Virgil van Dijk has paid tribute to Jordan Henderson after his inspirational captain’s performance.
Henderson was outstanding as Liverpool won the Club World Cup for the first time and has almost become the unsung hero of Jurgen Klopp’s all-conquering team.
Kop defender Van Dijk said: “He’s our captain. That’s what we all respect. He’s having a fantastic season so far.
"He’s been doing fantastically whether he’s filling in for Fabinho at the moment or he’s playing as a right midfielder where he’s giving assists and stuff.
“He has been fantastic, in and out of the pitch he is very important for us whether he plays or not. We are all respect him on that level.
"I think from him that is also the most important thing. When other people say negative things it doesn’t really matter.
“He was outstanding when he played centre half. I was really proud of him. I told him after the game. He has got a lot more respect for what we do in the back as well.
"It’s not easy and I know sometimes we make it look a bit easy but it’s difficult.
“They played very direct as well in that game, long balls, tall striker. It was not easy for him but he dealt with it so well.”
Van Dijk also believes that the trophy deserves a special place in the club’s history.
He added: “We are the first Liverpool team that have won it so we can be very proud of that and hopefully more to come.
“To be out there, to start a tournament you want to finish as the winner and that’s what we did. We are very happy about that.
“Obviously it’s something special. We got what we came here for. We gave everything that we had.
“We had Flamengo fans next to our hotel and they were partying the whole time as well. We had already a feeling. I know how big Flamengo is as a club.
"We knew Brazil was living for them to win this. So I enjoyed the atmosphere, I enjoyed the passion they had. They made it tough for us.”
