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It’s no secret that around here there’s an affinity for our captain, Jordan Henderson. This writer could go on and on about his good qualities, but it really comes down to the fact that he seems like a really great person to everyone around him. He takes time and effort to do his job well, no matter what that job may be for the moment. We all know the story of Henderson offering to take over media duties during the 13/14 season after that disastrous red card, so that the other players on the squad could focus on finishing the season well. The story of one Hong Kong fan should come as no surprise.
The squad have spent the past week in Hong Kong for preseason, and participating in the Premier League Asia competition (which they won yesterday). Alongside training sessions, the usual preseason gamut of events were included for the players, which of course included captain Jordan Henderson. As any fan would, Hong Kong based supporter Nicklaus Chu endeavored to use these opportunities to meet the skipper.
Chu posted on Instagram detailing his struggles with trying to meet Henderson during the trip - staying at their hotel all hours, visiting training sessions, etc - only to have his efforts rejected. Wrong place, wrong time, as often times he would be waiting somewhere else only to have his friends run into Henderson first. The man even has a life sized cardboard cut out of Hendo and couldn’t catch a break.
Luckily, the tides of the universe turned in his favor, with Henderson himself responding personally to Chu on Instagram. The skipper made plans to personally meet Chu, offering a signed shirt to go along with the experience.
Henderson displayed the type of kindness and generosity we’ve all grown to love from the captain. The same qualities that helped him become captain in the first place, to a fan that simply had a gift for him (how cool is that shirt with his name in Cantonese?). What could’ve easily been turned into a moment of good press - especially after that #BusGate video - was kept as a private moment with a super fan.
“A simple and warm act of our Captain, become a big dream come true for me, he can totally ignore me, but he didn't. That is our great Liverpool Captain. He is not only our player, he is our family,” said Chu in his Instagram post, summing it all up quite well. Henderson did it out of his own kindness, further cementing his position as a dedicated captain and role model for modern Liverpool fans.
Class act, our Hendo.