Liverpool’s Legendary Captains: A Legacy of Leadership

The Dutch center-back Virgil van Dijk, widely ranked as one of his generation’s highest-quality defenders, is now Liverpool’s acting captain. He got appointed to this position after the departure of Jordan Henderson and much public speculation regarding who would assume this part. It goes without saying that the former Southampton and Celtic player has a lot to live up to. He has been a Red from 2018 and probably has two or three good seasons left to etch his name among the club’s most beloved captains. On that note, below, we present five footballers who have earned this label in no particular order.

Jordan Henderson

At twenty, Henderson came to Anfield from Sunderland for £16 million and initially struggled to secure a spot in the team’s midfield line. In the early 2010s, Liverpool could not get found as a probable contender on no UK betting site list of clubs most likely to vie for the top spot at the end of the season. That assessment was correct, as the club ended the competition in eighth place in 2012.

Henderson quickly established himself as an on-the-pitch leader, learning from Steven Gerrard, and upon Gerrard’s departure, he took over the captaincy to a somewhat lukewarm reception. Even with this challenge and injury woes, Klopp maintained faith in Henderson, allowing him to retain the armband. His on-field passion fueled the team’s 2019 League title run, the first since 1984.

Graeme Souness

Souness arrived at Liverpool in 1978 from Middlesbrough, following a short loan at West Adelaide. Without question, his career gets best remembered for his time in the Reds shirt from 1978 to 1984, a period during which he won four League Cups, three European ones, and five League Championships.

Souness got brought on as a replacement for Ian Callaghan, for a record fee of £350,000. He became team captain in the season 1981/82, much to the dismay of team-mate Phil Thompson, and under his captaincy, the club claimed two league trophies.

Steven Gerrard

According to virtually everyone, there can be no top-five Liverpool players list with Steven Gerrard’s name missing. The Whiston native also ranks as one of England’s best midfielders ever. Gerrard spent seventeen years at Anfield, during which he helped the team win a UEFA Champions League trophy, but sadly could not assist Liverpool in claiming the Premiership Title.

Steve G captained the Reds from 2003 to 2015. He got the armband five years into his Liverpool tenure, at the age of twenty-three, replacing the Fin, Sami Hyypia, holding it for twelve seasons, displaying unparallel leadership qualities and maturity throughout that time.

Ron Yeats

Ron Yeats’ Liverpool signing story is the stuff of legend among the club’s fanbase. It revolves around the club’s iconic manager, Bill Shankly, proclaiming – You must be 7 feet tall, when he met Yeats in 1961, even though in reality, Yeats was only six feet and two inches tall. Shankly had no reservations about signing the Dundee United defender and boosted the Scotsman’s confidence by nicknaming him the colossus.

During Yeats’ decade-long Liverpool stay, he played 454 games for the Reds, leading them to two first-division titles. Beyond stats, he set unparalleled standards that shaped Liverpool’s future defenders and captains.

Emlyn Hughes

Emlyn Hughes got signed by Liverpool from Blackpool in 1967. The move occurred after Bill Shankly pursued Huges for two years. Hughes proved Shankly right by becoming one of the club’s most versatile defenders ever. In 1973, he assumed the role of captain after a complicated contract negotiation. His performances for the club in over six hundred games are more than enough to solidify him as a Liverpool great in anyone’s mind. That is so even with the controversy concerning how he became the team’s captain.