Former Sunderland captain Kevin Ball has sent a motivational and uncomplicated message to ex-Black Cats Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford as the pair gear up for the Euro 2020 final on Sunday night.
Ball played a significant role in the emergence of shot-stopper Pickford and midfielder Henderson with the two of them coming through the ranks at Sunderland’s academy, having both joined at the age of eight-years-old.
“I’ve always said to the pair of them, reaching the top is the easy part; staying there is the hard part,” said Ball, speaking to the PA news agency.
“You have seen with the pair of them, they constantly have to be on top of their game. But I saw when they were young they would have that in their lockers.
“You knew the pair of them would do it because their ability was there, but the overriding thing was the attitude behind the ability, their attitude to want to be the best, carry on being the best and stay the best.
“It’s not a career where you can say to yourself, ‘I want to be a footballer today, but tomorrow I just want to be me’.
“If you want to get to the highest level in the game, the amount of work physically, mentally, emotionally, whatever you want to call it for any player is absolutely immense.”
Everton’s Pickford has been in scintillating form for England throughout the Three Lions’ campaign so far. The 27-year-old has played every minute and has conceded just one goal – which supposedly shouldn’t have stood, anyway.
During his time coaching Pickford – who possesses a photograph of him receiving the former Sunderland skipper’s signature as a young fan – Ball spent time working with the goalkeeper to improve his now impressive distributional skills.
“Jordan is like a ball-playing centre-back. We used to put him in the passing drills, he’d do possession games with us and boxes, and Jordan was exceptional with his feet,” said the former Sunderland midfielder.
“He’s been excellent in the tournament. His game-management has been very consistent and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him.
“In amongst all those decisions he’ll make, will there be one or two that will be questioned? Absolutely, that’s normal.
“But the amount of things he’s done in terms of passing out from the back, where he’s dropped it in to the centre-forward or dropped the over the top for Raheem Sterling, you look at all of that and it’s not good play, it’s exceptional play.”
Unlike his Merseyside counterpart, Liverpool skipper Henderson has had to accept a role from the bench so far in England’s Euro 2020 campaign. Despite this, it didn’t stop the 31-year-old from contributing with his first ever international goal against Ukraine in the Three Lions’ emphatic 4-0 win over Andriy Shevchenko’s men in the semi-final.
Alongside his goal, the midfielder has added important leadership and game-management skills to a somewhat young England outfit.
“What I like the most about Jordan is everything is understated. He does everything quietly, methodically without anybody telling him, and he does it why? Because he wants to do it,” said Ball.
“He was brilliant with our younger players and also his team-mates when he played. He always looked out for them and looked after them, and that’s been prevalent in everything you have seen in his career since.”
Ball, who witnessed Pickford and Henderson exit the 2018 World Cup at the semi-final stage after defeat to Croatia, suggested that he and his fellow coaches will be watching England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy like “proverbial parents” – with an uncomplicated message at the forefront of his mind.
“What I will say to them is this, and I’ve always said it: no-one remembers who’s the runner-up, do they?” said Ball.
