Jordan Henderson has explained the story behind his "shuffle" trophy lift after Liverpool's Champions League triumph last season, while revealing he felt "every emotion you can think of" when holding the trophy aloft.
Liverpool dispatched Bayern Munich, Porto and Barcelona en route to the 2019 European Cup final, before coming up against Tottenham in an all-English showpiece.
The Reds edged a tense affair at Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano thanks to a Mohamed Salah penalty and a late Divock Origi strike, becoming continental champions for the sixth time.
As club captain, Henderson was given the honour of lifting the famous trophy post-match, and marked the moment by shuffling towards the podium to increase anticipation among his team-mates and the onlooking Liverpool fans.
The 29-year-old, who repeated the trick after Liverpool's UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup wins this season, has now revealed that the shuffle was born after a "little bit of banter" in the dressing room before the victory over Spurs.
“Actually I didn’t really plan on doing that, to be honest,” Henderson told the club's official website while reflecting on the celebrations in Madrid last year.
“It was a little bit of banter in the changing rooms prior. Robbo was messing about, he’d always do the shuffle pretending to lift the trophy and stuff like that. So, when the time came I felt as though I just wanted to sort of do it together and use that sort of banter that we’d had previously in terms of the little shuffle and stuff.
“I just wanted to be able to see the lads’ faces just before I lifted it as well. That was really special for me, to be able to see the lads rather than just have my back to them.
“So, yeah, it was a little bit off the cuff, to be honest. After we did that [for] the Champions League the lads made sure I kept on doing it for the Super Cup and Club World Cup.”
Asked how it felt to get his hands on club football's biggest prize, Henderson replied: "Every emotion you can think of really. Joy, relief, happiness, just everything that you could possibly think of.
“It was just the most special moment to hear that final whistle go, to know that all of the hard work and everything that we have done together in the past however many years, we actually got over the line and managed to win one of the greatest trophies ever, so it was everything I dreamt of and more really.
“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life. Obviously, people will say, ‘Well, when you have kids’ and stuff, which again, of course, is a totally unique and most special feeling in the world as well, but it’s different.
“It is so unique and it was an amazing feeling I hope I’ll never forget.”
Liverpool built on their European success by storming to the top of the Premier League in 2019-20, and sat just two wins away from a first top-flight crown in 30 years when play was stopped due to the coronavirus outbreak in March.
English football authorities have given the green light for a resumption of action on June 17, with Henderson and co already back in training at Melwood ahead of an eagerly-anticipated Merseyside derby meeting with Everton.