look at him I follow it.

“That’s what you need. Hendo has got everything, he’s a great captain. So, to be honest, don’t think I need to say much about Hendo’s leadership.”

Pockets of England fans jeering their own is nothing new, with oft-criticised Harry Maguire booed by some supporters in their last Wembley friendly against Ivory Coast 18 months ago.

“For us, as players, we stick together,” Trippier said. “That’s the most important thing.

“We know how important Harry is, Hendo, or whoever it may be. The most important thing is us as a team, the staff, Gareth, everybody involved, we stick together. Internally, no problems. Everyone is calm and relaxed.

“It’s shown how much character players like Harry has got, another leader, doesn’t let anything faze him and he gets on with it. Whenever he plays, he plays with a smile on his face and he’s an unbelievable person. That’s the most important thing.”

England’s close-knit squad have bonded thanks to shared experiences, both good and bad, and can secure their place in a fourth major tournament under Southgate in Tuesday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy.

The group’s experienced core is complemented by up-and-coming stars, with none shining brighter than Jude Bellingham right now.

The 20-year-old has scored 10 goals in 10 appearances for Real Madrid having slotted seamlessly into life in the Spanish capital, where Trippier won the LaLiga title at rivals Atletico.

“At such a young age, with the maturity, the quality and the aggression he’s got, he’s frightening,” the Newcastle right-back said.

“If you play well there in Madrid, the fans will love you. It’s no surprise to me how he’s started there because Jude is frightening.

“Jude did unbelievable at Dortmund. He’s taken that experience with him. You see he’s playing with a freedom and the players around him are going to make his standards get even better. The most scary thing is he’s only 20 year old.”

Asked if he can be the difference between falling short and going all the way, Trippier said: “He can be the difference but if you look throughout the whole team, from 2018 to now we’ve taken massive steps.

“We lost in the Euros final, but the most important thing is we’re progressing, we’re doing very well. We’ve got players who can change games, we’ve got goals from all over the pitch.

“Jude, Madders (James Maddison), obviously Bukayo (Saka), Phil (Foden), they can change games in certain moments. They’re still young. Representing England is a big thing but these guys are playing at the top level.”

Related items

  • Struggling Roma edge Torino as Lazio put five past Como Struggling Roma edge Torino as Lazio put five past Como

    Roma’s embattled manager Ivan Juric found a small reprieve as his side scraped past Torino 1-0 for their first win in four Serie A matches.

    Paulo Dybala scored the winning goal in the 20th minute, pouncing on a poor backpass from Karol Linetty and rounding Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic before applying the finish.

    The result meant that Roma climbed up to 10th place, with 13 points from 10 matches and relieved some pressure off Juric, who is under the microscope only a month and a half into his tenure in Rome. 

    Torino, meanwhile, are now only one point ahead of the Giallorossi after their fourth defeat from five outings. 

    Elsewhere in Italy, fifth-placed Lazio posted a commanding 5-1 win over 15th-placed Como in a game that saw both sides finish with 10 men. 

  • LaLiga clubs pledge to help raise money for victims of Spain's flash floods LaLiga clubs pledge to help raise money for victims of Spain's flash floods

    LaLiga and its clubs will help raise funds for the Red Cross to support those affected by the flash floods which have killed at least 158 people in Spain.

    The league aim to raise the money by publicising a campaign during match broadcasts this weekend and through their social media accounts.

    After the Spanish FA postponed seven midweek Cup ties and all games scheduled for Valencia's eastern region this weekend, it asked competition organisers to observe a minute's silence before matches that will be played as a tribute to the victims.

    "Spain's professional football joins the condolences and expresses its solidarity with the families of the victims and the missing," LaLiga said in a statement on Thursday.

    Real Madrid announced they would also collaborate with the Red Cross and donate one million euros ($1.09 million).

    "The Real Madrid Foundation and the Red Cross have today launched a fundraising campaign to support those affected by the storm and the club have decided to support this campaign with a donation of one million euros to help the many families who are in a critical situation and need all our help and solidarity," the Spanish champions said in a statement.

    Six postponed Copa del Rey games have been rescheduled for next week, leaving Real Sociedad's match against Jove Espanyol in Alicante as the only tie without a new fixture date.

    LaLiga asked the 10 affected clubs in the top two divisions to submit a proposal for new dates before next Tuesday.

    Saturday's LaLiga match between Valencia and visitors Real Madrid plus Villarreal's clash with Rayo Vallecano are among the games postponed, as Valencia made the Mestalla stadium available as a drop-off point for donations of food and essential items.

  • Vanney aims to wrap up playoff tie after LA Galaxy's 'best performance' against Rapids Vanney aims to wrap up playoff tie after LA Galaxy's 'best performance' against Rapids

    Greg Vanney will hope for a repeat of LA Galaxy's five-star victory in game one that represented “one of their best" performances to wrap up his MLS playoff clash with Colorado Rapids in two games.

    Vanney’s tactical masterplan saw Galaxy triumph 5-0 at home as they restricted Colorado to just one shot and an expected goals (xG) total of 0.03 while accumulating 2.46 xG themselves.

    The LA Galaxy boss made his name at Toronto FC, where he won the MLS Cup as well as three Eastern Conference playoff titles. When he resigned in 2020, it was Colorado’s Chris Armas who took up the mantle but did not fare as well.

    Early indications of their meeting in the playoffs suggest Vanney is proving his knack for success remains and is winning the battle of the ex-Toronto bosses.

    “I thought it was a very clean performance, and probably one of the best. I can't remember all 34 at this point, 35 now, but it was definitely one of the best ones, I think, and at a good time,” Vanney reflected on the performance post-match.

    LA Galaxy had emerged victorious in both prior meetings this season, but neither time had they managed to keep a clean sheet. Yet in game one, Armas’ side struggled to even penetrate their box with just 10 touches inside it all game.

    “[Vanney] has been great, and he has a lot of experience. This week was everything. In the playoffs, we need to set the tone and set the intensity. He did that right from, not just this week, but of course [because of] playoffs, training was intense,” said goalscorer John Nelson.

    “Defensively, we needed to do that, and that's what he talked about the whole week. Like you saw tonight, we were relentless. We were fouling. We weren't giving them anything.

    “So the whole week’s focus was to counter-press defensively, and we know we're going to score goals. We showed that tonight.”

    Armas will need to find a way to beat his Toronto predecessor in a must-win game for his side at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, owing to the best-of-three playoff format.

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Colorado Rapids – Djordje Mihailovic

    If the Rapids are to take the match back to LA Galaxy for a decider, they will need goals and Mihailovic will be crucial. He boasts the second-most goals scored for Colorado (11) in the MLS, only four behind top scorer Rafael Navarro.

    He is also their top assister (10), meaning he has the most goal contributions on the squad (21). Distribution is clearly a strong point as he has more than double the number of key passes (87) than any other Rapids player – Cole Bassett comes closest on 35.

    LA Galaxy - Dejan Joveljic

    Galaxy's top scorer, Joveljic, has 17 goals in the MLS so far this season and has also delivered the lowest minutes per goal (118.6). He will surely hope to add to the tally when he travels to Colorado.

    He was on target in game one as he and Riqui Puig each scored twice in Galaxy’s win over Colorado.

    It makes them the third pair of Galaxy teammates to each score twice in a playoff game, along with Cobi Jones and Carlos Ruiz in 2002 and Carlos Hermosillo and Danny Pena in 1998.

    MATCH PREDICTION – LA GALAXY WIN

    Galaxy have won each of their three meetings with Colorado this season, including the 5-0 win in Game One on Saturday.

    Prior to that, Galaxy had won only one of their 11 matches against the Rapids between 2018 and 2023 (D3 L7).

    That 5-0 win was only the seventh win by a margin of at least five goals in MLS Cup playoff history. It was the third of those by Galaxy, who also beat Dallas, 6-1, in 1998 and defeated Real Salt Lake, 5-0, in 2014.

    Colorado were held to just one shot in their 5-0 loss to Galaxy. It was the first time this century that the Rapids had only one shot in an MLS match, regular season or playoffs.

    The hosts are a team out of form and have lost five straight matches dating back to the regular season, with two of those defeats coming against Galaxy.

    Prior to this drought, however, the Rapids had lost just three of their previous 13 regular-season matches dating back to the middle of June (W9 D1).

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Colorado Rapids – 32.5%

    Draw – 25.5%

    LA Galaxy – 42.0%

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.