Programme notesJordan Henderson: Lifting the Carabao Cup will live with me forever
Jordan Henderson says last season's Carabao Cup success will live long in the memory for everyone involved.
Liverpool secured the trophy at Wembley in February with a penalty shootout win over Chelsea, in what was a memorable occasion for Jürgen Klopp’s team in the capital.
The Reds will begin their defence in the competition this evening with a third-round tie against Derby County at Anfield.
In his programme notes, Henderson writes: “I’ve no doubt there will be many, many people at Anfield this evening who will have a lot of special memories about our most recent Carabao Cup campaign.
“After winning the trophy last season, this is a competition that means a great deal to everyone involved with Liverpool so it is great to be able to participate in it once again.
“The fact that we won the cup earlier this year speaks for itself. As captain, I was fortunate to be given the honour to lift the trophy and that is something which will live with me forever.
“Given how hard it is to win any competition, winning it understandably dominates people’s thoughts and feelings – but I can’t help feeling that what happened in the build-up to that unforgettable day at Wembley should be just as prominent in our thoughts.
“The reason for this is simple. If you go through each round from last season, looking at who played, the results we had and how everyone pulled together on and off the pitch, it is clear that this success was built on the foundations of the entire club.
“Everywhere you looked, there was someone different making a contribution, from young players to senior professionals and everyone in between. That’s why it gave all of us so much satisfaction.
“There is always criticism from some quarters when teams are selected for certain cup matches and the accusation emerges that clubs aren’t taking that particular cup competition seriously enough. I can’t speak for every single instance, but if you look at what we did last season it was the exact opposite of this – we took it seriously alright.
“In a hectic fixture schedule we took the opportunity to give young players valuable experience at the highest level. When the time was right and the situation demanded it, the manager brought in more senior players.
“In each and every round we played with one aim and that was to get through to the next one. No matter how challenging the situation was, we kept on fighting and there was no better example of that than when we came back from the dead against Leicester City to reach the semi-final stage.”
On facing the Rams, the skipper added: “Derby will have their own reasons for wanting to make the Carabao Cup a special competition for them this season and they will view a trip to Anfield as an opportunity to make a real mark.
“I know they are in League One at the moment, but no-one should be in any doubt about how big a club Derby is and what a proud history they have in English football.
“I also expect that their supporters will pack out the away end and bring with them the kind of passion that comes with being an ‘underdog’, so we are expecting a proper cup tie with everything that this entails.”