The Shirt With: Hull City Captain Markus Henriksen

NAIROBI, Kenya- Ask any young, aspiring footballer anywhere in the world where they would wish to play their professional career and England would rank top if not among the first destinations of choice.

Millions of kids kicking a football in established academies or rough streets in all six continents dream of getting an opportunity to play at the highest level of football in Britain, the land that invented the beautiful game as we know it.

In any measuring scale, whether by revenue, attendance or global following, the English first division Premier League (PL) and the second-tier EFL Championship rank high in the list of top 10 professional leagues across all sporting disciplines in the world.

Therefore, a footballer that has risen to earn a contract in any of the 42 teams that compete in the PL or Championship is living a dream only few have experienced in the cutthroat scramble to be noticed by scouts and managers in the English top two divisions.

Going on to be appointed a captain of any of those sides is beyond a dream. Perhaps it can be mildly compared to getting all the six numbers in an English winning Lotto (National Lottery) ticket right. 

Markus Henriksen, the 26 year-old Norway international is among the few lucky players who hit the English football jackpot, having taken all opportunities given to him in the game to make it count at Hull City FC.

Having signed for the Tigers initially on loan on August 31, 2016 an injury-plagued six months derailed the start of Henriksen’s life at KCOM Stadium before recovering to work his way through the ranks to be rewarded with the captain’s armband at the start of this season.

Exclusive series

Speaking to The Shirt, the exclusive series on SportPesa online and social media platforms, the Hull skipper outlined what it meant to pull on the team’s jersey and what it means to him as a footballer.

“When I got an opportunity to go to England, I only think (thought) I want to show myself, develop as a player. My debut was against Stoke I got an assist and a match-winning goal,” Henriksen recalled.

The Shirt involves engaging players in partner clubs of the leading bookmakers SportPesa, Everton FC, Southampton FC, Torino FC and the Tigers on what it means to pull on the team jersey in making every opportunity given to them count.

For Henriksen, coming to the Tigers following a mazy football journey from his homeland located over 2,122Km from England and passed through Holland represents due reward for putting in the hard yards.

A son of the former Norwegian giants Rosenborg player and manager, Trond, Henriksen did not need to look far for motivation but being born and bred in footballing royalty is not an automatic ticket to making it as a professional at the highest level.

“My first ever football shirt as a child was a Bordeaux shirt. When you’re young you love football and to get a shirt, that is something special,” he shared.

Years later, at an English Football League (now branded Carabao) Cup clash against The Potters, the future Hull skipper endeared himself to the KCOM faithful when he became an instant hero on his debut for the Tigers having joined them on loan from Dutch heavyweights, AZ Alkmaar.

Marco Anautovic, now a star at PL campaigners West Ham United, put Stoke ahead in the 24th minute but Henriksen set up Lee Mason for 1-1 on the stroke of half time on September 21, 2016. 

He then literary snatched a place in the fourth round when he slammed the ball to the top right corner of the Stoke net in time added on (90+1’), a moment he recounts with pride.

As fate would have it, Henriksen would not be hugely involved in the effort to save Hull from relegation to the Championship.

Permanent move

“My first season especially when I got all these injuries it was very tough because when I signed for the club, half of the season we were in the Premier League.

“I was injured plus the football in England is totally different but I learnt a lot from it,” the Norway international who has been capped on 45 occasions, scoring thrice for his country admitted.

Hull exercised the option to make his loan move permanent and having recovered, Henriksen worked his way up to become an integral member of manager Nigel Adkins’ side that managed to ward off another relegation to third tier EFL League One last season.

The comeback served a huge lesson and represented another milestone for the footballer after his displays convinced Adkins to appoint him captain of his side at the beginning of the current campaign.

“Also showing I can hit from under having been all the way down. To climb all the way to the top again I felt very, very special.

“To become the Hull captain is a big honour. I want to become the player who helps the team to achieve things. I think I’m a captain on the field I try top be professional and show the young players coming up,” he remarked.

Having started his formative training at his local Trondl IL, Henriksen moved to Rosenborg, a huge leap considering he was still a boy having proved himself early on as an exciting midfielder, showing traits of footballing intelligence, basic skill and excellent endurance.

He went on to play 78 times for the most-decorated Norwegian club where he scored 26 times and won the league titles in his first two seasons of 2009 and 10. After Molde knocked Rosenborg off their perch, Henriksen joined Alkmaar in 2012. 

The midfielder was a regular starter in his first season in the Eredivisie, claiming three goals and as many assists and was pivotal in their 2012 Dutch Cup 2-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven at the De Quip stadium, going on to be named the Alkmaar player of the year. 

Limited chances

When Dick Advocaat replaced Gertjan Verbeek as Alkmaar manager, chances for Henriksen became limited and he was loaned to Hull in 2016, leaving with 26 goals in 108 appearances on his CV.

Following his limp start to life as a Tiger, he then picked himself from his spell in the sidelines to earn the armband.

“You have to pinch yourself in the arm sometimes and realise you are one of the lucky guys. As an injured player, you miss being part of the team, you miss going to training and training normal and of course you miss match days,” Henriksen reflected on his roller coaster ride having re-established himself as a key player and leader.

And just what does pulling on the jersey and heading out of the tunnel mean to him?

“It always feels special to put on a shirt. When you see the crowd has the same shirt as you and the belief in the young supporters eyes. 

“When you come to the KCOM Stadium, everyone has the same goal, winning football games but doing that, putting the shirt on go to work and perform, that’s the best feeling of being a footballer.”

No one can argue with the Hull skipper having served as a role model of what it takes to rise to the top of the game.