Steven Gerrard vs Jordan Henderson: Which former Liverpool captain won the most trophies?
Liverpool Football Club are entering another new era in 2023-24, with the captain’s armband being passed on once again. Jordan Henderson has decided to leave Anfield for a new challenge in the Middle East, meaning that a new on-field leader is required.
That responsibility is being passed to commanding Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk, which are some big boots for him to fill. Only two men have occupied the role of permanent Liverpool skipper over the course of the last 20 years.
In that time, the Reds have grown accustomed to competing for major honors, with plenty landed along the way.
Standards
There was a slight dip in collective standards last season, as Jurgen Klopp’s side stumbled out of the blocks, but English Premier League odds have them priced at -175 for a top-four finish this time around, and +6600 to claim an impressive league and FA Cup double.
Liverpool have landed both of those prizes in recent times, with considerable success enjoyed at home and abroad. Henderson has been the man to get his hands on major silverware since 2015, with one England international inheriting the most distinguished of jobs from another.
Henderson has said of following in the footsteps of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard: “When I first took over the role of captaincy, when people might have doubted me and criticized me as a person, I always said no one will replace Steven Gerrard at this football club. No matter what captains or teams win. No one will ever replace him.”
The hard-working midfielder made a good go of etching his own name into Anfield folklore over the course of his eight-year run as skipper. During that time he was able to lift Premier League, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and FA Cup honors.
Henderson also took in two League Cup triumphs and a Community Shield win, taking him to eight triumphs in total.
Said era is considered to be one of the most glittering for Liverpool in recent memory, but how does that aforementioned medal haul pieced together by the Reds’ last skipper stack up against the iconic figure that went directly before him?
Well, it should come as no surprise to find that home-grown superstar Gerrard just about edges that debate, although he famously never got his hands on the English top-flight title and Henderson was able to tick that box in 2020.
Success
Gerrard formed part of Liverpool’s ‘treble’ win back in 2000-01, as they savored domestic success in the FA Cup and League Cup while also landing a notable continental prize in the form of the UEFA Cup. The all-action midfielder would enjoy three League Cup wins in total, while he hoisted aloft the FA Cup on two occasions – most notably in 2006 at the end of the final that now bears his name.
Four-time Liverpool Player of the Year Gerrard would also enjoy Community Shield, Super Cup and Champions League glory, having inspired the Reds to a remarkable European triumph in 2005. He eventually left Anfield with nine winners’ medals.
In that regard, he tops Henderson by one, but both men will see their exploits fondly remembered and recalled by several generations of Liverpool supporters to come.
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