‘I take my hat off to him’

Liverpool legend Dietmar Hamann joined talkSPORT to respond to claims Jordan Henderson is a ‘better captain than Steven Gerrard ever was’ – and he didn’t exactly disagree with the ‘bold’ suggestion.

A few Reds fans will be eating their words following Henderson’s exploits during their Champions League win over Inter Milan.

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Henderson entered the fray with Liverpool under the cosh at the San Siro and, along with Naby Keita, restored a calmness in the midfield which set the Reds on the way to a relatively comfortable 2-0 win.

The Liverpool captain has been criticised for his form this season but his display against Inter showed exactly why he’s such a valued member of the team and one of Jurgen Klopp’s must trusted generals.

And in the eyes of Reds fan Hallum, he offers more in terms of leadership than club legend Steven Gerrard ever did.

“He came on and shored up our midfield,” Hallum said on the Sports Bar.

“He’s had a lot of stick from a lot of Liverpool fans but for me personally, and lots of people won’t agree with it, he’s a better captain than Steven Gerrard ever was.

“No comparison as a player, but in terms of captaincy he’s probably the best Liverpool captain we’ve had in the last 20-30 years.

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“Steven Gerrard led by example, he had Jamie Carragher do the more traditional captaincy stuff behind him, Henderson is more of a traditional captain.”

Former Red Hamann, who played alongside Gerrard at Anfield, didn’t go quite so far as to say that Henderson was a better captain.

But he was full of praise for the character the 31-year-old has shown lately and throughout his time at Anfield.

Responding to the claims Henderson is a better captain than Gerrard was, Hamann said on talkSPORT Breakfast: “It certainly is a bold statement.

“Henderson’s been getting stick since he signed a new contract. I think he’s one of the few players who won the fans over because he came from Sunderland for £20million and after 12 months people were saying he wasn’t good enough.

“The transformation he’s had and the way he’s taken over the captaincy from Stevie, you have to take your hat off to the lad.

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“It’s not an easy thing to do, to win the fans over at Liverpool, and he’s one of the few players to do it.

“Who’s the better captain I don’t know… Stevie was a more attacking player, Hendo’s a more holding player.

“Hendo’s probably played in better teams. If you look at the teams Stevie played in or when I was there, I don’t think you compare them.

“This is a proper side. Most years we had a good team but we certainly weren’t as good as them.”