No small task awaits Jordan Henderson at Ajax. The England midfielder and former Liverpool captain must become the leader and inspiration of a largely young, unbalanced and heavily criticised team.
This is a team who were knocked out of the Dutch Cup less than a month ago by opponents USV Hercules, who do not even play at the highest amateur level. Ajax, by far the wealthiest club in the Netherlands and regularly successful in the Champions League between 2018 and 2022, slumped to the bottom of the table in late October and are now fifth, nine points from the top three places that would entitle them to Champions League football next season.
Fans, press and former players such as Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Marco van Basten have been ruthless in their criticism. For them the “miserable way” Ajax have been playing is incomprehensible, particularly the state of the midfield and defence. But so too is the fact that the team have to contest a play-off against Norway’s Bodø/Glimt next month to continue in the Europa Conference League; and that of the 10 fairly unknown players who arrived last summer, only one is considered suitable: the goalkeeper Diant Ramaj.
Criticism also comes from inside. “Lack of vision and leadership are the main reasons for the decline,” the experienced Remko Pasveer, Ajax’s reserve goalkeeper, said in an explosive interview with the Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool. “Many newcomers do not have the Champions League level that Ajax aspires to. And they don’t understand the club.”
Does Henderson understand this complex club, where the former coach Louis van Gaal is back as an adviser, the former captain Danny Blind is back as a member of the supervisory board and the former player John van ‘t Schip has been appointed as the temporary coach, but which yearns for a fully fledged executive board? Does the 33-year-old still have Champions League quality?
That’s probably not even the most important thing. The versatile midfielder has a wealth of experience and has been especially praised for his work ethic and leadership. And that is what Ajax need most after parting ways with the team leaders Daley Blind (one year ago) and Dusan Tadic (last summer).
“Two years ago, it was always busy in the gym even after training,” Pasveer said. “Players like Dusan Tadic, Davy Klaassen, Lisandro Martínez, Daley Blind, Antony or Sébastien Haller always wanted to get better and stronger, even in their spare time … I see less dedication among the current generation of players, and that worries me.”
With the arrival of Henderson, fans are full of hope, cheered by the words of Pepijn Lijnders, the Liverpool assistant coach, who was consulted by Henderson about Ajax. Lijnders told the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant: “He is a complete midfielder, full of character. He corrects his fellow players and coaches a lot so that no one has a moment to not be focused. He was our captain all those years — that says it all. He takes the team in tow and can become the coach’s right-hand man.”
What adds to the enthusiasm is a sense of disbelief that the deal has happened. Dutch clubs don’t often succeed any more in attracting well-paid foreign players with such a track record. PSV’s signing of the German world champion Mario Götze in 2020 is a rare modern example.
Shirts with Henderson’s name on the back have been flying across the counter at the store at the Johan Cruyff Arena. Ajax fans have already given him a nickname (“Henny”) and a joker in Amsterdam crossed out an “a” on a sign in the Amsterdam neighbourhood Jordaan so it reads Jordan.
“His arrival means a major boost in quality for our selection,” Van ‘t Schip said, although Henderson will not be able to face RKC on Sunday while he waits for a work permit. “A footballer of this calibre is also important for the many young players, both on and off the field.”
The fact that Henderson is 33 and has spent the past six months in the mediocre Saudi league raises some doubts in the Netherlands as to whether this will be a golden match. But there is hardly any talk about the ethical choice of Henderson to play in a country where homosexuality is prohibited, after he positioned himself in England as a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
Thijs Smeenk, a sports journalist and board member of the John Blankenstein Foundation, which promotes gay and lesbian rights, says he is happy with Henderson’s arrival. “In the Netherlands, gay acceptance is going backwards rather than forwards, including in football environments. It’s nice to welcome a football player who really dares to speak out for the acceptance of gay people. We don’t have enough of that on our football fields. I assume that Henderson still stands for that.”
