Tribal Football

England coach Tuchel explains surprise recall for Ajax veteran Henderson

Paul Vegas
England coach Tuchel explains surprise recall for Ajax veteran Henderson
England coach Tuchel explains surprise recall for Ajax veteran HendersonHans van der Valk / Orange Pictures / DPPI via AFP / Profimedia
England coach Thomas Tuchel has explained his decision to recall Jordan Henderson.

The former England captain and Ajax midfielder returns to the Three Lions squad for Tuchel's first games - World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.

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"Jordan is a serial winner," Tuchel said.

"He's captain of Ajax. What he brings to every team is leadership, character, energy and personality.

"He makes sure everyone lives by the standards. He embodies everything we try to build. We want to build a team our fans are proud of."

Tuchel was asked about ex-Liverpool captain Henderson's reaction when he called Henderson to give him the news. 

"Hi, I'm Jordan," was how Tuchel recalled Henderson's first response.

"We had this phone call a few weeks ago where I wanted to check in, introduce myself and see how he feels about this idea and if he was ready. It was a video call because at least you can see reactions.

"He appreciated it. I didn't call him with an unknown number, I texted him before. For me, it was so nice to see his genuine reaction. He is a serial winner with over 80 caps and just the pure joy and how humble he was to take this decision. It was very impressive."