Jordan to study Rakitic in CL final
Tonight's Champions League final will claim the attention of the football world, though Jordan Henderson's concentration will be drawn to one participant in particular.
The Liverpool vice-captain is currently with England ahead of two international fixtures, beginning with a friendly against Republic of Ireland on Sunday afternoon.
On the eve of that game, however, the midfielder will join the millions tuning in to watch Barcelona and Juventus do battle for Europe's most coveted club trophy.
Study is on the agenda for Henderson, and specifically the work carried out by a man who patrols the same area of the field as the Reds' No.14 - Ivan Rakitic.
"He doesn't get the praise given to Neymar, [Lionel] Messi or [Luis] Suarez, but he's so influential and does all the dirty work. He has qualities I can learn off," said the Englishman.
"Everyone loves watching that front three play - I was blown away by that - but, while the credit goes to them, they all work just as hard behind them. Rakitic is a big part of that."
Catching Henderson's eye too, of course, will be former Anfield teammate Suarez.
He added: "I've spoken to Luis a few times over the season and he is improving all the time, which is hard to believe.
"He is an outstanding player and was a joy to watch when he was with us at Liverpool, and he taught me a lot.
"Apart from being brilliant individually, it was what he gave the team which was important; his work-rate, for someone with his talent, was unbelievable.
"He would never miss a training session, never miss a game. He's a footballer everyone should aspire to, a winner."